Why Regular Styled Adverts Are Dead

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Contents About Dan Castle ......................................................................................1 How to grow your business using this manual ....................................2 Increase your sales, profit and personal wealth – using the secrets the national newspapers DON’T want you to know ......................................................................4 Why advertising your business is the greatest investment you could ever make ............................................................6 EXPOSED:The real reason why 97% of adverts fail to demand attention and pull a response

Are you making this mistake with your advertising? ....................8 5 Case Studies ......................................................................................11 The ineffective Ad-Trap test ..............................................................16 You have to sell the sizzle NOT the steak ..................................18 The FIVE biggest advertising myths and facts ..............................22 REVEALED:The four Response Winning Secrets the national press DON’T want you to know...

Response Secret 1 ..............................................................................25 Why you should NEVER let a newspaper design your ad ........30 Response Secret 2 ..............................................................................31 Response Secret 3 ..............................................................................34 Response Secret 4 ..............................................................................43 The accumulative power of the Response Secrets......................47 EXCLUSIVE:The 3 Super-Growth strategies guaranteed to supercharge your marketing success...

Super-Growth Strategy 1:..................................................................49 Super-Growth Strategy 2:..................................................................54 Super-Growth Strategy 3:..................................................................56

Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1

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Why Regular Styled Adverts Are DEAD!

About Dan Castle Described as a 'British Super-Hack,' Dan Castle has over 12 years’ experience working from the bottom to the top in national newspapers. From Coffee-Boy at The Sunday Mirror to Assistant Editor on the Irish edition of The Sun, Dan Castle has done it all. His career spans top-selling national titles such as The Sunday Mirror, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Mirror, The Times, The People and The Sun. He has also assisted heavily with the launch of two regional papers and three best-selling magazines. He has designed over 2,300 top-selling front pages and countless more inside spreads, pages, features and pull-outs. Quite frankly, what he doesn't know about demanding attention and capturing interest through copywriting and design isn't worth knowing. For the first time since leaving the industry in 2010, he reveals the very same £billion copywriting, design and response secrets the national press use to sell millions of editions every day - and how you can apply the very same powerful techniques and design approach to your marketing material. On a mission to lift the lid on the industry in order to help business owners just like you, Dan Castle’s National Newspaper Copywriting and Design Secrets WILL increase your sales, multiply your profits and super-charge your personal wealth – the minute you apply them – guaranteed.


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Newspaper Secrets: REVEALED

How to grow your business using this manual Before we get started, I would quickly like to cover how I intend this report to be used. I say report, but as it's grown, I've come to think of it more as a 'how to' instruction manual. This means, as you read it through and apply each and every technique that I've revealed to your advertising material, you WILL see an increase in response. Because of this, you need to read every page in the order I have written them. I know only too well you will be tempted to flick ahead to certain parts - this is fine, feel free. Just as long as you realise that, to truly benefit from the information I have revealed, you need to read each part in full and in the order I have presented them. Just like with any other instruction manual, jumping ahead a few steps will certainly speed up the time it takes to repair the problem. But unless you fix every little step along the way, your repair won't hold. Sooner or later it will break, leaving you to start all over again - often with more parts than you started with! It's like fixing a car engine. In order to get the engine running again, a few short-cuts can be made. Okay, the engine will run well enough and it may get you to the nearest garage. But in order to fix it so that it really purrs along and operates at its full potential, the problem needs to be diagnosed. Then, if needs be, every single cog, piston, belt, nut and bolt may require cleaning, fixing or tuning before it's put back into its correct position.


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Only when the engine has had a complete overhaul will the problem be truly fixed - and the same is true of your advertising. Just like fixing an engine requires an instruction manual, so does fixing your advertising.

“You must take action - simply knowing how to increase response is NOT the same as actually increasing it”

Tests have proven that by highlighting or underlining text, you are five times more likely to remember the information you read. Therefore I want you to read this manual with a pen and a highlighter close to hand. This is the reason behind the printing of blank left hand pages and wide margins to the inside of each page. Please use this space to make notes, draw arrows or anything else that may help you. Finally, you must act upon the advice. Simply knowing how to increase your response is not the same as actually increasing it. You have taken action in claiming this manual. In order to get a return on your advertising investment, you must now take that action one step further. Remember: the techniques revealed in this manual are the very same £billion copywriting, design and response techniques the national newspapers use to ensure they sell in excess of a million editions daily.

T he wide mar gin s ar e per f ec t f or jo t ting do wn no te s

This means the minute you apply the copywriting, design and response secrets I have exposed in this manual in the specific order I have revealed them, you will immediately drive your response rate up 20% – 500% - often even more. So grab a pen, a highlighter and then turn the page as we start to pick the lock of successful advertising.


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Increase your sales, profit and personal wealth – using the secrets the national newspapers DON’T want you to know There’s a joke that goes around every newspaper newsroom towards the end the night when the advertisements are placed on the pages just before they are sent to the printers.And here’s the sad thing – if you have ever advertised in a local or national newspaper or magazine, this joke’s on you. Let me explain... You see, in the newsroom, hours are spent carefully writing, designing and crafting each and every page. Meticulous attention is given to what key response-pulling words are used in the headlines and what attentiondemanding fonts are used to present each article. Every photograph is hand-picked (often from hundreds) for its story appeal and every column, caption, colour, word, paragraph and rule is painstakingly positioned to guarantee every page and every story demands attention and captures interest the minute you turn the page. And then the adverts arrive on the pages. Big blobs of creative randomness with no skill and no attention given to the techniques required in order to capture the eye as it scans over a page. Just large squares of bold ‘here I am, here’s my product, buy me!’ sales messages. Presented in fancy fonts too hard to read and flooded with


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colours that actually do their best to repel the eye. Nearly all carry a large in-your-face logo, phone number and dreary photographs. So this is the joke that goes around every newsroom and magazine design department every day: “Why do companies insist on wasting their money with these crazy looking adverts? We spend hours crafting our pages so that they capture awareness. When will they realise they should just copy us?”

Well finally, the joke stops here... I’ve left my position as Assistant Editor on a national newspaper to lift the lid on the local and national newspaper industry in order to help business owners just like you generate substantially more from your advertising Frankly, if you want to dramatically increase the response you garner from your advertising efforts, it’s critical you rapidly adopt and implement the powerful copywriting and design techniques the national newspapers use to sell millions of editions daily. This means, the minute you apply the closely guarded and powerfully influential copywriting and design secrets I am about to reveal to your next advertising campaign, you WILL immediately increase your sales, multiply your profits and boost your personal wealth – guaranteed!


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Advertising your business is the greatest investment you could ever make If you want to become financially independent, there are two ways you can do it.You can invest in a passive growth vehicle, like stocks and shares or property. Or you can generate it yourself by marketing your business. If you have the patience and are willing to wait, you can invest in trusts, annuities or mutual funds but these take time to mature and you have to be prepared for the long-haul. But in business you are in control of your results - meaning you can accumulate wealth considerably faster.

Here’s an example... Let’s say you are in the garden centre business. You specialise in growing low maintenance garden plants and sell them at your store. Your latest stock of plants are fully grown and ready to be sold, so you decide to run an advert in your local newspaper. Your advert cost you £1,000. Every plant you sell costs the customer £29 from which you make £24 profit. Currently you sell an average of 50 plants from every advert. So you make £200 profit. (50 plants x £24 profit = £1,200 minus £1,000 ad cost = £200 profit). But what if I could show you how to increase the number of plants you sell without increasing the size of your advert? What if I showed you a way of transforming your advert content in order to incorporate the key elements of response the national newspapers use in order to sell millions of editions daily?


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What if I showed you how to use these copywriting and design secrets to significantly increase your response? With the right choice of words, design and responseelements in your advert, your sales can increase by 20%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 500% or more and all for the same ad spend.

“Advertising your business is the greatest investment you could ever make”

But before you accuse me of being overzealous, let me illustrate why advertising your business is the greatest investment you could ever make. Let’s assume you apply the Winning Response Secrets I am about to reveal to your next advert and sales increase by just 50%.

Here’s what would happen... Previously, you were making £200 profit per £1,000 advert. In other words, you were achieving a 20% growth on your money: (£1,000 to £1,200 = 20%.) Not bad. Your new advert increases your sales by 50%. Now you sell 75 plants instead of 50. Your profit skyrockets from £200 to £800 per advert - a 400% increase in profit on the same £1,000 investment (75 plants x £24 profit = £1,800 minus £1,000 ad cost = £800 profit.) You have increased your return on investment simply by recognising and gaining leverage on an asset you already have – in this case, your advertising. This is what makes advertising your business the greatest investment you could ever make. No other investment I know of can generate such high returns with such little or no risk. The truth is, if you want to be financially independent, there are two ways you can do it, you can invest - or you can scientifically advertise and grow your business with my help.

Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1: Part 1

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EXPOSED: The real reason why 97% of adverts fail to demand attention and pull a response – are you making the same mistake? Pick up any newspaper or magazine, what are you guaranteed to find at least one of on every page? That’s right – adverts. In fact we’re surrounded by advertising and it’s not just in our favourite newspaper or magazine. Advertising is absolutely everywhere and, as technology advances, it will only create more inventive places and ways for businesses to project their sales message. From the minute we open our eyes to last thing at night, we are under constant ‘ad-attack’ from businesses trying to make us part with our hard-earned money. Just think about all the places we find adverts... ❖

We wake up to adverts on the radio

❖

We dig through flyers and blind mail-shots to find our morning post

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They pepper our newspapers and magazines

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We are handed leaflets in the street

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We pass billboards and a-boards on nearly every road

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We sit behind buses and taxis shrouded in ads

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They arrive in our inbox almost hourly

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They pop up uninvited on our computer screens


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❖


They interrupt our favourite television shows and call us on the phone...

My point is, consumers are under constant ‘ad-attack’. From morning to night we’re offered:

“In response to ‘ad-attack’ people have switched off to regular styled advertising”

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The latest iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia or app

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Faster Laptops, desktops or touch-screen tablets

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Car, health, home, travel, pet or wedding insurance

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Health food, fast food, organic or free-range food

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Furniture, property, conservatories and summer houses

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Holidays, breaks for days or weekends away

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Gifts for our loved ones, gifts for ourselves

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City cars, luxury cars, small vans, large vans

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Kids’ clothes, sports clothes and this season’s must-haves

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Bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms

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Jewellry, watches, perfume

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CDs, DVDs, the most futuristic, flattest, 3-D, HD TVs

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Cheap electric, broadband

gas,

telephone calls

or

super-fast

The list is truly endless. Frankly, we are under ‘advertising-attack!’ We’re not safe in our homes, on the street or at work. Regardless of where we turn, we are under constant advertising-fire. We live under a continuous barrage of sales messages constantly pressuring and tempting us to part with our savings. And here’s the first critical mistake 97% of business owners make with their adverts, leaflets, company brochures, sales letters or product catalogues – they style them to appear just like any other ad, leaflet, brochure, letter or catalogue.


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This approach to advertising is nothing more than a waste of your precious cash resources. In response to constant ‘ad-attack,’ people have simply switched off to regular advertising. They’ve grown numb towards the constant bombardment of adverts that hit them every day.

“Institutional styled adverts, although graphically pleasing,will always fail to pull a response”

Frankly, we have evolved strategies to ignore regularstyled advertising. More specifically, we have grown numb to one particular style of advertising – institutional-styled advertising. What is institutional-styled advertising? Institutional-styled advertising is the most commonly adopted style of advertising we see around us everyday. In fact, 97% of the adverts, leaflets, brochures, letters and catalogues I see on a daily basis are institutionally styled. Take a look at the selection of adverts over the following five pages. Although they range from service providers to retail, they all have one thing in common. They all look like regular adverts. In other words they look just like all the other adverts that fill local and national newspapers and magazines on a daily basis. They all feature: ❖

Prominent company logos

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Large photos

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Large lines of type stating the ‘offer’

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Bullet points of information

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Fancy fonts

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Large phone numbers

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Colourful backgrounds and creative shapes

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All have been creatively designed

Look at these five examples...


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CASE STUDY 1 ‘BEFORE’

Ads that look like adsfailto demand attention Although amusing at first with its large puppy image, this advert is a typical example of ineffective ‘image’ or ‘institutional’ styled advertising. A large phone number, company name and bold colour panels are immediate ‘advert’ giveaways. The truth is, people are immune to this regular style of advertising. It does nothing to demand attention from the page. Before being restyled, this ad was hardly pulling a single response. On page 28, you’ll discover why this advert now consistently pulls orders every time it runs.

BEFORE:

THIS AD FAILED TO PULL RESPONSE


AFTER:

TURN TO PAGE 27

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Massive company logos are an advert giveaway Placing your company logo at the top of your advert is the biggest mistake I see businesses make with their advertising. Many businesses feel their logo must feature on their advert as a way of ‘keeping their name out there’.The truth is, placing a company logo anywhere on your ad only helps your advert look like an advert! Logos can actually drive response down. Prior to being re-styled, this advert was failing to generate a single response – no coupons were collected at the the checkout. NO COUPONS TO COLLECTED PAGE 32 BEFORE: WERE AFTER: TURN


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People donot respond to bullet points... Simply stating the prospective benefits you can expect to receive from using your service or product will almost always fail to stir a response. Listing features with bullet points, like this ad, is another big mistake I see businesses making with their adverts everyday. It’s a myth that people won’t read your advert if you fill it with copy – tests have proven adverts filled with informative and interesting copy always out-pull ads that use bullet points. Response to this advert was extremely low. Turn to page 36 to see why it now pulls in over 50 enquiries every time it appears.

TO TO THIS PAGE 35 BEFORE: RESPONSE ADVERT WAS LOW AFTER: TURN


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You have togivea reason or reasonsto respond Failing to motivate action is the number one error made by 97% percent of adverts that run in local and national newspapers and magazines. Relying on a customer to take action is crazy! It only takes a second for them to notice something else on the page and you will lose their focus forever. Therefore you must call for action at the end of your advertisement. Prior to being restyled this kitchen advert was running at a loss. The new version on page 45 now calls for action every time it appears in print.

THIS AD WAS NOT TO FOR ITSELF PAGE 44 BEFORE: PAYING AFTER: TURN


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Your ads should locate prospects near you Displaying your products on your ad and then expecting new business to come to you is not the most effective way to use your advertising space. The ‘here I am, here’s my products, call me’ approach to advertising will always fail to generate much response. Instead, your advert should ‘locate’ prospective customers in your area that are interested in what it is you sell. Before this advert was restyled, response was very low. It now pulls 400% more response every time it runs. Find out why on page 53

TO THIS TO AD WAS VERY LOW PAGE 52 BEFORE: RESPONSE AFTER: TURN


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This is institutional-styled advertising – these ads and leaflets follow the institutionally adopted name, rank and Serial Number approach to advertising. Let me explain: NAME: This is the company name or logo. Often the

name will feature prominently at the top of the advert. RANK: This is represented either by a large picture of

the product for sale or large type stating the service offered. Serial Number: Often found at the bottom of the ad

the serial number is the contact details of the company, usually a large telephone number and address. This is the number one critical mistake 97% of business owners make when producing their marketing material. They adopt the institutionally styled name, rank and serial number approach – often simply because they don’t know otherwise. FACT: Adverts that look like adverts, leaflets that look like leaflets and brochures that look like run-ofthe-mill company brochures will almost always fail to demand any attention.As soon as you fully grasp this, you can start to twist the odds of successful advertising in your favour.

Take this quick test to see if your marketing material has fallen into the ‘institutional’ advertising trap: Does your company name or logo feature prominently on your adverts, leaflets, brochure or sales letters? Do you have a large picture of your product on your ad? Do you state in a large font the service that you offer? Do you have ‘established since’ line printed on your advert?


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Do you use bullet points to explain what your product or service offers? Was it designed by a ‘creative’ design agency? Was it designed by you or did a friend produce it for you? Did a newspaper, magazine or printer design it for you, possibly even for free in order to secure the sale? “Have you fallen into the ineffective ad-trap that imprisons 97% of business owners?”

Do you show a picture of your office building on your ad? Is it colourful or does it feature a coloured background? Is it creative and graphically appealing? If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, I urge you to cancel your next insertion, print run or mailshot immediately! You are not getting the maximum return possible from your advertising spend. By answering yes you have identified your advertising is institutional – meaning it looks like any other ad, leaflet, brochure, catalogue or sales letter out there. You have fallen into the institutional advertising trap. Your style of advertising has joined the 97% of adverts, leaflets and brochures that are inadvertently styled to appear like adverts. REMEMBER: Consumers live under ‘advertisingattack’ and in defence against this they have simply switched off. They have put up their barriers and no longer pay attention to the constant onslaught of advertising that surrounds them on a daily basis.

My advice, if you’ve think or know your advertising is institutionally styled, is to cancel and put on hold all your advertising activity immediately. You’ve fallen into the ineffective ad-trap that imprisons 97% of business owners. In order to break free and garner the maximum from your marketing material, it is essential you adopt the secret design and copywriting techniques the national newspapers use to sell millions of editions daily.


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People want results you have to sell the sizzle NOT the steak The real reason 97% of adverts fail to pull a response is quite simply because hardly anyone pays any attention to the adverts that pepper a newspaper or magazine page. For reasons you now know, people have grown immune to advertising that institutionally appears like advertising. Sure, institutional-styled adverts will pull some response, but it will only attract people who have made up their mind and already decided they want to buy. In order to ‘catch’ a sale, institutional-styled adverts literally hang around on a page waiting for someone who is on the verge of buying anyway to drift by.

In fact, on average, Name, rank and Serial Number styled adverts only attract one to ten per cent of potential buyers as they pass over the page. This leaves 90% to 99% more potential buyers, who would otherwise be interested in your product or service, free to turn the page! The problem with the institutional approach is two fold. Firstly, 97% of adverts are inadvertently designed to look like adverts and, as you now know, ads that look like ads are simply ignored. Secondly, institutional-styled adverts fail to give the customer a single reason to respond. So they fail to sell the results of the product or service on offer.


