Fred's Advertising Clinc Part 3: You've Got Their Attention - Now Get Them Interested

In our last installment of Fred's Advertising Clinic we explored the first part of the formula for writing effective copy: Gaining attention.

We did it by asking a question or making a statement that got your audience to want more information; something that would induce them to pay attention to the rest of your message.

Fair enough. We've got their attention, now what? Well, it's time for Step Two: Building interest.

Building interest is the meat of your presentation. It's where the listener gets rewarded for paying attention. You answer their questions, explain how your product can help them. You even entertain them or shock them, if that's the approach you've chosen to go with.

Let's return to the example we used earlier, dry-erase markers. We came up with some good workable attention grabbing lines, so let's build on them.

Our first attention grabber was a simple statement: "You're only human." So it follows that humans make mistakes and the great thing about dry-erase markers is that they make it easy to correct your mistakes. (Remember in our last installment we decided to focus on the mistake angle for our ad.) You can go into as much detail as you want about fixing mistakes, that's up to you as the copy writer. The important thing is that you interest the customer in the benefits he or she can derive from using your product.

We also came up with a simple attention grabbing statement: "Everybody makes mistakes." The approach to this lead is almost identical to the above. The audience wants to know about how they can fix their mistakes, and you tell 'em.

We also tried a lead that set up a specific scene in the audience's mind as our attention grabber: "It's the biggest presentation of your career...and you don't want to blow it." This can be a bit more of a hard sell style ad, but that's okay. Tell the audience how dry-erase markers can save their jobs, maybe even help them win a promotion. How? By making sure they've got the full line of dry-erase markers in the briefcase to correct those little spelling mistakes that might crop up - like misspelling their client's name on the big whiteboard; or helping them to express their ideas clearly by using all the different colors the markers come in. Or maybe, you hope along with them that they will never have to take advantage of the easy-erasure feature, but it's comforting to know it's there just in case.

My favorite attention grabber of the bunch is this one: "Dry-erase markers don't taste very good." It's the sort of attention-grabber that lends humor and personality to an otherwise dull product. So build interest in your product by playing on the humor. Contrast the great features with the one (quite inconsequential) disadvantage they have. "Dry-erase markers come in 36 different colors, but don't eat them for breakfast."

Interest the customer in your product and its benefits by building on your attention grabbing lead. Sell your product's features, sell its benefits, or sell its personality. Just keep it interesting.

Next time we'll talk about Step Three - Desire. You gotta want it!

Attention grabbing, interesting spots
that sell is what Brown Cow Studios of Boston is all about.
Visit www.BrownCowStudios.com to learn more.

Fred's Advertising Clinic Part 2: Grab Your Audience's Attention!

We live in a fast-paced world...


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Chuck Norvell, What a Great, Great Guy!


In a different way each of these lines grabs your attention and makes you want to know more:

• What's so great about Chuck Norvell?
• Tell me how I can save and get free shipping...
• No, I wouldn't want that to happen to me, so how can I prevent it?
• How can I slow the pace of my life?

There's nothing fancy or splashy about these leads. They're quite simple. But they all have one thing in common: When you see them you want to know more.

That's what the first part of our advertising copy formula is all about -- Grabbing your audience's attention. There are many ways to do it. You can tease the audience, offer a benefit, or entertain them. It doesn't matter as long as you accomplish one thing -- Your audience has to want to know more.

Let's suppose we are writing a spot for dry-erase markers. I picked this product for our example because I've got a couple of them on my desk, and they're fairly mundane as products go. Nothing really sexy about dry-erase markers, is there?

So how do we get the listener to pay attention to our dry-erase markers? Let's brainstorm ....

Dry-erase markers come in many colors ... they are odorless ... the one I'm looking at right now has a fine point, but others have thicker points ... they erase easily ... Hey, I like that. one -- They erase easily. Can we use it? Let's try some approaches that tie into easy erase-ability:

• We can ask a question: "You're only human, right?"
• We can make a statement: "Everybody makes mistakes."
• We can set up a scene: "It's the biggest presentation of your career. Don't blow it!"
• How about a testimonial: "Dry-erase markers saved my job!"
• We can present the unexpected too: "Dry erase markers don't taste very good."

