In this age of blogs, podcasts, Google Adwords and article syndication, you might by wondering why in the world an article about solo ads would be worth reading. But, solo ads are still incredibly powerful.
So much so that everyone is still using them. Have
you taken a look at your email lately? Have you noticed all those emails from the top "experts" announcing this new product and that recommendation? Guess what... those are solo ads.
Maybe not like you're use to seeing... the hypey, do this now type of ad. Nonetheless, they are solo ads. And they still work.
A client of mine and I were talking the other day about his advertising campaign that we recently worked on and how amazed he is about the performance of the solo ads. "I have to admit, I really didn't want to waste the money on this type of advertising. But, when the results came in... well, can you write a few more?"
Solo ads are here to stay and I truly believe that there isn't anything available yet to replace them.
"Why are your ads so effective?"
That's what someone asked me the yesterday. Luckily, I've already been thinking about it and could immediately tell them my personal ad writing tips for successful solo ads.
Be Conversational With Your Solo Ad
I love the new direction that solo ads are taking. Actually, I've been writing ads this way for quite awhile now and it seems that it is really beginning to take off. Remember, the question at the beginning of this article about the emails you receive from the top "experts"? They don't really seem like ads do they?
I mean, we know they are, but it just isn't your regular "hyped up, buy this amazing product now" type of ad. It's more... well, conversational. It feels like the person sending the email (ad) to you is talking to you.
Powerful isn't it? I have never, and I say this with all honesty, bought anything from a short solo ad that "forced" me to visit a site. But, I do fee.compelled to visit sites from ads where I feel like they really care that I visit this site.
And I know it's an ad!
Personal, conversational, relational. Write your ad like you're actually sitting across from the person or talking on the phone.
Target Your Ad To Fit Your Reader
So many times I see ads for products that I am not even remotely interested in (and I'm interested in a lot of things). I ask myself, why am I receiving this ad? Yes, I might subscribe to the ezine, but why would this person be advertising this product through this mailing list? It's a huge waste of money.
The most important principle of advertising is targeting your audience for the best possible results. So, it would only be logical to do the same thing with the actual ad itself.
Write the ad to fit your reader, not your product.
So many ads are written to tell about the product, what it can do, and how many special features it has that makes it worth the hundreds of dollars they're asking for it.
The thing I've been doing recently is placing a tremendous emphasis on narrowly focusing the ad to fit the reader. What do people in this niche need? What are they feeling right now? What will help them the most?
For example: Let's say you are selling an ebook about t-ball practice drills. In writing the ad I would focus on one particular audience... new coaches. I wouldn't even begin to try to satisfy all people. Just one narrow focus.
The ad would then take on a life of it's own. Instead of limiting your creativity, the sky is the limit. You could write from the emotion of a new, bewildered father who is stepping in to coach because no one would. Or, set up the ad like a personal letter from one "new" coach to another describing a great resource that really helped.
Focus your ad to fit the reader.
Solo Ads Work Best In The Third Person
This ties into the previous "secret".
I have found that the solo ads that work best are not the ones that are written for your own product. What I mean by this is when you write an ad for your own product, you shouldn't write the ad like you own the product. Write it in the third person point of view. As a recommendation.
The last couple of years I have been extensively testing this theory. I have an ebook that I wrote on how to write solo ads that I wrote several ads for. Actually about thirty. Like I said... testing.
Anyway, I tested out a lot of theories and writing styles and the consistently high click thrus and conversion rates came from the ads that were written in the third person. The ads that were like I was recommending my own ebook, instead of saying "buy my ebook", outperformed the other ads... most of the time by 50-75%.
If you're struggling with your current ads start using my personal secrets to write some new ones or rewrite your current ones.
About the author:
Tim is the owner of Guaranteed-Ads.com and specializes in writing effective solo ads and creating powerful advertising campaigns. He has written thousands of ads and can write yours today at
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