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Name, rank and Serial Number styled adverts simply

stand on a page, shouting ‘Here I am! Buy my product! Call me!’. Do you really think this approach to selling is the most effective way of trying to educate a person on the reasons why their life would be enhanced if they owned your product or used your service?

“Results sell, remember: you are selling the sizzle NOT the steak”

Do you think a car salesman would hit his target if every time a prospective customer wondered on to the forecourt, he pounced on them, banged his hand on the car roof and yelled “My name’s Dave! Buy this car! Call me!” This selfish me-the-business style of selling will almost always fail to stir a response. Institutional-styled advertising not only fails to capture attention, it also fails to educate prospects on the reasons why customers should invest in your products or service. Simply shouting “Here I am, come and get it!” is never going to attract the maximum response possible. In short, you can’t sell to people. In order to turn the odds of winning a sale in your favour, you need to understand that people will only buy from you once they have decided they want or need what it is you offer. Therefore it’s critical your advertisements educate and inform people on the advantages from which they can expect to benefit once they own or use your service.

Why? Because results sell! Imagine you own a restaurant. Instead of advertising your menu and prices, sell the experience of dining in your lovely surroundings and paint the picture of how taking a loved one to your establishment for a special occasion will make that occasion a memorable one. If you install double-glazing, don’t just sell your latest UPVC range of windows. Instead sell the increased security your windows will offer or the savings that can be made through


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enhanced insulation. Offering a free report educating people on ‘The five biggest mistakes people make when updating their double glazing’ may just persuade people already thinking about renewing their windows to get in touch.

“You must educate your prospects on the benefits and results they can expect from using your product or service”

If you sell furniture, don’t just tell people the latest sale prices of your sofas, tell them how modern and comfortable their living room will look and how jealous their friends will be when they visit. Running a competition to give away a complete furniture suite would be a great way of collecting the contact details of readers who are currently thinking about upgrading their furniture. It may cost you to give a suite away for free, but how valuable would the contact details of 100, 200 even 500 ready-to-buy prospects be in comparison? If you’re an osteopath, don’t advertise your opening hours and address. Tell people how visiting you will finally put stop to sleepless nights in pain from that constant backache. Offering a free consultation under the banner ‘Exclusive Reader Offer’ would certainly ensure you capture names and addresses of people in your area who were in pain and would benefit from your service. Another example of ineffective Name, rank and Serial Number styled advertising can be found in local directories and Yellow Pages. They contain page after page of institutionally styled ‘Here I am! Use my service! Call me!’ adverts. In fact, if you swapped all the logos around, no one would ever know the difference! REMEMBER:Whatever type of business you are in, whatever it is you are selling, you are actually only selling one thing… RESULTS!


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Yellow pages ad This typical Yellow Pages advert was failing to generate business for this client.After testing a new advert approach in the local paper, the new Yellow Pages ad now generates streams of bookings

BEFORE:

THIS STYLE OF AD DOES NOT WORK

AFTER:

TURN TO PAGE 47


All look the same The problem with Yellow Pages ads is they all look the same.You could almost swap the logos and no one would notice! The new version of this adverts out-pulls the original by 370% TO THIS TO AD WAS VERY LOW PAGE 47 BEFORE: RESPONSE AFTER: TURN


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The five biggest advertising design myths and facts Institutional Design Myth 1: Before it is printed, advertisements must first ‘look’ good.

Fact:

Many business owners judge their advertising solely on the ‘look and feel’ of their material. For years, well-meaning advertising sales people have sold the need to advertise on the theory it pays to keep your business name in front of the customers. Very few companies actually expect this to generate sales. In fact, one thing that amazes me is the number of advertising award ceremonies held across the world in which advertising agencies battle it out for prizes given for graphically appealing advertisements. REMEMBER: It doesn’t matter how good your advertising looks, it’s the response you get from it that counts. I am not saying your advertising shouldn’t look good. All I am saying is your primary goal when planning to advertise should be, ‘Will this advert pull a response?’

Institutional Design Myth 2: Your company name or logo needs to be prominent on your marketing material, irrespective of how familiar your company or service is to your prospective customers, clients or patients.

Fact:


You should always place your company name

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or logo at the bottom of your material, never at the top. Think about it – logos are an advertisement give-away.

Institutional Design Myth 3: Avoid using reply coupons or response forms because they look ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘unprofessional’. “People crave information, especially when they are about to spend their money”

Fact:

Many design agencies frown on reply coupons and response forms because, once again, they don’t ‘look good.’ However, a reply coupon or response form has the ability to double your advertising response-rate immediately.

Institutional Design Myth 4: Limit the amount of words you use on your adverts. Instead use bullet points and plenty of ‘artistic’ white space.

Fact:

This is the biggest myth and number one mistake business owners make with their marketing. You cannot ever hope to get a high response to your advertising if you don’t give people a reason (or several reasons) to respond. This means that your advertisement needs to be crammed full of information. Contrary to popular belief, an advertisement crammed full of relevant copy always and substantially wins over an advertisement with lots of ‘artistic’ white space. The reason for this is simple... People crave information, especially when they are about to spend their money. Think back for a moment. What was the last expensive item you bought? For me, it was a SLR digital camera for the studio. Now, I bet, just like me when you bought your latest investment, you craved information about it?


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I wanted to know everything there was to know about digital cameras before I handed over a single penny. I wanted to know the difference between digital and optical zoom, what features were most useful and what cameras would be compatible with the computers and so on. It frustrated me that every leaflet or brochure I picked up from the local shops just showed pictures with bullet points of information. Sure, the brochures were colourful and glossy, but all I wanted was a simple sheet of information telling me all there was to know about digital cameras! REMEMBER: The More You Tell, The More You Sell... Your advertisement is nothing more than salesmanship-in-print.

Institutional Design Myth 5: You should always use a design agency to create your adverts.

Fact:

Every profession has its professionals. You should only ever use a design agency that understands and uses ‘news-styled’ advertising principles. All other ‘creative’ design agencies will never get anywhere near the results you should expect from your advertising.


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Response Secret 1: Newspapers are masters at demanding attention Now you know the real reason why 97% of adverts, leaflets, brochures, sales-letters and product catalogues fail to pull a response. So what about the remaining winning 3%? 3% of adverts I see running in national and local newspapers and magazines understand fully that institutionalstyled advertising fails to pull a response simply because it fails to capture attention from the page. They understand that no one looks at the adverts. They’ve switched on to what it is people are really looking at on the pages. The winning 3% have realised it’s the news articles and editorial features that surround the adverts – that get all the attention.

People read news, NOT adverts In response to this, the winning 3% mimic the newspapers and magazines at their own game and style their adverts so that they appear like news stories or features, just like the editorials that surround them on the page. FACT: People do not notice or pay particular attention to advertisements when they scan over a page. They’re too busy looking at the editorials that surround them.

What does this mean? Copy the masters at their own game by styling your next advertisement so it appears like a


25



news article on the page and you WILL increase response 20%-500%, often even more. Guaranteed.

“Your adverts must be engineered to catch and lead the eye”

You may not realise it but newspapers and magazines are masters at attracting your attention through powerful, age-old design techniques. Every single page from the front page to the back is crammed full of specific attentiongrabbing optical design techniques. Used correctly, these design techniques capture your attention and draw your eye across a page in a predetermined pattern. Highly skilled page designers in newsrooms across the country engineer their pages knowing exactly what will capture your eye, where it will lead it and how to draw it deeper into an article. I can remember my first day like it was yesterday. Eager to impress, I spent roughly an hour designing my first ever national newspaper page. I chose what pictures to use. I chose what fonts and what size of font were most suitable. I chose the colours that looked best and where I would place them. I chose what column width to use and how many columns were required. In short, I chose what went where and what wouldn’t. After a while of moving the elements of the page around and then moving them back again, I was confident I had produced a masterpiece. Convinced the editor would share my confidence and be equally impressed, I took it to his office for approval... Imagine my horror when he quickly pointed out that I had forgotten to leave space for the main headline! My picture choice was also ineffective and I had positioned them in the wrong place. The fonts I had chosen were hard to read and too small in places. My columns were too wide to be of any use and my colours clashed!


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CASE STUDY 1 ‘AFTER’

Newsstyled ads demand attention People don’t buy newspapers and magazines to look at the adverts. They buy them to read the articles that surround them. Style your next advert so that it appears like a mini news story on the page and you will dramatically increase the amount of attention you demand from the page.Test prove editorials receive 600% more interest than adverts

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The first real advance in carpet cleaning for years Since the dawn of cleaning, the method used to clean carpets had been to spray water onto your carpet to soak it, and then extract the water (and dirt) with a powerful vacuum. There is no doubt this timehonoured system is effective. But it leaves your carpets wet and unusable for up to 24 hours. It’s a real nuisance! Especially at this time of year when its colder. You don’t want to leave the windows open for hours to help dry the carpets.

