Using current news and events to boost response from your advertising
There’s an old saying from a legendary ad man (hmmm… don’t remember who though) that goes like this:
“When you write ad copy, you’ll get better results if you find a way to enter the conversation already going on in the reader’s head”.
Well… one of proven ways to do that is to tie your ad to a current news story.
Today, I’m going to give you a fictitious example using a current story, and your job is to see if you can use the concept to come up with an ad angle for your business.
Today’s News headline…
“Notorious Mob Boss Whitey Bulger hides
in rented apartment for 16 years”
.
So let’s say you were a private investigator. You perform background checks, and you figure apartment and condo complex managers might want to hire you to make sure prospective renters were on the up-and-up, and not dangerous criminals.
I mean… The management has a duty to protect their tenants, don’t they?
He wants to send out a postcard to these managers to make sure they know about the background check he offers them, and comes up with a special offer they just can’t refuse.
Then the PI goes through his customer list, and also rents a list of local property/apartment managers.
His headline is based on the news… maybe something like this…
Attention Property Managers!
Learn how my “No-Hassle Criminal Background Check”
keeps you & your tenants safe from dangerous criminals
like Whitey Bulger…
Get two background checks for the price of one!
Offer good until 1-2-11!
“Frank weeded out one nasty dude – thank goodness
I hired him to check before I rented to him!”
Joe Schmoh – Boston MA
Call Frank today at 111-234-5678
If you really want to take advantage of this concept, use well-read headlines and reports to create a product or service that would cater to those people.
An example of this may be a financial planner using a published survey that says American’s between 40-60 #1 worry is if they’ll have enough money for retirement.
They could create a seminar or a course called “The Boomer’s Plan to Gurantee a Comfortable Retirement”, or something like that.
Always remember to use all the components of a good direct response ad. (You know, the ones you’ve been reading about in this blog for years) -:)
And remember, this is just to get your wheels turning.
What are your thoughts?
If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!
To your marketing success!
Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter
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