When writing copy for ads

Avoid making these ad copy mistakes: (Excerpts from Communication Briefings)

 

* Forgetting to include a reason for reading. Don't give audience members a reason to stop reading before they get started. Ask: "Am I offering an incentive for reading my message?"

If not, rewrite.

 

* Using headlines that don't excite readers. Readers will skip a message if the headline fais to address their needs.

 

* Trying to be clever. People may remember your cleverness but will probably forget your product.

 

(Source: Maxwell Sackheim's Billion Dollar Marketing, cited in Fred Goss' What's Working, 11300 Rockville Pike, Ste. 1100, Rockville, MD 20852.)