Marc Scibelli | Creative Director

I started out in this business as a designer - but over the years I learned that to be a better designer I needed to be a proficient writer. Only when you can optimize a message through design and language are you really marketing effectively. And only when you’re building on this marriage daily are you creative directing.  

Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of images and messages every day, which means reaching them and moving them to action is harder than ever. That’s why it is also more important than ever to not only design effectively but write great advertising copy.

First, you need a powerful competitive advantage you can tout. Skip advantages such as “providing the best customer service” or offering “the widest selection.” These phrases have been used so much they are meaningless. When is the last time you reacted to an ad because of these types of phrases? It’s probably been a long time, if ever. Instead, find a specific benefit you offer that your competitors do not.

If you have the lowest prices, your work here may be done. Your best approach may be to highlight your products and prices in your ad. But if you don’t have the lowest prices or don’t want to emphasize pricing for image reasons, you need to dig deeper to find a powerful point to persuade consumers. For example, if you sell big-screen televisions, you could promise free delivery and installation the same day a customer buys the set. Or if you sell supplies to contractors, let them call in orders that you promise to deliver for free within a half hour.

Another approach is to find out what brought your customers to your business. Don’t guess. Spend several weeks and ask each of your customers what attracted them to your business. Don’t settle for their first answer. Gently prod them so you can be sure you are getting an honest answer. The top reasons might not be what you expect. For example, when companies began selling high-speed Internet they were sure consumers would sign up because of the blazing connection speed. But their research soon found that consumers actually purchased the service because it was always connected, and they didn’t have to waste time dialing. These Internet providers wasted no time emphasizing in their advertising that their service “was always on.”

Once you’ve identified key selling points, highlight them as headlines in your ads. If you find you are unable to identify key selling points, enlist the help of business or marketing students at a local college. Ask them to survey your customers, analyze the data and present ideas for selling points. Design an ad campaign that will test different points, so you can determine which are the strongest. Remember that the more powerful ad copy you develop, the more your sales will increase.

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