Each of these attention grabbers gets your customers wanting to know more. "Yes, I am only human -- what about it?" "What can I do about my mistakes?" Some tug at them on an emotional level: "The last time I blew a presentation the boss yelled at me for an hour!" And the last one is just too weird not to want to know more.

The key to each is that they hook you, they tease you. They make you want to know more. As a copy writer, hooking your audience is the hardest part of the job. Once you've done it, the rest of the copy flows naturally.

Your next step is to keep your audience's interest and to build upon it -- to get them interested in your product. We'll talk about that next time in part three of "Fred's Advertising Clinic."

Need to get attention for your product or business?
Fred Pagano's Brown Cow Studios of Boston creates attention-grabbing commercials,
Internet ads, product demos and presentations that sell.
Visit the Brown Cow Studios website at www.BrownCowStudios.com to learn more.
Or send an e-mail to Fred Pagano - Fred@BrownCowStudios.com

Fred's Advertising Clinic - Part One: The Formula

Years ago I had quite a chuckle when I saw a poster on the wall of a friend's office. It read, "Mankind's greatest need is to edit another person's copy."

If you've written any sort of copy - from a business letter to a commercial to an article for a science journal - you get the joke. You might write the world's greatest copy (hmm ... sounds like me), but once you submit it to the client or your boss, it's torn to shreds (hmm ... how could they!). Maybe the edits are an improvement; perhaps they're not. The only thing we know for certain is that your copy will be edited.

People who run small businesses, as always, are up against a special challenge. Not only do they have to write their own copy, but they have to edit it too. With a limited budget for advertising time, it's especially important that their commercial copy gets results.

In this series we'll take a look at copy writing as both an art and a science, and explore some techniques for writing great copy.

Unlike many things in life, writing ad copy can be broken down into a formula. This formula has been used by professional writers forever because it works. Are you ready? Here it is:

Attention - Interest - Desire -Action.

It's known throughout the ad world by its acronym, AIDA, and it's a blueprint to effective copy. Just follow the steps in order.

1. Attention - The foundation of all effective ad copy is to get your listener or viewer's attention. So you write a catchy headline, or ask an important question. Amuse them, question them or shock them. How you do it doesn't matter as long as you grab your audience's attention.

2. Interest. Once you've got your audience's attention, your second step is to keep it and build interest in your message. In part, you're building on your attention grabbing lead, and you're setting the audience up for the next step.

3. Desire. This may be the most important step of all, because if you don't build a desire for your product or service, your audience won't want it. I find it's often the hardest part of the formula to write.

4. Action. This is the windup. It's time to get your audience to act, so tell them what they should do. Buy your product. Visit your store. Call for more information. Or cross only when the light is green. If you've done the previous steps well, that's exactly what your audience will do.

In principle it's a very simple formula. But some take years to master it, and others never quite do. That's where good copy writing becomes an art form.

Start practicing the formula now by applying it to daily life situations. Use the AIDA formula as the structure of your next letter or e-mail. Try it on your next sales call, or even with friends and colleagues in everyday conversation. Instead of just talking about last night's game over the water cooler, see if you can instill a desire to attend the next one or watch it on TV. Just follow the formula and see what happens. It's good practice.

Check back for the next article in this series, as we take an in-depth look at step one.

By the way, did you notice this article uses the AIDA formula? I'm sneaky that way. Thanks for reading!

Fred Pagano's Brown Cow Studios offers complete creative and production services. From great copy writing to creative audio production and lots more, let the creative herd at Brown Cow Studios of Boston help grow your business. Send an e-mail to Fred@BrownCowStudios.com, or visit our web site, www.BrownCowStudios.com.

Tell Us Where to Find You!

