In addition, as I mentioned before it must also be designed to elicit an immediate response from the consumer. I'll talk about that more in a minute, but keep that in mind as we go through these defining elements one by one.
Because "a confused mind never buys."* That saying is like one of the Ten Commandments for many top ad copywriters, and it's perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind when designing or writing an ad.
Remember, our goal is NOT to "increase brand awareness" (although that will be a side effect of a good ad), nor are we trying to "educate the market." And while these are often common goals in awareness marketing, they'll do diddly squat for us with regards to selling memberships right now.
No, our goal is to get people to call or click, today. And to do so, we must make sure our message is as clear and specific as possible.
In web design another well-known command is "don't make me think!" In other words, don't force the end-user to have to figure out how to use the site. Always make the UI (user interface) as clear as possible.
Yet, a common mistake I see school owners make is they try to be clever in their marketing, and they end up being obscure.
Well, you can be witty and clever if you know what you're doing. But unless you're a damned good copywriter, you're better off sticking to the most basic ad writing formula of all time:
- This is what I have
- This is why you want it
- Here's how to get it
If you follow that outline, nine times in ten you'll have written an ad that's clear and concise. Sure, your ad won't win any awards, but it won't confuse your target audience, either.
Speaking of which...
Why Must A Direct Response Ad Be Targeted?
Let's be clear—it must not just be targeted, but highly targeted. And here's why...
Every good direct response marketing ad or campaign relies on a specific message to make it work. There are many elements that are critical to a marketing message that I won't list (yet), but for now simply call it "good ad copy."
So let me ask you, what's the first thing you do when you're writing a letter or email to someone? That's right—you figure out who the recipient is and you address it specifically to that person or persons.
Well, an ad is basically a missive or message to a specific person or persons, and therefore it only makes sense to target it to a specific audience. In fact, any expert marketer will tell you that before you write an ad, you need to define your audience.
So much so that the best ad copywriters will spend considerable time coming up with an avatar who represents their target audience—a sort of "ideal customer" if you will. This avatar will have a name, age, gender, neighborhood, occupation, income level, marital status, relations, hobbies, favorite hang outs and restaurants...
Basically the ad copywriter will flesh this imaginary person out until they've determined their ideal audience down to the last detail. And then they'll write the ad specifically to that person.
What this does is it ensures that the direct response ad or marketing campaign sends the right message to the right audience. Because, "wrong message, wrong audience" or even "right message, wrong audience" will tank an ad campaign, every single time.
Just to be clear, "specific" means "right message." "Targeted" means "right audience." You have to have both to have an effective direct response ad. And once you do, then you add in the third element...
Why Must You Include A Compelling Offer?
Let me ask you this—would you respond to the following ad?
"FREE PUPPIES! Pedigree unknown, may be diseased and are most certainly flea-ridden, rabies also a possibility. Will need to be house-trained, spayed or neutered, and vaccinated. Call 555-5555 between the hours of midnight and 2 am, ask for Chico. Mention this ad to get a free human thigh bone with every puppy!"
Unless you're a member of a rescue organization, probably not, right? I mean, sure, everyone loves puppies. But even if you're in the market for a puppy, what you want is a solution, not more problems.
And no matter how badly you (or your kid) wants a puppy, there's just no way you're going to respond to that ad. Besides the fact that Chico sounds sketchy as hell, and besides that fact that "free" is a really good price, the value of the offer is just not high enough to make it worth your time.
It's simply not compelling enough to make you pick up the phone at 1 am and call.
How Targeting, Specificity, And The Offer Work Together
Sure, this whole scenario is ludicrous as all hell. But, it's pretty much how a lot of martial art school owners write their ads.
See, most martial art school owners don't get what makes for a compelling offer to the average person out there. Instead, they create an offer (if their ads even include an offer) for someone who is exactly like them... a martial artist.
Look, if you're a talented instructor and you teach a quality martial arts program, you probably already have most of the serious martial artists in your area training at your place. All five of them.
Laugh all you want, but it's a fact—that "martial artist" market is slim pickings. So if you're targeting your ad to people like you, and creating offers for that audience, you're not going to be attracting a lot of people with your ads.
So, not only do you need to make your ads attractive to a broader audience, you also need to give that audience a damned good reason why they should respond to your ad.**
The average person doesn't care about your rank, how many trophies or medals you've won, or who your instructor was/is. Only martial artists care about that stuff.
And if you focus on that stuff in your ads, you may as well be trying to give away puppies with rabies. Why? Well, you simply aren't speaking your audience's language, and you're not giving them a compelling reason to respond to your ad.
Let's go back to the "free puppies" analogy for a minute, and tell me if you would respond to this ad:
"FREE Labradoodles! We're a military family moving to Germany, and we just can't take this latest litter with us. All these pups have been vaccinated and checked out by the vet to make sure they are healthy and sound. They are simply adorable, and labradoodles make great companion dogs for adults and children alike. Only four left. Free kennel and dog bed for the first three people who respond! Call 555-5555 anytime to inquire."
If you're a dog lover who is looking for a labradoodle pup, hell yes you'd respond, because you would know it's a great deal (those pups can run anywhere from $400 to $2,000 a piece). Granted, it might sound like too good of deal (more on that later), but still you'd at least pick up the phone and call.
That's why you need to include a clear, compelling offer in your ads, and why it needs to be targeted to a specific audience. Because the offer (and other specific elements we'll talk about later) is what gets people to respond.
Coming Up...
Tomorrow is Friday, so I'll be sending out my usual Friday randomness instead of the next email in this series. But Monday I'll be back with the next email, in which I'll begin revealing the specific working parts of a good direct response ad.
Stay tuned!
