Interest

Now that you have their attention you have approximately 4 seconds to secure their interest. It’s crucial that you now entice them to read further. This is where a ‘sub-headline’ can work wonders.

The idea with print advertising is that the headline entices the reader to read the sub headline. The sub headline entices the reader to read the copy and the copy entices the reader to read the call to action and the call to action entices the reader to take action and purchase or at least inquire about the business owner’s product or service.

In addition to the actual sub headline, there are a number of small things that need to be taken into account in order to maintain interest in the ad.

Font size

The accepted font size is either 11 or 12 point font. You're now reading 12 point font. 

Now you're reading 11 point font. 

Some people can tend to get too concerned about sending out more than one page of a letter so they will reduce their font size to make it fit. If it’s uncomfortable to read, people are less likely to read it. This is 10 point font, as you can see, its beginning to get a little small.

But then there are still others who think that if they write in lager fonts, they will have more impact. Fact is, it simply looks like they're writing to a child…

So, for the best results use either 12 or 11 point font.

Font type

Font type is another area of confusion for many people. Generally speaking there are two basic types of fonts:

Serif font. That’s the one with ‘little feet’ on them. This paragraph is produced in is a serif font. Many word processing programs default to a serif font. 

This particular font you're reading now is called ‘Times New Roman”. Some research suggests that comprehension is reduced when reading a non serif font and so often a serif font like this one is used for sales letters etc..

A non serif font is like this one you're reading now. As you can see, it doesn't have ‘little feet’ on it. Many people believe a san serif font, like this one, looks easier to read. 

We have chosen a non serif font for these articles and whilst it doesn’t have the feet of the “times New Roman” example it is more like the serif style than the “Arial” font used in the paragraph above this one. You might choose a font like this style to attempt a balance between comprehension and ease of reading.

It is important that you don’t get carried away using decorative or swanky fonts as you risk losing lose your reader before they get the chance to take in your message.  A conservative, plainer style along the lines of these examples is recommended.

Justification

Justification means that one of both edges of your paragraphs are ‘aligned’. 

For example: all the paragraphs in this article are what are known as ‘justified’. They stretch across the page and have even edges on both sides.

This type of justification is usually reserved for formal or text writing. There would be few occasions when this type of justification would be required inn sales letters. And certainly rarely, if ever, in direct mail.

The next type is Right Justified.

In this case, as you can see, the even edge is on the right had side of the page. Again, sometimes useful, but rarely.

The next type of course is Left Justified. It is the most common style you will use and will have an even edge down the left hand side but will have an uneven or ‘jagged’ finish on the right hand side. 

This type of style is most effective as it portrays a casual, friendly communication. Which is exactly what you want when writing copy for direct mail and flyers.

You’ll also notice that we use a small indent for each paragraph. This is because it leads the eye to where you want it. If all paragraphs were straight, imagine how that would look!

Writing style

Then there's writing style. This is actually the easiest part and yet the part that most people have challenges with. It’s simple because all you need to do is ‘write like you talk’.

If you lived a few hundred years ago, you would have walked down the street and met a ‘gentleman’ and said something like “My dear Mr. Smith, ‘tis good to see you up and well again…”. It’s just the way people spoke! At the same time, reading and writing was reserved for the privileged few. So as language evolved so too did a writing style that suited that era…

The thing is, we’re no longer in that era…!

They simply wrote as they spoke… and that’s exactly what you should do. In writing a direct mail piece, don’t start with Dear Mr Smith, start with “good morning”, or “Hi John”, or in some cases even “G’day Barry”.

For example:

So, remember, just imagine how you would be talking to that person and write accordingly. 

Even if you were writing to a corporate boss, there would be little difference, perhaps a little more formal, but not a lot. 

Imagine how many ‘typical’ letters that person would receive in a day, and yours turns up, refreshing, and easy to read???

Emphasis and punctuation

The next thing that will make your copy work better is emphasis and punctuation. 

In the 21^st Century we have so many ways by which we can spice up our communications. However, be careful not to overdo it…

Use bold, italics, CAPS and underline to help emphasise certain points you want to make. Of course you can use combinations. For example:

As you can see, the above letter uses each of the ‘emphasis’ tools available to you. And it’s the way I would have expressed it, if I have of been standing in front of her…

Two more things to consider!