Here's a fun little exercise, and the results will surprise you.

Take a look at the circular from any major chain store that you've got hanging around the house. Maybe one that was mailed to you, or one from the Sunday paper.

Now see if you can find any indication of where the nearest store is located. I'll give you 2 to 1 odds that you won't find any locations listed at all!

The big box stores are the prime offenders, but the problem extends to department stores and smaller chains too. The stores seem to assume you already know (how? by osmosis?) where their stores are located. Personally, I find it aggravating. And from a marketing standpoint, it's foolish.

I get a circular in my Sunday paper every week for OfficeMax. They used to have a store a mile away, but closed it about two years ago. I like OfficeMax, but haven't shopped there since the local store closed. Why? I don't know where they are! But they keep putting a circular in my newspaper anyway.

If you're lucky, a chain store might, in its circular, provide a telephone number you can call to find its store locations. "Press 1 to find a store within 10 miles of your home; Press 2 to find a store within 20 miles..." Frankly, It's not a call I'm about to make.

I find this amusing: When a department store, and Macy's is a prime example, runs a sale there's always a section on the last page of the circular that lists all the exceptions in very small print - "domestics not available in Hanover, shoes not available in Brockton" and so on. It's written to satisfy the lawyers, not the customers.

With a little rephrasing that back page disclaimer could satisfy both the lawyers and the customers:

Hanover open daily 9-9 (domestics not available); Brockton daily 10-10 (shoes not available).

Wouldn't that be useful information?

If you're serious about increasing sales, don't forget to tell your customers where to find you!


____
Coming Up Next Time: "Fred's Advertising Clinic - Part One"

Brown Cow Studios of Boston offers complete creative services

including copy writing, scripting, and advertising production.

Please visit our website at www.BrownCowStudios.com

Radio Excels at Positioning, So Use it to Sell Your Image

Some advertisers, especially shops that are locally owned, are addicted to "price list advertising." Their radio commercials drone on and on about what's on sale for how much. You've heard them. They sound like this:

"This week at Super Mega Value Shop Mart ... Denim jeans for guys $19.99 ... for kids only $12.99 ... SuperMegaValueShopMart brand laundry detergent just $1.99 ... Dog collars 89 cents or three for two dollars! And SPF 30 suntan lotion $3.99! ... Fifty paper bags for only 39 cents!"

So let me ask you a question: Do you remember those spots or are they just part of the commercial jumble? Five minutes later, do you remember what was on sale for how much? Do you even remember the name of the store? Right now, without looking back, can you tell me the price of the laundry detergent?

A list of anything more than one or two items and their prices is too much for a radio spot. Our memories aren't that good. To catch all that information requires strict attention. But radio listeners are a distracted bunch. We do most of our listening while we drive or are getting ready for work in the morning.

If a listener pays attention at all, he or she probably ends up wondering, "Did the announcer just say there was a sale on bananas or hammocks? Or was it ham hocks? $29.95 is a good price for hammocks, but way too much for ham hocks! ... Hmmm, I'd like to get a red bandanna ..."

Here's where radio ads work: Positioning and image building. If your store is the low-price leader, your listeners need to know that. But you don't have to give dollar and cents proof that you've got the lowest prices on No. 24 rectifiers. The only people interested in the price of No. 24 rectifiers are those who are in the market for them. And that's not most people.

Just tell people your prices can't be beat.

To make your positioning stand out, give yourself a nickname or a slogan that tells the world what you're all about. Then plug the bejeebies out of it in every spot, every time.

• For the lowest prices, it's Rectifier Rick's.
• Larry's appliances: The low price kings.
• Nervous Ned! What a great buy!
• With the money you save at Joe's garage, you'll get that limo in no time.
• Bill's exterminators: Bugs. Dead. Now.

If addiction to price list advertising is hard for you to kick, here's the cure: Buy a newspaper ad and put all that item and price stuff in it. Then, tag your radio spots with "find out what the Low Price King has on sale this week - see our ad in the daily newspaper."

