Part 7: The Anatomy of an Ad: Body Copy, Part 3

In last month’s column, I explained how to start a conversation with your prospects. Now, you want to apply one of several direct marketing formulas or strategies that can help keep your copy on the right track.

A-I-D-A is one of those formulas, and should be a foundation of your ads. This acronym is Attention-Interest-Desire-Action.

Attention: Your first goal is to capture the attention of readers (as I presented at length in my headline section of this series). It is also important to write a very compelling lead paragraph or lead sentence. Keep firmly in mind, that each sentence is designed to make readers want to read the next sentence!

Interest: After you’ve captured your readers’ initial attention, you must then smoothly transition to building their interest. It’s important once again to focus on your customers and their needs, wants and problems. Your personal résumé, how many tournaments you’ve won, your instructor or how many bricks you can break are not interesting to your prospective customers.

What are important to your prospects is how you can solve their problems and how their lives will change if they decide to enroll in your school. It’s equally important to create an interest in your unique ability to help and understand them and their particular circumstances.

“What are important to your prospects is how you can solve their problems and how their lives will change…”

Your tone should be conversational, empathetic and understanding. Readers must believe that you understand them and, based on that understanding, you (and you alone) can provide them with the benefits that will solve their problems. I’m sure you pay much closer attention to those articles, messages and ads that “speak” to you as a friend or trusted advisor, rather than as a salesperson!

Desire: Next, your copy should transition readers from being interested in your statements to being sincerely desirous to you delivering the benefits that will solve their problems. This step is quite important and very often ignored. You must create a conversation in your prospects’ minds that helps them eliminate all the reasons that they would not want to be part of your program.

At the highest level, you will frame each potential objection, as a benefit of being part of your program! At this point, many martial arts school owners make the mistake of stating or promoting the features of their program, such as training schedules, class attendance, specific curriculum components and other information that may prompt readers to disqualify themselves from considering your program.

Action: My future columns will present details of your call-to-action copy, as part of the offers section; but, in this column, I will define your overarching objective and the final goal of your body copy. You must help readers defeat their natural sense of procrastination, and give them compelling reasons to want to be involved in your program now…not later.

Your goal is to make such a compelling offer that if readers have any interest in your service, then they would feel silly if they did not take action!