Whether you are advertising an event, new product or a service, creating an ad can help you inform, persuade and even remind current and potential customers about your brand. Advertising ads are placed in many places, including newspapers, magazines and on websites, just to name a few. Regardless of where you place your advertisem*nt, successful ads contain five major parts.
A Catchy Headline
The headline is a major aspect of an advertisem*nt. It often appears at the top of an advertisem*nt or in the middle so that it immediately attracts attention from potential customers. Headlines contain a few words of text and they should be direct and to the point so as not to overwhelm readers.
Your headline should make a promise to the reader, stating what they’ll discover if they continue to read the rest of the advertisem*nt. The headline and its promise should address a concern, problem or interest your consumers have. Avoid "clickbait" headlines commonly found on "sponsored content" website ads.
An Effective Sub-headline
A sub-headline is one of the key components of advertising and appears directly under the headline. The text is typically smaller and it gives more insight into the product you are selling, while further outlining why the customer should care enough to keep reading. The sub-headline can be the length of a sentence.
Think of the headline as the quick hook that grabs a reader's attention, while the sub-head is teaser information that makes a reader want to find out more. You can try a question-and-answer combination, like, "Looking for a reliable house painter? Ask these five questions when interviewing painting companies."
Selling the Benefits
Quite often, people purchase for the benefits a product offers, not the product itself or its features, according to Entrepreneur magazine. That's why advertising often promises quality, affordability, convenience status, fun or another benefit.
For this reason, it is important to turn your product or service features into benefits. If you are selling a microwave, one feature is fast-cooking times, so a benefit might be that parents spend less time in the kitchen and families get to eat faster. If you're selling a food item, benefits consumers seek include health, weight loss, convenience, family acceptance and cost. You can list your benefits in bullet points, as individual words or even in paragraph form.
Images and Packaging
While not all ads contain images, many companies use images of their products, or people using their products, to grab consumer interest. Ensure that the image you use fits the scale of the advertisem*nt and is clear. If you do not use an image of your product, you can include an image of your logo.
Some products use a unique shape for their packaging or an identifiable color scheme. Think of Mrs. Butterworth's female-shaped syrup bottle or Progressive Insurance's blue-and-white theme
Call-to-action
Get your potential customers to act on your offer by including a call-to-action in your ad copy, recommends Inc. magazine. The call-to-action typically appears at the end of an advertisem*nt and is used to add a sense of urgency. It should instruct customers what steps they should take to purchase your item or sign up with a service through your company.
You can ask customers to visit your website, call to book an appointment or drop by your location. Adding a clearly visible toll-free number, address, website URL or Twitter handle is an important piece of a call to action.