Take advantage of radio's theatre of the mind effect. Use it to position your company's image in the listener's mind. Hit them often, hit them hard, make it interesting. Soon, everyone in town will know your prices are the lowest. Or even better for you - they'll think they are!


Need help positioning your business with radio spots that sell? Come to Brown Cow Studios of Boston. Creative services to complete production and media buys. Get in touch with Fred@BrownCowStudios.com today!

Who's Your Betty Crocker?

People who follow this blog or our web site (www.BrownCowStudios.com) sometimes ask about our mascot, Brownie (that's her up there on the right). Why use a cow -- one who sticks her tongue out at you, no less -- to promote our studio?

The obvious answer, of course, is that we're called Brown Cow Studios, and Brownie is the Brown Cow. But she's more than that. Brownie is our Betty Crocker.

No doubt you're familiar with Betty Crocker. She's been adorning packages of General Mills cake mixes and baking products since 1921. Although she's only an artist's rendition of a typical home maker, people believe in Betty. She's one of the most well-known product spokespeople ever, whether real or imagined. Most of us assume that recipes or household tips with her name on them are good advice. Even though we know she's an advertising image, we trust her implicitly. We write to her for advice, or just to let her know we are fans.

Because Betty Crocker stands for something: Wholesomeness, family, American values, trust. Not bad for a fictitious advertising image!

So what about Brownie? What values does she embody? Well -- everybody who sees Brownie's picture smiles. That's a great place to start. Then too, in her own special way, Brownie is very cool. With her tongue sticking out at you she embodies a certain attitude of rebellion; she's hip. She's also a bit silly too, so she makes you feel good. Which, for Brown Cow Studios is the image we're looking for. Although video production and sound design is a serious business, it's a fun business too.

But most importantly, Brownie is an image people remember. That means they'll remember Brown Cow Studios too.

So... who's your Betty Crocker?


For cost-effective advertising ideas that bring in sales, get in touch with Brown Cow Studios of Boston.  Offering everything from complete creative services to professional production and media buys.   

Go Back in Time to Find Something New

Recently, I borrowed a couple of books about business writing from the library. I had hoped to find some good examples of moving sales letters and the like. But as I browsed them, I was quite disappointed. The letters weren't special; they were the kind of business letters we see every day.

They were a far cry from the letters in a two-volume set I came across a few years ago. The letters in this set, written in the 1920s or 30s, were creative and moving. To my 21st Century eyes, they were powerful and exciting.

Chances are they were typical business letters for their era, and had I perused the books when they were new I probably would have thought they were not anything special. But these days, they seemed refreshing.

A few weeks ago I was browsing radio station sites on the Internet, and came across one that was reusing a tag line from the early 70s. Back then, San Francisco top-40 station KYA was billing itself as playing "Music for the People." But in 2010, it was a news-talk formatted station that was using it. Their version was simply, "... for the people."

How appropriate that line seemed to be for a news-talk station today. "Of the people, by the people, for the people." I get it.

So all this got me thinking about some of the great ad campaigns of the past and how they might be adapted for use today.

For example, iconic 60s artist Peter Max once licensed his art to 72 corporations for use in their marketing. Though Peter is still going strong, his work isn't as ubiquitous as it once was. But it's still powerful. A campaign based on a similar, psychedelic style would seem refreshing today.

What about the anti-drug propaganda movie "Reefer Madness." The crazed, totally out of control drug users it portrays seem laughable to us today, but the producers were absolutely serious at the time. So what if an advertiser, let's say one who sells soap, were to spoof Reefer Madness: "This could happen to you if you don't use Cleano!" Or if you don't drink Red Bull. Or sleep between cotton sheets.

A great idea then is a great idea now. Find one, update it and make it your own. You'll have success.


For more great advertising ideas, come to Brown Cow Studios of Boston. Our full creative services and professional production bring in the sales. Drop a note to Fred Pagano and learn more!