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bookings are being taken weeks in advance. But the Kent depot has only just received delivery of the really works! The first time I new machines. saw it demonstrated, I was That’s why they have amazed. agreed to make a special, Here’s how it works. A one-time-only offer to Gazette circular, revolving pad is Newspaper readers. impregnated with cleaning But they told me they have fluid. It gently rubs your to limit the offer to 21 days, carpet and extracts dirt-like otherwise they wont be able to rubbing your hands together handle the volume of bookings when washing them. that they will receive. (I believe This rubbing motion means it-this machine is impressive.) far less water is needed to For this reason, I urge you extract the dirt. to pick up the phone right now That’s the secret. The pad and book your ‘Express Newspicks up so much dirt it’s paper £39-a-room Dry-Force incredible. You’ll be surprised carpet clean’. Call Swan Cleanat how dirty the pad is after ing on 01304 888 564 now. cleaning! If you’re not 100% delightBecause substantially less ed you get your clean FREE water is needed, your carpets The Swan Cleaning guaranare dry within 60 minutes of cleani ng. I n fact, Swan tee to you is simple. If-for any reason whatsoever-you are not Cleaning guarantees it. If your carpets are not impressed and delighted with completely and utterly dry the quality and effectiveness and usable (you can replace of the clean, or you don’t your furniture and walk in and agree that your carpets are use the room as normal) 100% dry and usable within within only 60 minutes after just 60 minutes, tell them cleaning, just tell them and the same or next day, and they will cancel your invoice. they will give you a 100% refund or cancel the invoice. That’s how effective this No questions asked. new Dry-Force system is. They Personally, I have never known are also including free stain a carpet cleaning company to be protection! this confident. You can’t loose a Hurry-offer available penny by accepting this special for next 21 days only offer. And you will end up with This Dry-Force cleaning is beautifully cleaned carpets for becoming so popular with pennies on the pound! Call Swan customers in other areas, Cleaning now on 01304 888 564.

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“This carpet cleaning company generated £5,850 in 37 days simply by switching their advertising from regular-styled to news-styled Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1

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I had no cross-heads to keep the reader glued to the copy and I had styled my copy wrongly. I had no drop-caps and no bold intro. My line spacing was a mess, my space between paragraphs was out, my line indents were missing and my tracking was too tight... The list went on. To be honest, I’m surprised I wasn’t sacked there and then on the spot! Instead, he sat me down and explained in detail how I had failed to create a ‘natural flow for the eye’ across the page. In a nutshell, I had failed to apply the science behind laying out a successful newspaper page.

Many people don’t realise it, but newspapers use science when setting out their pages just like supermarkets use science to keep you in their stores. From the lighting in the fruit and veg aisle to the tiles they use on the floor, everything is very carefully thoughtout. Often the bakery is positioned next to the entrance as nothing triggers a hunger better than the smell of fresh bread. Frequently, supermarkets will avoid having clocks on display to ensure you loose track of time while browsing the aisles. Most choose to do away with windows for the same reason. After all, the last thing they want you to do is realise that it’s dark outside or finally stopped raining. Just like supermarkets, newspapers and magazines use science to keep you interested in what you are reading. From where they position the headline and what font they use to present it, what photos they show and where they place the photos in relation to the headline. What caption they give the photo and where they decide to print it, everything is done for a purpose. Nothing is placed on a page without careful consideration. Every element of every page is meticulously engineered


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in order to ensure it attracts maximum attention. Where the headline goes in relation to the second, much smaller headline, known as the sub-deck, where the pictures go in relation to the headline, where the text should go, how the text should be styled and what typeface’s should be used, these are all very carefully considered.

“Styling your advert so that it appears like news will rapidly your increase sales”

Should a by-line sit on the first or second column, how many lines should a drop-cap descend. Should the page carry a kicker panel or possibly a reversed out panel. Will a pull quote work better than a cross-head at demanding attention, what colours should be used, how many columns should the text be arranged in. Will the opening paragraph be bold or will a serif font work better, what line spacing will help, is the tracking too tight, does a headline need kerning? Will indents be required or will paragraph spacing be used, will underscores attract the eye or will they make the page appear too busy? Sounds technical, right? Every design element of a newspaper page is scientifically selected in order to ensure the eye is attracted and then drawn in and over a page. Newspaper page-designers use science to influence what you look at and in what order. It is these very same design techniques that the winning 3% of adverts I see running daily use to guarantee they grab your attention off the page. In short, styling your advert so that it appears like an editorial news story or feature article on the page will skyrocket the response it garners. Increases of 20%-500% (often more) can be made overnight simply by switching from institutional to news-style advertising.


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“Only ever use a design studio that understands news-styled advertising”


Why you should never let a newspaper design your advert for FREE In order to secure your business, newspapers will almost always offer to design your advert for free. In fact, they have a small department of designers whose job it is to churn out these free adverts all day long. If a newspaper designs your advert, the chances are that a graphic designer with absolutely no marketing experience whatsoever will design it in under fifteen minutes. The designers who design the adverts are NOT the same highly skilled ‘page’ designers that design the newspaper pages. REMEMBER: The ONLY reason a newspaper will offer to design your advert is because they want to secure your business.Adverts that are designed by in-house advert designers will HARDLY EVER pull a response.


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Response Secret 2: You have only four seconds to capture interest Styling your advertisements so that they appear like news articles, editorial features or exclusive reports on a page will certainly ensure you win more attention. But to truly drive up response, sales and your bottom line profits, your advertising needs to capture your prospective customers’ interest. In brief, you need to convert their attention towards your ad, leaflet or brochure into genuine interest. So how do you turn attention into interest? By giving your advert a strong, benefit-orientated headline. Tests have proven that headlines alone can increase response by 500%. But why are they so effective at capturing interest? It’s all down to the way people read newspapers and magazines. The next time you see someone reading a newspaper, take a second to actually watch how they read it. Watch closely as they turn each page. More importantly, pay attention to their eyes. As they turn each page, you’ll notice how their eyes dart randomly across the page. What is it they are looking at? It’s the headlines! FACT: You have just four seconds to capture a prospective customer’s interest from the page.

Headlines sell papers. A newspaper or magazine without a headline on its front page simply wouldn’t sell. How would it attract readers on the newsstands? How would it direct people to read its pages if these pages were awash with pictures and stories presented with no particular hierarchy or order.


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Get one of these stunning Chinese Black Bamboo... But hurry, it is so unique we can only get 417 on a first-come, first-serve basis... HIS stunning, unusual black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) was introduced from China in 1827, and has thrived in this country ever since- if you hurry, you can get one of only 417 young black bamboo we have secured a t a price you’ll love!

Replace T your logo witha headline

Logos are an advert giveaway. Remember you have just four seconds to capture a potential customers interest. Replace your company log with a compelling headline like the advert shown here and you will dramatically increase your response. This garden centre sold 75 black bamboo plants from one insertion in a gardening magazine printed in Ireland. This advert runs monthly featuring a new plant each time.


It has become one of the most sought after bamboo in Europe because of its unusual black cane colour–you might have seen it pictured; its thick canes mature to a gorgeous shiny black, and its leaves are bright green. The contrast with other plants in your garden is fantastic. The problem is there is more demand than supply.

Why the black bamboo is unusual

We think that when we give you such a great offer, and you experience our high quality service and excellent healthy plants, it is quite li kely you will want to buy more plants from us in the future... but there is absolutely no obligation.

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Every plant you ever buy from Orchard Home and Garden - includThe black bamboo is slow growing ing this stunning black bamboo- is and non invasive. The canes take up 100% guaranteed to be of the highto 3 years to mature from an intense est pedigree, carefully prepared and deep green to the deep solid black it packed, and perfectly healthy on is famous for. With masses of delicate, arrival at your address. foliage that shimmers in the slightest If– for any reason whatsoever –you Hurry: Stock are limited breeze, contrasting with the jet black don't agree that the black bamboo you canes–giving an oriental mystical effect. receive is stunning and 100% healthy, simply return We have managed to secure 417 beautiful spec- the plant within 30 days, for a prompt and courimens from a specialist Italian grower. These plants teous full 100% refund. No questions asked. come supplied to you as fresh, young, well rooted But hurry! As this is such a fantastic unrepeatplants–approx 4ft in height with between 3 to 5 able offer, and for this reason we must restrict this canes per plant. And will mature into stunning black offer to 1 plant per person only, as there are only bamboo within 2 years. 417 of these plants available at this MAD €29 price! Even better, you should expect to pay €60 - €100 Get your magnificent, low or more for a mature black bamboo–but we are making maintenance black bamboo today! these 417 plants available for just €29 plus p&p Simply call freephone 1800 513 8976 with your Why is this fantastic bamboo credit card ready for €31.95 (lines open Monday available for this low price? To Saturday 9am to 5pm) or send a cheque payable Frankly, we want to impress you so much with to Orchard Home and Garden, Dublin Road, this introductory offer, that you will want to become Celbridge, Kildare. Confirmation of your order and one of our long- term customers. That’s the reason receipt of your payment will be sent by first class we want to ETHICALLY BRIBE YOU with this post. Plants will be individually reserved and dispatched at the perfect planting time. MAD black bamboo offer!