Use contractions and use ‘…’

Contractions are used in everyday speech, so use them in your direct mail and correspondence. You’ve instead of you have for example.

Just be careful that you don’t overuse them however as they can become tiresome to the reader. 

The three dots ‘…’

You’ll notice we've used them even in this article. It’s because a full stop is a definite – “I've finished saying what I want to say, I want you to stop thinking and go to the next bit”. But ‘…’ allows the reader to ‘ponder’ what has just been said, doesn't it…?

It’s not as final as a full stop… again, try not to overuse …, however when used in the right way and in the right place can make a tremendous difference the message you're communicating.

Punctuation is another very important aspect of your written communication.

Read the sentence below aloud to yourself…

Woman without her man is hopeless

Now read this one…

Woman, without her man, is hopeless.

Now a third time…

Woman, without her, man is hopeless.

You’ll notice the very first one, is monotone and could be read anyway the reader wants to read it.

The second one, by placing a simple comma after women and after man suggests that without a man by a woman’s side, she is pretty useless, right?

Whereas a simple change in just 1 comma, can change the entire meaning of the sentence. By moving the second comma before the word man, the sentence now suggests that man cannot do without women.

So, ensure you take a lot of care with your punctuation as you write your copy for your clients, otherwise you may well be communicating an entirely different message…!

Johnson Box

Another very effective way to generate interest in that 4 seconds is to use what is known as a ‘Johnson Box’. 

A Johnson Box can be used in the Headline or Sub Headline or anywhere else for that matter. It gives the reader a reason for reading further…

For example:

Desire

Now that you have created an ‘Interest’ in what you're trying to sell, it’s important to now build the ‘desire’ of the reader to ‘read on’…

There is none main ingredient to have at this point and if you don’t you will lose the reader at this point…!

You must ‘tune’ the reader (potential customer) in to the ‘their’ radio frequency – W.I.I. FM (What's In It For Me). It the most popular radio frequency customers listen to; it’s the one that interested them most… Why? Because all they are interested in when in buying mode is what they are going to get out of the purchase.   It’s how they determine their value factor.

Desire is also about building the potential customer’s ‘emotional’ state. You’ll want people to purchase base on emotional state whenever you can, so you must do whatever you can to increase that desire. Remember “FEEGLES”? People buy for any or all of the following reasons:

§         Fear

§         Ego

§         Envy

§         Greed

§         Love

§         Excitement

§         Sex

So, try to establish any one of the above in your copy and your will begin to build a ‘desire’ in your suspect or prospect.

Action

This is the final step in writing your ad. It gives the reader clear direction as to what to do next. Many of your clients are going to say to you (or at least think it) that it seems too aggressive, too demanding. You must explain to them that the reader ‘needs’ to be told what to do next. As humans we tend to take the least path of resistance, therefore you, as the ad writer must create that path… 

If the reader has to hesitate too long, or look too hard for a phone number, web address, or a way to make contact they will invariably look elsewhere for the solution to their predicament. 

The call to action must tell the reader in a clear and succinct manner HOW they can go about buying from you. 

You should already be an avid reader of advertisements of all types. Take a look at the successful ones and you’ll see that they have a very effective Call to Action.

Here are a few examples of a Call to Action:

Call NOW on 1800 000 000 to find out how YOU too can win this luxurious
cruise

Call Jane NOW on 1800 000 000 to secure your place

Call 1800 000 000 and ask for Jane to secure your seat

Seats are limited, so hurry, call NOW … 1800 000 000

Tony, don’t miss this one-time opportunity, simply tick the YES box and fax back immediately to 1800 000 000

Simply return this attached coupon to PO BOX 123 Smallville by COB Friday 32^nd of September and you’re in the draw.

As you can see, there are many different ways and styles. Continue your own research in this area and test and practise this Calls to Action.

Follow up, follow up, follow up…

In some cases your Call to Action may be your telephone follow up call. This very tactic increased one of my early campaigns by 70%.

In this case a Call to Action might be something like:

John, I’ll give you a call in the next couple of days to see if you have any questions, in the meantime, feel free to call me on 1800 000 000 to find out how you can increase your Business Profits by 100%... 

I cannot over stress the importance of a ‘follow up’ campaign. It takes more time, it costs more money, but the results are often worth it! You’ll be surprised just how many prospects were “about to call you”, but were just too busy!