3 Powerful Ways to Make Your Website and Online Ads More Effective

How can you make your online advertising and your website more persuasive and effective? Follow these 3 powerful tips to improve your results

Do you want to write ad copy that—

√  Gets attention?

√  Sets you apart from your competitors?

√  Creates a sense of urgency?

√  Generates more traffic for your online advertising?

It’s a tall order but it can be done.

Most online ads contain at least one of the elements mentioned. Some contain two. Only the very best contain them all.

Let’s begin with the basics. If your ad copy is to be effective, it must contain the following three vital elements:

1.  Value– why is your product or service worthy of my attention?
2.  Offer – what point are you making?  What are you specifically offering to your audience?
3.  Call To Action – what is it you want your audience to do?

Vital Element #1: Value

Before you can possibly begin to impress your audience with the value of your product, you must first get their attention.

Internet cruisers are rapidly moving by. Imagine you’re on a cross-country trip, driving down the highway at 65 mph. How much time do you have to check out the upcoming billboard? You have less than that to grab someone’s attention on the internet.

The experts say you have less than one second to get noticed. If you’re lucky enough to catch the eye of a member of your audience, you have only a few more seconds to get your message across.

It’s one reason you see so many ads with images of good-looking females: a tried-and-true attention grabber. This is an ad about a company selling prescription medicine online. Now that they’ve gotten our attention, we can immediately see the value of the service: reduced prices through discounts and free medical consultation.

When preparing an online ad, ask yourself, “will this grab their attention quickly?”

Vital Element #2: Offer

Your offer is your central theme, the point you’re making to your audience.  Make sure itis a crystal clear laser beam, not a beat around the bush, multi-faceted offer.

Just One Targeted Offer
For example, as a business consultant or someone who offers professional services, choose the one main thing you are offering in the ad.  Then, send them to a page on your website that is all about that one offer.  If you have multiple offers, then create a separate ad and landing page for each.

You must be clear… or the reader will never “get it” and pursue you for that service.

Are you selling a product or a service? You must know your audience and go straight for it. Very few products and services are meant for everyone. Aim your message directly at the most likely candidate to use it.

It’s here that you want to create a sense of urgency, letting your audience know this is a must-have product that speaks to their particular need.

Ok, I see the wheels turning in your head.  How do you accomplish all this in just a few seconds?

The Power of Visual

You’ve got one big advantage: the web itself. Remember, the web is a visual medium. If you have a product or service that can leverage a visual image of what they want, you can deliver your offer in subliminal ways.  In this ad, only a few well-chosen words are necessary. The offer is readily apparent. You want to take a big bite right now.

Another example:  If you do remodeling, or landscape architecture, then show your websitevisitor a picture of what could be theirs.  Help them see themselves in that picture or having what you offer.  Don’t tell them how nice their kitchen could look… show them.

What’s In It For ME?

Understand that your audience is going to be guided not only by strategic images but also by what you say in your ad copy. You’re gingerly leading them down the primrose path to the inevitable conclusion that they need your product. Say nothing about yourself (nobody cares).

Your audience wants to know how they’re going to benefit from using your product or service.

Better still, are your benefits for the customer uniquely superior in the marketplace?  Or presented in such a way that they appears unique?  In marketing jargon it’s known as a unique selling proposition (USP).

In the advertisement below, Amazon.com’s book selling division took away a lot of textbook business from Barnes and Noble by offering students next day shipping service.

Vital Element #3: Call to Action

You have done the first two elements above—created an eye catching, persuasive, benefits driven ad or landing page.  Now what?

Don’t assume people will connect the dots and respond as you desire.  Make sure you know exactly what you want them to do (buy something, call you, opt-in for a report, etc.).  This is your call to action.

Like guiding someone on a water slide to their end destination, you have to guide people from A to B all the way to Z (what you want them to do).   If you don’t, they won’t.  You’ve got to close the deal.

This is absolutely the most important aspect of the entire effort. Failing here will result in a waste of everything you’ve done up to this point.

Below is an example for this blog post…

Need More (Free) Persuasion Ideas For Your Ads and Website?

For more great (free!) information and ideas on marketing your business, visit 2ndMileMarketing.com

If you would like more ways you can increase the persuasiveness of your online presence, download our free report, The Website Persuasion Checklist.  This 9 page document is packed full of great ideas to add power and punch to your website pages and ads.

Download it today… it’s free!

See how that works?  I want you to read this blog article… but I would love for you to get my free report with even more ideas.  I am calling you to do something.

So, go ahead and download the free report… or leave a comment below if you found this article helpful or have a question we can help with.  Thanks!