10 Basic Steps To Ad Writing

Reviewing my analytics yesterday, I noticed someone searched for this:

I’ve never written that post, and I thought it was about time to write it. It’s taken me two decades of experience, years of continuing education and thousands of ads to articulate these steps:

1. If it’s a new product category or business, or you’re unfamiliar with it, do some keyword/trigger and consumer research.
2. What’s the goal of your ad? Are you promoting an event or trying to build a brand?
3. Are you speaking to relational or transactional customers?
4. Know your one main idea. See it clearly. Is it to position yourself against a competitor? Is it to build credibility?
5. Know the ad’s one key takeaway. Have more than one? Then you have more than one ad to write.
6. Know your brand diamond and your company’s why. Make sure your ad properly filters through these.
7. Know how you want to end. What do you want the consumer to do next?
8. Anticipate any objections. Address them. This may require a campaign.
9. What mood do you want to convey? Choose music to put you in that mind frame – this isn’t music for the ad, this is tonal music to help you write the ad.
10. Eliminate all other distractions. Close email turn off your phone.
11. Pick a voice. Who’s the narrator of your story? The business owner? A customer? John Cusack? Who?
12. Open big. Serve up a juicy first mental image in the headline, opening shot, or opening line.
13. Bridge to the benefit your business delivers, but show the benefit. Don’t tell her you’re courteous. Open her door.
14. Write a long, crappy first draft.
15. Find any claims you make. Substantiate them. Prove it.
16. Kill any cliches and ad speak.
17. Whack adjectives. Amplify your verbs.
18. Make sure you’re talking about the customer more than yourself.
19. Be active. Put me in the scene.
20. Edit it for clarity.
21. Proofread it. Have someone else proof it, too.
22. Edit it again for clarity.
23. Perform the ad for five people and ask them two questions. 
    
    1. What was the main idea?
    2. Does this accurately reflect our company values?

If at least four of the five don’t give you the same answer to the first question in step #23 and all five don’t respond “yes” to the second question, please return to step #1. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

There you go. Sorry, there aren’t just ten steps, and it isn’t basic. I’ll have something equally important to say about this tomorrow.

24. Leave your audience wanting more.