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What's In it for ME?

You may have said it yourself, "I've tried advertising and it just doesn't work." Or you may have heard others bemoan the same sentiments. As a marketing professional, I know that "advertising" per se, isn't the culprit here. The culprit here is poorly conceived and poorly executed advertising -- usually created by the business owner as opposed to an agency.

Don't get panicky, I'm not suggesting that you hire an expensive agency. What I am suggesting is that you learn how to do it right yourself.

As I browse through various publications, particularly those that are feasible advertising vehicles for small business owners, here is one of the biggest problems I see... starting the ad with the name of your company or product. Before starting to write this, I randomly opened a business newspaper -- I have two tabloid pages before me. There are five ads. Four of them start out with the company name. Only the fifth leads with a benefit and has a chance to succeed.

When writing your ad, put yourself in the shoes of your prospect who wants know, "What's in it for me?"

Let's pull one of these ads apart to show you exactly what I mean.

"Gordon Temporary Services" runs across the top of the first ad and is big and bold. "We'll help you get ahead" is placed in tiny copy next to a little cartoon character that's buried under paperwork. Their address and phone follow.

Well, what's in it for me? The statement "We'll help you get ahead" is probably the closest thing to a benefit, (the "what's in it for me" statement). It should be the headline!

The sign company on the same page, instead of throwing their name at the world, (Who cares what your name is?!!! What's in it for me???) would have been better served with a headline - like "Sign Up for Profits" or "Get Visible and Get More Business" ... now you've got an attention getting opener that says what's in it for the reader to continue reading on.

So let's dispel a myth. Nobody cares about your company name, (except you maybe) until you've convinced them you have something of value to offer them.

Headlines are the most important element of your ad. They account for 70% of its readership. They should be big and bold and speak to the reader's self interest.

I, I, I, I, I, I, I - writing about yourself and not to your reader is the next response stopper. Direct your copy to the reader and you'll keep his or her attention. Yet what I see reads something like "Our company won awards for..." "We help you get ahead..." etc. I call it the I, me, we syndrome, and it's really common.

For instance, "Our company won awards for..." might be changed to "You'll have an award winning company on your team..." and "We help you get ahead..." could change to "Get ahead easily -- with a little help..."

No need to get crazy if you have some of these habits (and most people do), there's a simple cure. See the column on the right for an easy solution.

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Jody Hornor

By: Jody Hornor

(800) 989-8112
 

The Solution...
Take the first draft of your ad, brochure copy, or sales letter. Circle in red all the I's, me's, we's, and our's you find. Now take a blue pen. Circle all the you's and your's and implied usages of their name. For instance, "get ahead" implies the personal pronoun "you'll get ahead".

Do you have a lot of red marks? Then rewrite your copy to talk to your reader -- not about yourself.

Do you have blue marks in nearly every sentence? If not, re-write your copy to speak directly to your reader.

If you're asking yourself, "What's in it for me?" if you implement these simple, yet effective copyrighting tricks, the answer is a better return for your advertising investment.

Associated articles:
How to Make Your Advertising Work

Hiring The Right Talent:
Advertising Agencies & Designers