‘How to Fix a Broken Ad’ by Charlie Page

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ Year 7 Issue 10 article is titled “How to Fix a Broken Ad.” [‘Real World Tactics’ Article]

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ article:

How to Fix a Broken Ad

by Charlie Page

Have you placed an ad online that did not deliver the results you expected? It happens to us all, and it’sfrustrating!

We do what the books and seminars say to do – find the right advertising source (pay per click, ezines, classifieds, etc.) write the best ad we can, pay our money and hope for the best. And then nothing happens. Disappointing to say the least.

Disappointing … and destructive.

Disappointing because we lost money. Destructive because we can easily believe the biggest lie of all – this Internet thing won’t work for me. It might work for others, but not for me.

The good news is this. Broken ads can be fixed. Your lost money – and morale – can be redeemed. And you can do this!

Being a person who writes many ads – see http://www.realworldtactics.com/copywriting.html for
more information- I’ve fixed many a broken ad for clients.

Allow me to share with you the steps I take to fix a broken ad. Use these steps and you just might be able to turn a loss into a gain and a losing ad into a winner as well.

Step 1 – Fix The Headline

The headline is an ad for the ad. It is what convinces people to read your ad and possibly take action. So it needs to be strong.

The #1 reason that ads fail, in my opinion, is a weak headline.

So, how can you write a killer headline? Add emotion! The ONLY thing you need to convey in the headline is what the reader will get if they do what you want them to do. That’s called a benefit and answers the burning ‘what’s in it for me?’ question that they are asking in their mind.

Think of it this way: we are on an elevator together and you have exactly five seconds to tell me why I should spend my valuable time on your site — to tell me what I get in exchange for my time. So what would you tell me? That is your starting headline. I say starting because you will probably improve it over time.

Step 2 – Get To The Point

Don’t you hate those ads that ramble on, telling you everything except what you want to know? Everyone does – and most ads fit this category.

Your ad must get to the point. When writing ads punctuation and grammar don’t matter.

What matters is that you convey your main point in an emotional way and make the reader want to know more.

Of course, your ad must make sense when read in the language of the reader.

Read your ad aloud. Did that make you want to go to your site and learn more? No? What would do that? Answer that question and you have the start of a killer ad.

Step 3 – Benefits – Benefits – Benefits

I’ll bet you’ve heard this before. You must speak in benefits, not features. Put simply, a feature is what your product does and a benefit is what it does for me.

Here’s an example.

The Directory of Ezines helps people save time when buying ezine advertising.

It’s not our list of ezines that matters. It’s not that we update every day that matters. It’s not even that I work with members to help them succeed that matters.

Saving time is what matters to people who buy a membership. They could use Google and struggle for days to find the right ezine, and then waste more time finding out if they even sell ads and for how much.

Or they can buy a membership and know right now which ezines match their offer.

See the difference? What we sell is more time with your family, more time for yourself, more time to work on your business —not just a Directory of Ezines.

Here’s what you do. Make a list of all the benefits of your offer and then make sure that you cram as many as you can in your ad.

If your ad ends up looking like nothing but a list of benefits … GREAT! That’s the goal.

Step 4 – Fix The Call To Action

How many ads have you read that end with the simple phrase “click here” I know, I read them too. And most of these ads fail miserably.

Want to know why?

Because the phrase “click here” is a momentum killer. You work your fingers to the bone to create a hot headline that draws the reader into the body of the ad. Then you pummel them senseless with benefits that raise their blood pressure and get them reaching for their mouse, just sure you offer something great.

Then you tell them to click here.

Kind of like a cold shower, isn’t it?

The call to action should continue to excite them. And the best way to do that is to use a phrase that includes your main benefit as well as asking them to click. “Click here to begin saving time today!” is so much better than “click here” See the difference?

One more tip. Always include a way for them to get the information via email as well as a website. So many people miss this, and it’s vital. Many ads are read in an email program, and people don’t want to break away from processing email to go to a site. But they will send a blank email to learn more.

Step 5 – Track Every Ad

This won’t make your ads stronger, but it will make your business stronger. So, please, track every ad.

Why?

Because the problem might not be the ad – it might be your site!

When an ad get clicks but no sales are made the problem is your site, not the ad. The job of the ad is to get clicks, not make sales. The job of your site is to make the sale.

I hear this often: “I ran an ad and got 73 clicks but didn’t make any sales, so what’s wrong with my ad?” The answer is often “nothing”.

Again, the job of the ad is to get clicks, not to make sales. The more you remember that while writing your ad the better your ad will perform.

Your ads should be magical. They should romance the reader into responding, making only promises that you can keep and speaking about benefits that readers want and that make them respond.

If you have a broken ad now, take heart. Your ad can be fixed, your hope in an online business redeemed, and your wallet fattened.

All it takes is a little work and, like most things in life, never giving up. I hope the guidelines above help you.

About Charlie Page

Charlie Page helps people succeed online. How can he help you? Find out now at his main site or call his toll free number. http://www.RealWorldTactics.com

* IMNewswatch would like to thank Charlie Page for granting permission to reprint the latest ‘Real World Tactics’ article.