“This garden centre switched it’s advertising ‘style’ and sold all 417 black bamboo plants in just one month – generating £13,000 in the process” Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1

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Headlines are critical when it comes to selling newspapers and magazines. Choosing the right story for the front cover and writing the best headline to sell that story is big business. Get the combination right and you’ll be rewarded with record sales of that edition. Get it wrong and even your army of loyal readers will turn their backs on you

“David Ogilvy calls the headline,‘The ticket on the meat’ I call it, ‘The single most essential element of any advertisement”

and select your competitor’s edition that day. Getting the cover story and headline right is the makeor-break moment in the newsroom. You could have a potential top-selling edition on your screen with pages crammed full of exclusive stories, pictures and interesting features. But if you select the wrong cover story or choose the wrong headline appeal or wording you’ll fail to sell the volumes of papers required to cover the cost of all those exclusive stories, pictures and interesting features you, as editor, commissioned to fill your paper. Writing the correct headline is essential. They sell papers. They summarise succinctly and poignantly the content of an article. They label or head-up a story with the sole purpose of capturing the glance of a potential paying customer. So if headlines are used to capture interest, imagine what will happen if you put a headline on your next advertisement! When it comes to writing winning headlines for your ads, don’t panic if you can’t think of a good one. Ask others for help. In the newsroom, headlines are accepted from anyone – designers, reporters, illustrators or photographers. The only condition is that it has to be the best headline for the story. My point is you don’t have to be a newspaper editor to write a big-selling headline.


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Response Secret 3: Stir a desire for your product or service Mastering how to demand attention and capture interest will certainly help you increase the response your advertising garners, but these two skills alone will never unlock the maximum return possible from your advertising investment. In order to unlock the true potential from your advertising spend and maximise your return, you must create a desire – a desire to own your product or use your service. Appearing like news or an editorial article certainly guarantees you’ll grab attention and a powerful headline will convert attention into interest, but to get people responding in their droves, you need to arouse their desire for your product or service. In short, you have to make them want and need what it is you are offering. Institutional-styled adverts consistently fall down at this hurdle. Bullet points and short sentences not only make the ad look like an ad, they also fail to stir a desire. The winning 3% of advertisers understand and take full advantage of the biggest human trait we possess. They understand that people love to read. More, importantly, they know that we as humans subconsciously can’t stop ourselves from reading. MYTH: People won’t read your advert if it’s filled with lots of words (copy). FACT: People will ignore your advert if it appears like a run-of-the-mill institutional-styled advertisement.


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Why Regular Styled Adver ts Are DEAD!


EXCLUSIVE READER OFFER

CASE STUD ST UDY Y 3 ‘AFTER’

Report onyour product orservice It’s a myth people won’t read your advert if you fill it with copy. copy. The fact is, people WILL read it if it’s informative and interestin inter esting. g. Inste Instead ad of paying a newspaper to run your advert - why don’t you write a report on the benefits of using your product or service.Then pay the newspaper to run your feature instead. Remember people love to read - they do NOT love ads.

Breakthrough in laminate ‘wood’ flooring

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HIS br brea eakth kthro roug ugh h laminate flooring is so ‘real’ it fools most experts.

It had me fooled, and I’ve been in the flooring business since I left school, 18 years ago. This looks and feels so real—even right up close— that your family and friends won’t be able to tell the difference either. Better than wood in many ways The benefits of this advanced laminate wood flooring over traditional wood are numerous. First, it is almost impossible to dent or scratch. Second, it doesn’t stain. You can spill a whole bottle of red wine or dark beer onto it, and you simply wipe it clean with NO staining whatsoever. It’s super resilient. Third, it is ultra hardwearing. It NEVER dents, scratches, or warps (one of the problems often experienced with natural wood).

Looks, feels and fits so like REAL solid wood flooring, even most experts cannot tell the difference... PLUS, it’s up to 2times less costly to supply and fit! By DAN CASTLE If you are thinking of having a new floor fitted, look at this extraordinary ‘wood’ laminate option—you’ll be astonished and delighted at the beautiful ‘real wood’ look it creates in your home. A company you can trust

One organisation that supplies and fits this range—The range— The Expert Flooring Company, based in Canterbury–a company you can trust. Ask them to visit your house and show you this range. I think you’ll be impressed. Plus you can rest assured that you are in expert See this extraordinary hands. Directors John and flooring today! Samantha Gibbon are lam-

inate flooring experts. In my opinion, there is not a better company from which you can get expert advice and fitting. Best of all, John and Samantha insist on giving you a 100% guarantee of ‘absolute delight’. They say, “If for any r eason you don’t agree the laminate flooring you have fitted looks just like real wood, and is fitted truly expertly in every detail, simply say so and we will either refit your floor at no extra cost, or remove it, make good, and cancel your invoice. No quibble. Call Expert Flooring now on 0800 451 3021, or you can write to: Expert FLOORING Ltd 21 Brokenhurst Close, Canterbury Kent CT2 7RX

“You “Y ou don’t don’t have have to be be a marketing marketing expert, exper t, professional profes sional graphic graph ic designer or copywri copy writing ting ninja ninja to create ultra-hig ultra-h igh h conver convertin ting g news-styled news-st yled adv adver ertorials torials lik like e this” Advertorial Profit Formula: Formula: Part 1

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We humans are programmed to learn. We love to read in order to educate ourselves. It’s the reason over 200,000 new books are published every year in the UK alone and why books, periodicals, encyclopedias, manuscripts, novels and reports fill the shelves of libraries globally.

“An advert crammed full of copy will always win out over an advert with lots of artistic white space”

The newspaper and magazine industry base their entire business model on this trait of ours. It’s the reason the Internet has become the world’s largest information bank fuelled by our passion to read and increase our knowledge. After all, why else are you reading this report? The ‘Which’ brand know this. They’ve built a lucrative publishing business around the fact that people want to know as much as possible about a product before they purchase it. They test, review and rate products tirelessly, printing their findings in a whole range of magazines and online. Therefore, in order to get the ultimate response from your advertising, you have to harness the desire we have to read. This means your advert needs to be full of benefitloaded information. Contrary to popular belief, an advertisement crammed full of relevant copy always wins out over an advertisement with lots of ‘artistic’ white space... REMEMBER: On averag REMEMBER: average, e, editori editorials als receive receive six six times more readershi readership p than ads. Meaning adverts adverts that are perceived as editorial news articles are 600% more likely to pull a response than adverts that are designed to look look like adverts, adverts, simpl simply y because six times as many people look at them!

Advertorial Profit Formula: Formula: Part 1

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Use your advert to give the reader a reason or reasons to respond. Tell them in detail the benefits and results they can expect to gain by using your product or service. Here’s a a few benefits you could write about.

Enhance:

Will owning your product enhance their life? Will it enhance their looks? Social life? Family life? Would using your service enhance their performance at work? In the Gym? Or in life generally?

Feel Good:

Would using your product make them feel good? Will it make them feel younger? More attractive? Would Would it make them more likable and acceptable? Could your service relieve someone in pain? Or teach them a new skill?

Help:

Will purchasing your product or enlisting the help of your service make their life easier? Will it help them save time? Money? Keep their job? Get promoted? Get something done faster?

For Example... A car salesperson realises that it’s not just a car he is selling. As soon as he spots a potential customer on the forecourt, he immediately starts start s selling him the benefits of owning the car he is admiring. He’ll tell the buyer how smoothly smoothl y the car drives, how fast it can go and how economical it is. If it’s a family viewing viewin g the car, he’ll inform the prospective pros pective owner how safe the car is, how many airbags it has or what European rating it has against impacts. In brief, it’s the benefits of owning the car that appeal to the customer. A good sales person will adjust their sales pitch accordingly, trying to trigger the emotional buttons that are likely to lead to a sale.

Advertorial Profit Formula: Formula: Part 1

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“Advertising is salesmanship in print,the more you tell - the more you sell” John.E.Kennedy


Another example is the travel agent. No holiday company is in the business of selling foreign countries. They are in the business of selling results. They focus on how relaxing the holiday will be and how much fun you will have. They sell you the feeling of being pampered while laying on a beach. Essentially, they paint the picture that their holiday package will give you two fantastically relaxing and stress-free weeks away from the office. A clothing company doesn’t just sell a new range of clothing They sell the way you will look, be perceived and feel whilst you are wearing their latest line. You see, benefits and results sell! Your advertisement is nothing more than your best sales pitch in print. Styling your advert so that it appears like an editorial article will certainly ensure it demands attention. A powerfully crafted headline will guarantee attention is converted into interest. But to really boost the response you garner from your advertising, you need to create a strong desire within any prospective customer to want or use your product or service. Selling the benefits and results they can expect to receive from investing in your product or service is the ONLY way to achieve this. As the great copywriter, John E. Kennedy, once said: ‘Advertising is salesmanship in print - the more you tell – the more you sell’. The truth is, people WILL read your editorial-styled advertisement just as long as it’s filled with targeted, interesting copy that applies to them at that moment in their life.

Here’s another real life example... I recently decided to take a holiday and drive down through Europe into Spain. I soon realised, while planning


38



my road trip, that a satellite navigation system would make the whole journey that much more easy and enjoyable. I would be able to do away with the maps and the hassle that they bring. Instead, I could sit back and take in the scenery, interrupted occasionally by the reassuringly accurate voice of the system.

