Writing for the Internet > Writing Effective Ad Copy

1. Get attention - You can do this with a good headline. Ask a provocative question or announce news about your company or product.

2. Set yourself apart from the competition - What makes your product unique?

3. Talk to your customer - Avoid focusing on yourself. You are irrelevant. Tell your customer how she will benefit from using your product. Use the word "you" and you can be certain you are speaking directly to your customer.

4. Prove it! - If space permits, add testimonials, sales statistics and anything else that proves your claims.

5. Create a sense of urgency - If people don't sense urgency, they aren't likely to click on your link. Limited time offers are perfect. Ads focusing on holidays work well. Make sure your potential customers feel the need to click on your link now.

6. Reach your target audience - If your product is for a certain group of people, target your ad specifically to that group. You don't have to appeal to everyone if they aren't going to be interested in making a purchase.So, a headline that communicates the presence of such a gap -- or one that widens it (which can also be accomplished through other components, such as a surheadline, subheadline, "lift" copy, sidenotes or opening statements) -- will likely appeal to those who can immediately relate to it (i.e., people within that specific site's target market).

Consider these tips:

1. Offer something free: People don't usually surf the Internet ready to buy. Lure them to your site with something free when possible.

2. That said, FREE is a very powerful word. Other powerful words include:
Sale, Quick, Easy, Last Chance, Guarantee, Results, Proven, Bargain, Today, Secret

3. Branding - use your brand name to create familiarity with your product.

Tips for banner ads:

1. Keep it simple and keep the loading time down. Avoid too many colors and frames - They can be hard on the eyes and make your image more slow loading. An ideal size is under 20K.

2. Use the words "Click Here" - It seems simple and maybe silly, but people need to know what to do with the information you presented.

4. Use different banners - Some studies show the longer a banner is shown, the less effective it becomes.

Avoid the following in your copy:

1. Excessive exclamation points - It makes your message seem more like hype than information. People will see through the exclamations points. To be safe, I would avoid them altogether or only use one.

2. Excessive capital letters - When you use capital letters it is the equivalent of raising your voice. You don't want to shout at your potential customers. The occasional word in capitals may help illustrate a point, but more than that, you are just yelling.

Now, you have the foundations of writing good ad copy. Review the ad copy you have written so far and incorporate these suggestions. Can you see the difference?

Recommended:  Learn how to get started as a ghost writer and start your own writing business with Moms Talk Biz Guide to Writing for Pay.