Headline...
The most important part of your material is the headline. Most people will make a judgement on whether to read your material based on the headline, so it’s the ad for your advertisement or brochure.
The headline should take up around 25% of an ad’s space. Your direct mail letters should also have a headline… right at the top, before the salutation. A good idea is to design your stationary letterhead to have the details down one side or across the bottom. That way, you leave the top for a headline.
Having a ‘loop’ in your headline, means your headline will compel your reader to read the copy for more information. I’ve taken a couple of headlines and introduced a ‘loop’ below:
Non Loop Headline Headline with ‘loop’
FREE Consultation Here’s How You Can Get A FREE Consultation…
Don’t Waste Money… 3 Steps To Saving Money Joe Bloggs & Co. 7 Reasons To Choose Joe Bloggs & Co…
Here’s some ways to create a loop in your headline:
• Here’s How…
• 3, 5, 7 Ways To…
• 3, 5, 7 Reasons…
• Here’s Why…
• 3, 5, 7 Steps To…
By the way, you’ll notice all the numbers are ‘odd’. Odd numbers are psychologically more attractive than even numbers. The next time you visit a Baskin Robbins Icecream Shop with their 31 flavours… count them, you’ll find there’s normally 32. They just know the benefit of odd numbers.
Type faces...
The typeface or font that you use in your material, can make a big difference to the results you achieve. The 2 basic types are Sans Serif and Serif fonts.
Sans Serif fonts don’t have the little “feet” at the bottom of each letter (like Arial font). Studies have shown that people find these fonts far more difficult to read than serif fonts.
Serif type (like Times New Roman) has the little “feet” or “hooks” at the bottom of each letter. These “feet” appear to form a line under the words that your eye follows with more ease. If you want people to read your advertisement, use a serif typeface.
Point Size...
The size of the font you use is referred to as point size. Studies have shown that readership does not drop off if you use between 7.5 and 14-point size. As a general rule 9 to 11 point is ideal.
Case...
Case type is whether your text is in capital letters or not. All Caps is harder to read than ‘title case’ or ‘lower case’.
THESE THREE FACTORS ABOVE IS WHY PEOPLE FIND IT SO DIFFICULT TO READ AND COMPREHEND CONTRACTUAL SMALL PRINT BECAUSE ITS ALL UPPER CASE SMALLER THAN 7.5 POINT AND ARIAL TYPE FONT WITH VIRTUALLY NO PUNCTUATION AND POMPUS WORDING TO CONFUSE THE READER.
Sub-headlines...
Sub-headlines have 3 major benefits ...
1. They break up large blocks of text making them easier to read. If your material looks like one big ‘chunk’ of text, it can put people off reading it. By using sub-headlines you can break your copy up and give it some ‘space’.
2. They allow someone skimming over your ad to only read the points that interest them.
3. They spark the reader’s interest. If your headline doesn’t get them in completely you can get a second chance with your sub-headlines.
It is important that your sub-headlines tell a story. Your sub-headlines need to be able to convey your message to those people who are just browsing over your material or ad.
Body Copy...
You only get one chance with a potential customer, so your first fifty words are crucial. You must arouse your reader’s curiosity immediately, with the very first paragraph. If they’re not excited after the first fifty words they may not read the rest of your material.
Use the bare minimum of copy to get your message across; don’t waffle on. But make sure that you include enough information to inform your reader. You should never tell the whole story in your advertising. Tell them as much as you need, to get them to call. By holding back some information you make it necessary for them to call you to find out more.
Pictures...
Studies have shown that ads containing a picture that takes up between 25 – 75% of the total advertisement have greater readership than those without one. You will probably need to put a fair amount of text in your ad so 25% is probably the ideal size. Don’t use line drawings or clipart. Photographs get a much higher response than illustrations.
Also consider putting a photo of yourself in the ad. People buy from people not companies; so let them see the person behind the company name. Place your photo so that it looks straight out, or towards your body copy. If your picture is looking into your ad, your potential customers will also be drawn into it.
Always put a caption under your photo. Everybody reads the captions so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity to get them into your ad.
Having said that about graphics, you also need to make sure that any picture says more than the equivalent space in words. For example, you’ll pay about 80 cents (in Brisbane Yellow Pages) per square millimeter of space. If you’re going to put in a postage stamp size ad, you need to ask yourself if the inclusion of that picture alone is going to generate an extra $600 worth of profit that year.
Call to action...
If your reader is still reading by the time they get to the end of your material; whether an ad, letter, or brochure, they’re ready to buy and you need to suggest exactly how they go about that with a ‘call to action’. In my view, the classic closing line for a sales letter of ‘… if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to call…’ is feeble in the least.
Your material needs to be confident, presuming the sale. If you’ve written a letter in response to an enquiry, your letter should end with ‘… I’ll give you a call in a couple of days to work out which weekend tour will be best for you and your mates. If you have any queries in the meantime, please call me on xxxx xxxx.’
If it’s an ad, you need to tell them to call or take other action now.
Top Tips for More Effective Marketing Material - To learn more about this author, visit Steve Leach's Website.
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Steve Leach
(Visit Steve's Website)
As a Business Coach and International
Trainer, I help enthusiastic business
owners achieve their greatest potential.
I'm the MOST experienced and longest
serving coach with the World's Number 1
business coaching organisation
ActionCOACH. I've also presented workshops
in 40 cities across 14 countries.
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