“I had endless questions to which I desired answers”

But with so many systems available, it was impossible to just go out and buy the first sat-nav system I could find. I had to study the market. With so many options, how would I find the right one for me? With prices ranging from £50£400+ I soon realised that there was more to sat-nav systems than I had anticipated. In order to choose the right one, I set about educating myself. I needed to become an expert. I needed to know: ❖

How the systems operated?

❖

What makes were the best?

❖

What makes I should avoid?

❖

What could I expect for my money?

❖

How could I be sure I was getting a good deal?

❖

Would I need to consider buying updates?

❖

Would it update itself for free?

❖

What makes were easiest to use?

❖

Would it give me live traffic updates?

❖

Would it connect to my laptop?

❖

Would it navigate across Europe?

I had endless questions to which I desired answers


39



before I could choose what system was right for me. In short, I needed to know everything about satellite navigation systems. I needed to be an expert on the subject. This is the same psychological process everybody goes through when about to make a purchase. People habitually feel they need to know everything about a product before they’re confident enough to justify parting with their money. It’s critical you fully understand this. Ensuring your advertisement answers people’s questions through benefit-loaded copy is the key to out-marketing every one of your competitors.

Like most people, I turned to the Internet for answers. I visited electronic stores and questioned the staff. I spoke to friends who owned them and read reviews in magazines. After a week of investigating, I finally knew how they worked, what systems up-dated automatically, which ones were new to the market, which systems had caused people headaches across Europe and which one were the easiest to use. I knew what system offered the best value for money and what system came with European maps installed straight out of the box. I knew which systems to avoid and which ones offered more than I would require. Eventually, when I had educated myself enough to answer my questions, I felt confident enough to go ahead and make a purchase. I bought the best one I could find in my price range. It worked great and I’m pleased to say it got me all the way to Spain and back with ease! With this in mind, what advert do you think I would have responded to had these been running in my local newspaper while I was in the market for a new sat-nav system?


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SAT NAV ‘BEFORE’

Just listing features is notgood enough... Don’t just list specifications. It’s benefits that sell. Bring your products to life by reporting on them and then present your advert like a news story for maximum response.

SAT NAV ‘AFTER’ Tests have proven that adverts filled with compelling headlines and interesting informative copy always sell more products. One of the techniques I use to write my advert copy is to list all the benefits of using the product or service then I simply write a short story about how they enhance a persons life.

Here’s an incredible new Sat-Nav system that thinks it’s a tour guide HERE’S the smartest Sat Nav you can buy! It so advanced it actually thinks it’s a personal Tour Guide. First, it allows you to avoid traffic jams as they happen. How? Because thanks to the tech-wizards at Road Angel this breakthrough new sat-nav system has a 24hr live connection to the internet. Meaning LIVE up-to-the-minute information locate the nearest fuel stop, is beamed to you wherever you are in Europe. Second, because of its genius Google search function – points of interest can be found in real time, meaning for the first time ever, those cute little restaurants and mini urban art galleries are finally included in searches you make on the road. You’ll love the NEW breakthrough features.. Until now, satellite navigation systems have essentially been passive systems. Receiving location signals from satellites and providing routing information accordingly. That’s now changed. The new Road Angel i2000 can update your route as you drive to avoid traffic jams as they happen. What’s more, with just one press of a button you can

The ‘Sat-Nav that thinks it’s a tour guide’ Road Angel i2000 – only £299 while stocks last

press another and the system will alert you to where the nearest safety camera are installed – helping you avoid speed checks as you drive! Plus, this machine comes with preinstalled European road maps fully updated on a hourly basis. Finally, you can cruise the German Autobahn or navigate the twisted streets or Paris like a real local with the revo lutionary Road Angel i2000 personal tour guide.

100% 365-Day Guarantee Our guarantee is simple and complete. If-for any reason-you don't agree that the Road Angel i2000 is the most advanced, easy to use and useful satellite navigation system on the market, you may simply return it within 365 days and receive a 100% refund, no questions. Buy this Sat Nav today without risk-it's exceptional!

Advanced Features: - LIVE System with an internet connection - HotTraffic helps you avoid traffic jams - Fuel Pricing System which will save you money on fuel - Safety Camera Database helps you avoid speed checks - Google Local Search allows you to find points of interest that were previously inaccessible -Bri tain and European coverage -Easiest to use system yet... Plus lots more...


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Before anyone makes a purchase, regardless of how big or small, they desire to know as much as they can about what it is they are going to invest in. It’s human nature. Before people are ready to part with their hard-earned money, they want to be sure that they are going to get a good deal, that they are investing in the best available option and that they are going to get exactly what they want in return.

“The more questions you answer in your news-styled advert,the more people will perceive you to be an expert in your field”

Whether it’s a new sat-nav system, a new car, a family holiday, a new laptop, new suit, new watch, television, dinning room carpet, kitchen, bathroom or bicycle, people want to know as much as they possibly can about the item before they hand over their savings. ❖

Will I be able to return it if it doesn’t look right?

❖

What if it breaks in the first year?

❖

Am I getting the best value?

❖

Can I afford it? Do I really need it?

❖

Do I trust the person I’m buying from?

❖

Is it a scam? Is it too good to be true?

❖

Is it excessive? What will my friends think?

The more questions you answer in your editorial-styled advertisement, the more people will perceive you to be the expert in your field. This is why simply displaying your products, shop front, latest prices or opening times will fail to stir the maximum response possible from your advert. Anticipate and answer your customers’ buying concerns through benefit-loaded copy and give justifiable reasons-whyto-act and you’ll sky-rocket your response rate immediately. REMEMBER:“The more you tell, the more you sell.” Your advertisement is nothing more than salesmanship-in-print.


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Response Secret 4: Call for action – or lose a sale One of the biggest marketing mistakes I see being made daily is that companies neglect to effectively ask for action. This applies to advertisements, leaflets, sales letters, brochures, catalogues and even television and radio advertisements. Put bluntly, every day we are surrounded by marketing that fails to ask for action. If your marketing doesn’t specifically ask for action, then it’s no more than a waste of your valuable cash resources. By failing to give a compelling reason to respond, you are failing to garner the maximum response possible from your marketing material. Large numbers of people will simply not respond to marketing unless they are specifically motivated into taking some sort of action. If you do nothing but just add a call to action to your current marketing material, I guarantee you will increase response. This in turn will increase sales and ultimately your chances of boosting your profits. As I’ve already exposed, 97% of businesses advertise in an institutional-style. They believe that by simply showing their product, customers will rush to buy it! This is simply not true. Every salesperson knows that, if they don’t ask for an order, they will not make a sale. Therefore it is critical that every piece of marketing you put out asks prospective customers to take action.


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WHO ELSE WANTS AN UPPER-RANGE KITCHEN FOR MID-RANGE PRICES CASE STUDY 4 ‘AFTER’

Coupons increase response everytime Failing to call for action is the biggest mistake most businesses make with their advertising. Place a coupon on your ad and you will increase response immediately. Even if you want people to telephone or visit your website you should use a coupon. Coupons subconsciously motivate action. For years the scissor logo has been associated with taking action - this alone can increase response by 3%

Not all kitchen companies are the same Here are six critical qualities you should expect from the best companies in the UK–Including Hove. 1.You should not have to pay a fortune. Even the most experienced, specialist kitchen supply-and-fit companies will offer you competitive prices and value for money. In fact, you can often get greater value from the best companies because they are large enough to fit upperrange kitchens for mid-range prices. 2.Kitchen fitting is a skilled— actually highly skilled—job. Look for a company with its own installations team, who have many years experience. 3.Choose a company that offers you a complete, start-tofinish service—building work, floor and wall tiling, electrical, plumbing—and project manage your whole job. 4.Ask for and expect FREE computerised 3D planning. You should be offered unlimited alterations until your design is exactly how you want it. 5.You should be offered 100%, 5-year guarantee on all installation work plus furniture. No quibbles. 6.The best companies have a minimum of two to three hundred modern and traditional door styles for you to select from, each with factory built colour-matched rigid cabinets (never flat pack).

EXCLUSIVE

guaranteeing the work his team do for you.

ing and finishing your kitchen to craftsmen standards.

100% guarantee on ALL your work and furniture

He says, “We put our money where our mouth is! If anything at all is not 100% right They have a large range of for you, or if anything goes styles you can choose from— wrong, we make it a priority all of a beautiful high quality to come back and correct it imthat they make available at mediately, totally at our cost. some of the best prices for this We promise the best value in quality of kitchen. kitchens, and we make sure This company is impressive. that promise is lived up to.” They discuss every large and My Advice? tiny detail with you—and care If you’re thinking of having a about your finished kitchen— as if they were installing it for new kitchen fitted, call The Kitchen Gallery now. one of their best friends. Ask them to come and measure They also have an excellent range of appliances from most your kitchen, then give you a of the best-known and reliable colour plan and quotation commanufacturers, plus worktops pletely FREE of charge, and including Granite, Corian and without obligation. They are more than pleased to solid wood, sinks, taps and a large range of great and var- do this for you. Their number is 01273 475443, and their showroom ied accessories. John Bowers—founder and is at: 9-11 George Street, Hove. managing director —insists on BN3 3YB

A kitchen you’ll be proud of for years

✁Get

✁

a FREE, new kitchen colour plan and quote from Bowerwood kitchens

✁

YES PLEASE—I would like to discuss and then get a free, no-obligation colour plan and quotation for my new ki tchen from Bowerswood Kitchens. I am delighted to hear that this company takes so much interest and care with every customer. OR I am not quite ready to have a free colour plan made – but please rush me a free, full colour brochure showing a range of beautiful kitchens Paul’s company fits (no obligation).

