Lesson 1, Topic 1
In Progress

Create advertisements to persuade a given audience to take decisions on products and services

Judith Kpakpo

Advertising is a key business strategy for most companies. Effective advertising often requires thoughtful and persuasive writing to accompany any images or videos. Knowing how to write specifically for advertising and marketing can benefit your career development and your organization. In this article, we explain what advertisement writing is and provide a list of steps to write an effective advertisement.

Advertisement writing is a style of writing that uses persuasion and other stylistic tactics to engage potential customers. Advertisement writing can be as short as a tagline for a photo or video or as lengthy as an article or blog post for customers to read. Knowing what the goal of the advertisement is can help you write strong and effective copy.

For students to create their own advertisements and successfully employ the various persuasive techniques, they’ll first need to develop a clear understanding of an advertisement’s underlying structure. We’ll explore the primary structural elements and features of advertisements, though the order of how these appear varies from advert to advert. Here, we’ll take a look at the following persuasive text elements.

  • Brand Name
  • Audience
  • The Image
  • Logo
  • Call to Action
  • The Offer
  • Headline
  • Slogan
  • Body Copy

BRAND NAME CONSIDERATIONS

  • What are the names of similar already existing products or services?
  • Does the name look and sound good?
  • Is the name short, punchy, and memorable?
  • Does it evoke a feeling or an idea?
  • Is it distinctive and original?

There are several ways to help students determine their target audience. A good starting place is for them to consider creating a target persona, a fictional character who represents the type of person their product or service is aimed at.

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Hobbies
  • Income
  • Education level
  • Occupation
  • Marital status
  • Likes/Dislikes
  • Who they trust
  • What they read/watch

The ad headline should provide a short, snappy preview of what the reader will find in the copy. A good headline grabs the potential customer’s attention and makes them want to read the rest of the ad. There are several tried and tested means of writing a good headline. Here are 3 of the most effective:

The Problem/Solution Headline – This headline details a problem a potential customer may be facing and offers the solution in the form of the product or service. For example: Tired? Sluggish? Overweight? Excero Bike Gets You Where You Need to Go, Fast!

The Testimonial Headline – This headline uses a quote from a customer’s positive review to help sell the product or service. The testimonial allows the potential customer to see some ‘proof’ upfront before buying. “With the Excero Bike, I lost 15lbs in 15 days. I’m now thinner, fitter, and much, much happier!”

The Question Headline – This headline asks a question that the target customer will be seeking an answer to, for example, “Are you paying too much for your x?” Are You Paying Too Much for Your Gym Membership?

Logos are visual representations of a brand and are used to help promote a range of products and services under a single umbrella and also to allow for quick identification by the reader. They are more of a design element than a writing one.

A slogan is a phrase or a short sentence used to represent or sell a particular brand. Usually, they’re designed to be short and snappy to help make them more memorable for readers. Slogans often use alliteration, rhyme, puns, or other figurative language techniques to make their message more memorable.

A good print ad makes readers an offer. This is usually in the form of a benefit the potential customer will gain or a motivating reason for finding out more about the product or service.

The Offer acts as a ‘hook’ that maintains the reader’s focus and draws them into the body of the ad. It can take the form of a time-limited discount or a 2-for-1 offer, etc. This Week Only – 25% Off!

Offers can also form part of the Call to Action at the end of the ad – more details on this soon.