1. Headline: On the average, 5x more people read the headline as the body copy. If people like the Headline they will continue to read the body copy. The Headline is what pulls them in. The headline should be simple and clearly state a benefit.
2. News and headlines: People read consumer magazines and newspapers to get news. If you have genuine news such as product updates or new innovations by all means put it in the headline.
3. How many words in a headline? Research conducted with cooperation from a large department store found that headlines of ten words or longer sold more products than short headlines. In terms of recall, headlines between eight and ten words work the best. On average, long headlines sell more goods than short ones - headlines like David Ogilvy’s “At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” have been remembered for years.
4. Speak to Your Prospects: When trying to reach a specific groupt; Speak to them in your headline - Parents, bald people, CEO’s?
5. Buyers Will Read Long Copy: Readership falls off rapidly up to 50 words, but drops very little between 50 and 500 words. Potential buyers will read longer into an ad. Peak their interest with the headline, and then sell them in the copy.
6. Before and After Ads: Before and after ads are above average in grabbing the readers attention. Contrast seems to work well. If then seems to be well understood by the consumer.
7. Line Drawings vs. Photos: Photographs work better than Drawing almost allways. The Reader relates better to ads he feel are genuine. The photo should pull readers in and be directly related to the reason why they should buy your product or service.
8. Captions: Twice as many people read the captions under photographs as read the body copies. Never place a photo without a caption. Because Associated Press Style calls for captions under photos people expect it.
9. Editorial layout vs. Art Layout The more an advertisement looks like the editorial in the magazine the higher the readership on most occasions. The art layout is much easier to get by the President of the company you are representing. A good agency will take the time to convince the CEO that he knows much more about their product that the consumer.
10. Test and Retest Readership has been known to increase with repetition. Continually test new ads against the old ones and run the winner.
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