Name:

A company you can trust

Address:

Bowerswood kitchens are one of the best, meticulous and skilled kitchen suppliers and fitters I have found. They really take an interest in your job, and put an awful lot of care and attention into build-

Post Code:

FOR FOR FAS TES AST T EST SERVIC VICE CA CALL: LL:

Tel: Bowerswood Kitchen

FREEPOST NATXXX, Hove, Kent. BN3 3YB

ADC01

01273 475 443

“This kitchen company was failing to pull a single response with their regular styled advert – this new version pulled 22 enquiries the FIRST day it ran” Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1

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

2 FOR 1 Dry Cleaning V oucher

T HIS Coupon entitles the bea tw o-f or -one of f er on cloth gar m r er to r eceiv e a ents r edeemed at any br anch of Blan only . It can be kson’s. Y ou must pr esent this coupon w hen y our or der is deposited

“Businesses avoid using coupons as they ‘look messy’ truth is, coupons actually increase response as they motivate action”

T erms and conditions: Only one v oucher per or der. Low est pr iced garment cleaned for f re e. V oucher cannot be used in con junction w i any other off er . V alid until 01/11/ th 12



ENSURE your coupons include the familiar scissor icon this can actually help increase response by up to 3%

At the very least, you want your prospective customer to call or write for more information, a free sample, a free consultation, demonstration or similar. Here are the 6 most effective ways to call for action: 1 Phone, write, fax or email for further information or a free brochure, report or information pack 2 Phone, write, fax or email for a free sample 3 Visit your store for a free sample, demo or test 4 Request a home visit for a free demo or test 5 Request a 30-day free, no-obligation trial 6 Give a limited offer if you buy today, week or month

One of the best ways to illustrate your call to action is by using a coupon. Coupons have a powerful effect on people. By asking a prospective customer to physically cut out a coupon and return it, you increase the chance of their responding to your ad or leaflet considerably.


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The accumulative power of the AIDA Response Secrets As you now know, people don’t buy a newspaper or magazine to read the adverts.They buy their favourite title in order to sit down and read the editorials that surround the ads on the pages. The thing is, while graphic designers have been working away advancing their creative skills by creating fancy colour blends, drop shadows and artistic arty shapes and swirls, newspaper designers have been fine tuning their skills and design techniques too. The only difference is, newspaper designers understand the scientific design skills required in order to demand attention, capture interest, stir desire and motivate action. The winning 3% of advertisers know this. They understand it’s the editorials that get all the attention on the page. This is why they style their adverts using the AIDA formula to ensure they capture the same level of attention as the news stories that surround them on the page. So what exactly does AIDA mean?

A = Attention Ensure you demand attention off the page by styling your advert so that it appears like an editorial news story NOT a typical run-of-the-mill advertisement.


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Demand attention A powerfully targeted headline and FREE report offer ensures this advert demands attention and calls for action.


Incredible Mr Magic reveals seven of the most amazing children’s party secrets ever – claim your copy now Master Inner Circle magician, Darren Smith (aka ‘Mr Magic’) says there are three qualities you should expect from a professional children’s magician: 1, The magician should first and foremost be excellent with children. If the magician cannot capture the attention and interest of the children, the magic will not work! 2, The magician should be within the Inner Magic Circle—the higher the membership, the better the skills. 3, The price of your magic party does not need to be extortionate. But also, you might be disappointed with the cheapest magician.

An Inner Circle Magician You Can Trust...

OT ALL letting agents N are the same. To help you identify the best agent for your

Advice from an Inner Circle Magician Darren Smith (Mr Magic) is one of the UK’s most experienced and loved children’s entertainers. He has a magical ability to make even shyest children enjoy the party. He is an Associate Member of The Inner Magic Circle, the highest level attainable by examination, and a published author. His magic is mind-blowing; extraordinary. Plus you’ll be delighted with his price, and the 100% money-back guarantee he gives you!

Call him today on 0800 181 6845 for a free copy of his book and to ask about your child’s next party, or go to www.MrMagic.co.uk

If you’ve just let your property, don’t read this – It will break your heart!

property, here are three critical things you should expect— even demand:


Industry expert Educate prospects with interesting and informative copy to ensure they perceive you as the leading industry expert.

1, The agent should already possess a good source of waiting tenants, so that often a tenant can be provided almost instantly (rather than having to wait for advertising response). 2, The agent should advertise on all the TOP UK property web sites to attract the best tenants in your particular area. 3, The agent should ideally be focused ONLY on landlords and providing tenants (rather than being a general estate agent). One agent who is providing such a service is Cupid Lettings, owned and run by co-proprietors Ken and Sandra Jenkins. Their entire agency is focused on providing high quality tenants for landlords, and managing the property and the let so that you, the landlord, can virtually forget about your property and simply receive good monthly income, without hassle or concern.


They even provide you with 12 months rent guarantee—FREE— for the first 12 months. Letting property is their ‘thing’. They love the business and do it very well indeed. Certainly, with what I have seen of their dedication, I would trust my property to only them.They even provide you with an iron-clad guarantee of satisfaction... They’ll refund 100% of the fees you pay! Yes, if you are dissatisfied—in any way—with the professional and expert agency service they provide, they will refund 100% of the fees

you have paid, promptly and courteously, any time during the first 3 months. That’s how certain they are that you’ll get a better result by letting your property with them. I don’t think you’ll find a better guarantee of expert letting and management service than that! If you’re interested in speaking to either Andrew or Kim about letting your property, call them on 01304 784 321 between 9—6pm, Monday to Saturday.

01304 784321

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I = Interest Headlines attract interest. You have just four seconds to capture a prospective customer’s interest as they scan past your headline on the page. Put a headline on your advert and you will increase your readership by 600%

D = Desire The more you tell - the more you sell. It’s a myth that people won’t read your advert if it’s full of copy. They will! People love to read. Tests have proven that compelling headlines plus interesting, informative copy sells more products.

A = Action Fail to give a compelling reason to respond and you will fail to garner the maximum response possible from your marketing material. You MUST ask for action.


48



Super-Growth Strategy 1: Direct action that demands Response Adopting the four Winning Response Secrets I’ve revealed will certainly ensure your advertising demands attention, captures interest, arouses desire and then calls for action. Fully understanding and applying these techniques to your next advertisement, leaflets, brochure or product catalogue will certainly increase the odds of successful advertising in your favour. But in order to boost your percentage increase by hundreds or even thousands, you need to overhaul the core marketing strategies that operate behind the visual aspect of your advertising. This means, to truly skyrocket your response, you need to fine-tune your marketing mechanics.

Let me explain what I mean in more detail and show you how you can revamp your current marketing techniques... I want to take you on a little fishing trip. So pack your rod and grab some bait and join me as we head off on the first of two fishing adventures.

Fishing trip No1 – The Institutional Style of Catching Sales Okay, so I told a little lie – you don’t actually need a fishing rod or any bait for that matter on this trip. Instead,


49



we’ll be using the typical, run-of-the-mill, institutionally styled advertisement shown earlier on page 16 and we’ll use the conservatories on offer as our bait.

“Institutional advertising - the rod and reel approach to catching a sale”

Naturally, the first thing we have to do in order to catch anything is cast our bait out into the river. In this case, we’ll place our advert in a local paper and sit back while we wait for someone to come along and bite. Now I’m not sure if you’ve ever been fishing before but, apparently, part of the fun is the waiting, the anticipation, the uncertainty of not knowing whether you’ll catch a fish or whether you’ll be going home empty-handed. I’m certain this all makes for a fun sport. But when it comes to investing your precious cash resources into advertising, I wouldn’t settle for catching the odd few fish that pass by hungry. This marketing approach will only ever catch a sale when someone comes along who is keen to purchase a conservatory. It sits on the page like a worm on a hook, waiting for the odd fish who’s in the market to buy a conservatory to come drifting past. Sure, it will work to some extent. After all, there’s always someone wanting a new conservatory, fireplace, car, bike, carpet, washing machine, computer, shed, watch or stereo. The only problem is, waiting around for the right person to come along and take your bait is not the most effective way of advertising. FACT: Institutional-styled advertising only ever attracts one to ten per cent of potential new customers. This means 90% to 99% more potential customers, who would otherwise be interested in your product or service, fail to respond simply because they ignore run-of-the-mill advertising.


50



What you really need is a far more efficient and successful way of catching customers as they pass over your advertisement. It’s a form of fishing so powerful, you not only capture people who are hungry and ready to buy now, but also the nearly ready, the slightly ready, the unsure and the curious.

