• By Kathleen Ann
• Published 06/8/2008
• Copywriting

The second step to the 7 secrets of advertising is to get more prospects to read your ad till the end. After all, if we don’t get to fully inform our reader how can we expect them to make a buying decision. And fully informed means, reading your ad right to the very end. Here are 3 effective strategies to help you achieve this. 1. Break up your copy Remember your prospect is looking for a reason to turn the page or click off to another site so it’s not just what you say but how you present it. Use short paragraphs and sentences. And break up your copy with Subheadings. Subheads make it visually more appealing for the reader so they are more likely to start and continue reading if it looks easy. Just be sure that the copy that immediately follows is totally relevant to the headline. And that each section flows into the next. You should use them like bridges throughout your copy to move your reader from one point to the next – linking all the main elements of your letter. This also means that skimmers can quickly scan or scroll down your entire letter and still get the message even if they are not reading every word. 2. Turn features into benefits You’ve maybe heard that we’re all listening to our own radio station called WIIFM or “What’s In It For Me.” So if your prospect is thinking in “what’s-in-it-for-me” terms then you need to be writing in those terms. They will only be stopping on your ad long enough to see if there is a possible solution to their problem.

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nd to keep your reader interested you need to be writing in WIIFM terms throughout your copy. Not just in the headline. This means writing in benefits and not just features. Your prospect is not interested in your product or it’s features. They are only interested in what your product or service can do for them. A simple way to translate features into benefits is by using the 2 magic words “which means”. If for example you are selling a television set with a really big screen. You could write “The top model in the A-brand range has a big 60 inch TV screen which means you can create a movie theatre in your very own living room”. 3. Use bullets effectively Like subheads, bullet points help break up your sales letter and make it easy to ready as well as appeal to skimmers. People like that sort of checklist, like rapid fire. Some of the most effective bullets are – Blind bullets which are a teaser and don’t give anything tangible but they do create curiosity. – Give away bullets where you give the reader a nugget of tangible information which makes them think if you are giving this away the information you are selling must be really great and valuable. Use this sparingly, say one at the beginning and one at the end of your bullet list. – Short sentence bullets that let you pack in a lot of information in a concise way. Like a shorter version of a short paragraph. – Written in benefit terms that translate a feature into a benefit that solves the reader’s problem.

Use these techniques to have your prospect reading your letter or ad right till the end you are bound to increase your sales results. Especially if they trust what you say.

Direct response marketing expert Kathleen Ann is the “Marketing Champion for Small Business and entrepreneurs”. Delivering simple techniques and tools you can use to increase sales and profits. Sign up for her free audio workshop “7 Steps to Advertising Success” at http://www.PowerUpYourMarketing.com

by Kathleen Ann