Marketing Matters
Delivering newspaper ad copy that sells
By Murray Raphel

The body copy of your ad is read by only one out of 10 readers. The trick is to catch them with the headline and keep them reading with the first few paragraphs. If someone reads the first 50 words, they will probably read the next 250 words.

It is impossible to underestimate the power of words. Some examples:

• One word doubled the business of a shampoo. The instructions read: "Wet hair. Apply lather. Rinse thoroughly." Then a bright person added one word that doubled the business: "Repeat."
• World famous salesman Elmer Wheeler was known for using a phrase or two to increase sales. A drugstore chain wanted to increase its sales of milk shakes. At that time, some customers requested an egg in a milk shake, which added to the cost (and profit). Wheeler's suggestion tripled sales: When the customer asked for a milkshake, the counterperson would say, "One egg or two?" Almost everyone said "one" (The others said "two").
• Helena Rubinstein cosmetics couldn't understand why department stores were turning down the free give-always Rubinstein offered. We analyzed their presentation and came back with the answer: "You are using the wrong words. Your headline says, "A gift from Helena Rubinstein." It should be a gift from the store. Second: You offer the customer free coupons. It should be a gift certificate. Supermarkets give coupons. You give gift certificates. By making these two simple changes, nearly every department store offered the free gifts.
• When you visit Disneyland or Disney World, you are not a customer, you are a "guest." This word change is reflected--we are nicer to "guests" than we are to "customers."
• I like the way our British cousins call life insurance companies life assurance companies. I guess that means I'm paying money to "assure" I keep on living. U.S. companies tell me I win only if I die. And so, when writing the copy for your ad, consider the following.

2. Make sentences short. Only 12 to 15 words. Make paragraphs short, two or three sentences. This gives you lots of "white space" around your copy. Remember readers scan rather than read.

3. Don't set copy wider than three inches. The eye drops down to the next line after 3 to 4 inches. Especially at normal eight-point type size.

4. Don't exaggerate. Make sure the story isn't better than the store. Promise a lot and deliver more.

5. Be specific. The five W's (who, what, where, when, why, and how) work.

6. Write as though you were talking to someone in your living room. Make the copy chatty and easy-to-read.

7. Set your copy in serif type, not sans serif. Serif has little hooks on the end of each letter, which makes it easier for the eye to follow, while sans serif is more difficult to read.

8. Long copy sells as much as short--as long as it's interesting to read.

9. Write in the present tense. Writing in the present tense means something is happening now. Writing in the past tense means it's over with, so who cares?

10. Use words people understand. I once wrote copy on a new song that I said "was the best music I've heard since Glenn Miller went down in the English channel." I showed the copy around the office and everyone younger than 30 asked me, "Who's Glenn Miller?"

11. Use testimonials of people who actually bought from you or used your product. They can be celebrities, but local customers are much less expensive to use and can be just as effective.

12. Include the price. We once ran an ad for a little girl's sheepskin coat. The price was very high and our buyer advised us against telling the price in the ad. We persuaded her, saying, "Why did you buy it if you didn't think you could sell it?" Nine out of 10 newspaper readers said pricing influences their product selection and desire to buy.

13. If it's on sale, tell me how much I'm saving. Food ads are most guilty of this. They yell "sale" at the top of their ads but don't tell how much it was. Tell me two things: The original price and how much I'm saving.

14. Read the award-winning ads and copy them. Why not? Go to the art museum and see the artists copying the masters. Most popular singers tell you they started by copying the style of someone they admired. That's how you start. Eventually your style will develop.

15. Does your ad include all the pertinent information? Take a look at the copy in mail-order catalogues. In a small space they tell you what you want to know.

16. The word "FREE" is still the most powerful word in the English language. "Buy two for $10, get one free" pulls 40 percent better than "Half Price" or "50 percent off."

17. Put a coupon in the ad and increase response. At least 10 percent more people will remember seeing your ad if you include a coupon. When Danielle Barr joined London's National Westminster Bank, she called in the agencies responsible for the bank's advertising and told them she wanted a coupon in advertising. The agencies were uncomfortable. Barr explained that in the
million-plus readership in the London newspapers, someone would respond to the coupons. And they were
excellent prospects for area managers to follow up with because they now had the customer's name and address.

18. Put the coupon in the lower right hand corner--it's easier to tear out.

19. Anticipate questions. What would you ask yourself about the offer you are making? Answer their questions. Question and answer copy is so effective because it gives you a chance to anticipate the objections and answer them.

20. Remember the rule of three: Say what you're going to say. Say it. Say what you said.

Raphel Marketing is a marketing and publishing firm that specializes in helping small-to-medium sized businesses do more business through better marketing techniques. You can contact the firm at info@raphel.com.