“Change your Institutional advertising to Direct Response and multiply your sales instantly”

It’s called Direct Response Marketing. Direct Response Marketing is inarguably the most efficient and responsive method of marketing you can use when it comes to planning and structuring the mechanics behind your next advertising campaign. In other words, when you switch your mind-set and, more importantly, your marketing tactics to Direct Response, you will join the small percentage of companies who demand the highest profit return from every pound they invest in advertising.

Fishing trip No2 – Sailing the Direct Response Trawler Now join me as we take to the sea on our second fishing trip of the day. We are on board a news-styled Direct Response fishing trawler equipped with hi-tech sonar and large nets ready to help catch massive amounts of prospective customers or clients in one sweeping movement. Naturally, the first thing we have to do is style our advert using the four Winning Response Secrets that we’ve already covered. Now let's look at this style of advert in action. First the headline, ‘Seven critical qualities you should expect from a high-quality conservatory company’. This acts like a sonar It focuses in on our target audience. With it's curiosity appeal, this headline attracts a wide spectrum of prospective customers.


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Seven critical qualities you should expect from a high-quality conservatory company An essential guide to choosing the right conservatory company – whether your budget is large, medium or small

Y Locate prospects withyour advert...

OU’VE got to choose your conservatory company carefully—not all are the same.

Your advert must request a direct response. By filling your ad with a headline, long copy and then presenting it like news, you guarantee to increase your response.There’s no law taht says advert have to look like adverts. Instead of paying a newspaper to run your creative styled advert, why not pay them to run an editorial feature reporting on the benefits that can be expected from using your product or service


EXCLUSIVE REPORT

servatories. Even more impressive, they put their money where their mouth is by guaranteeing that you must be 100% delighted with every aspect of your new conservatory before they class your job as ‘finished’.

your conservatory, the Guild issues you with a Certificate of Cover which honours the comTo help you identify the best pany’s guarantee should they conservatory company, no matter cease to trade. The Guild’s whether you want a large, number is 0870 7704400. medium or tiny conservatory, 6, You should receive a firm FREE BOOKLET: here are seven critical qualities estimated start and completion “10 Important Questions you should expect: date and expect the installers 1, You don’t have to pay a to attend your site every day You Must Ask Before You Ever Agree To Let A fortune. Even a quality con- until completion, plus leave Conservatory Company servatory designer and in- your site clean each evening. staller is able to do a first class Start Work” 7, You should be designated job at a competitive price. a project manager who you Get this ‘Smart Person’s 2, Designing and building can speak to about any aspect Guide To Choosing a Reputable conservatories is a skilled pro- of your conservatory as it’s be- Conservatory Company’—it’s fession. Look for a company ing built. chock full of hardline advice who has many years of experiand information that can save A conservatory company ence building conservatories. you headaches, and money! you can trust: 3, Choose a company that Most of all, it reveals how to will freely give you expert adOne company’s approach is select an excellent, reputable vice about the various designs simple—they see you, their and reliable company that that are available, the best po- customer, as ‘The Boss’. will give you a greater value sition and size of your conserMD Keith Mockford’s fa- and best built conservatory for vatory (inches difference can ther in-law founded the com- your budget. often make a world of differ- pany 32 years ago and based it Get your copy today—it’s ence to you), and the best ma- on providing true value and free and without obligation. ✂ terials, glass and shading. good, old fashioned, meticuFREE REPORT 4, Your conservatory should lous workmanship. ✂ SIMPLY cut out and return this ad be checked and passed at every He wants YOU to have the stage by a project manager to very best conservatory built to the address below or Freephone confirm build quality. with the highest quality of 0800 216112 and ask for a free 5, The best conservatory craftsmanship that you can get copy of ‘The 10 Important Quescompanies belong anywhere. Plus they are surtions...’ booklet. It will be sent to to the Guarantee prisingly competitively priced. you by first class post, same day. Guild. The The company, Maple Leaf Quote REF: YPC1 Guild safe - Ltd, has been in this business guards your for 32 years. Few other comNAME deposit. On panies have more experience ADDRESS completion of in building modern day con-

FREE: “The Smart Person’s Guide To Choosing a ✂ Reputable Conservatory Company” by expert, Keith Mockford, reveals how to guarantee you get the best conservatory for whatever budget you have.

POSTCODE Maple Leaf Ltd Maple Leaf House, Canterbury Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 1AW

This News-Styled Advertorial pulls over 300% more response than the regular styled version it replaced – and all for the same advertising pound Advertorial Profit Formula: Part 1

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Ranging from the people ready-to-buy through to those thinking about buying, the headline captures the interest of a wide spectrum of possible prospective customers. Just like sonar tells the captain where the fish are, a powerful headline will find where your potential customers are.

“News styled Direct Response advertising captures a far higher response than the regular Institutional approach ”

Yet simply knowing where the fish are is only half of a fisherman’s job. Next we have to net each and every one of our interested prospects and pull them on board. To do this we need to give them a solid reason to respond, in this case the offer of a free information booklet titled, ‘10 Important questions you must ask before you ever agree to let a conservatory company start work’ . As you know from Winning Response Secret 3, people crave information when they’re thinking about making a purchase. This advert recognises this and, instead of trying to sell a conservatory straight off the page, it offers the reader the option of free impartial advice. At the same time, it positions itself at the forefront of the customer’s mind. Who do you think that person will buy from when they finally make the decision to invest in a conservatory? Unlike institutional-styled advertising that sits on a page waiting for someone to bite, news-styled Direct Response advertising captures a far higher response by appealing to a wider audience. Just like a fishing trawler catches more than one type of fish, so too will this style of marketing. Naturally, some of your catch will be ready to purchase instantly, while some will require nurturing a little in order to reach a positive buying decision. Others may take a little longer or need even more help and information before they feel confident and ready to buy from you.


53



Super-Growth Strategy 2: Load your ad with a reason to respond Nine out of ten news-styled Direct Response adverts I see running tirelessly in the national press are based on a twostep selling strategy. First-Step: The news-styled advertisement works at the front-end of the campaign, capturing prospective customers’ names and addresses every time they telephone to claim a free booklet, trial, demonstration, more information or gift that’s being offered in the advertisement. Second-Step: As soon as a customer contacts the business, they are sent their free booklet, gift or whatever – along with a letter explaining in more detail the benefits of using your service or buying your products.

Here’s an example... In order to increase sales, the conservatory company featured in the previous pages concentrated on advertising a free information booklet as opposed to just their conservatories. They realised the only way of selling a conservatory was in person because customers would often have concerns and a multitude of questions preventing them from buying. In response to this, instead of simply trying to sell off the page with a ‘Here I am! Here’s my product! Buy me!’ styled advert, they switched their marketing approach and converted their advertisement into a locating device. By offering free advice, they postured themselves as the industry experts. Then as soon as they collected contact de-


54



tails from their prospective customers, they posted them their free booklet along with a professionally printed voucher entitling them to £1,000 off the cost of a new conservatory. After a week, the people concerned were invited to attend an exclusive evening event, where they could have a glass of wine and browse the wide selection of luxury conservatories available. Thus flooding the showroom with customers. In brief, the advertisements sole purpose was to generate enquiries.Once the company had the contact details of interested prospects, they we’re free to regularly post offers and newsletters in order to nurture a sale.This is two-step Direct Response marketing at work.

One-Stepping News-styled Direct Response marketing can be also be used to sell straight off the page. This is known as one-stepping. One-stepping is where the customer orders directly off the page by telephone, coupon or is directed to a website to order. However, one-stepping is generally only effective for lower ticket price items such as books, DVDs, clothing and other items that are easily posted. Two-stepping is the most common method of Direct Response marketing, but in order to work effectively, an advertisement must tirelessly capture streams of response at the front-end every time it is run. What you offer up-front in your advert as a capturing device will greatly influence the performance your ad will achieve. WARNING: Do NOT confuse Direct Response marketing with direct mail. Direct mail is usually associated with cheap and unprofessional junk mail. It’s un-targeted and widely regarded as wasteful. Direct Response marketing is a completely different method of marketing from Direct Mail.


55



Super-Growth Strategy 3: Out-promote your competition with irresistible offers Whether it’s a free information booklet, trial, sample, demonstration or gift, loading your advert or leaflet with a response-motivating offer is essential. Knowing the ‘Lifetime Value’ of your customers or clients gives you great leverage when it comes to planning your front-end offer. The Lifetime value of a customer is their average purchase spend, multiplied by the number of times they buy from you a year, multiplied by the number of years they remain your customer. Knowing the lifetime value of your customers or clients allows you to work out how much you can afford to ‘giveaway’ at the front-end of your advertising campaign in order to ‘buy’ fresh business.

For example: You own a salon and your regular customers spend on average £40 each time they visit, £33 of which is clear profit. Let’s assume they visit your salon once a month and remain loyal to your salon for 3 years. This means every new customer you attract to your salon is ultimately worth £33 (profit per visit) x 12 (visits per year) x 3 (years they stay loyal) = £1,188.


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Why Regular Styled Adverts Are Dead

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