Writing an Advertisement

7. Check Your Advertisement

7.1 You have written a few draft ads, asked people's opinions, and selected one. Now check it by asking yourself five questions.

• Will the headline - and illustration, if there is one - stop readers in their tracks?
• Is the copy interesting? Does it tell the readers something they want to know?
• Does the advertisement, overall, make the reader an offer or a promise?
• Does it encourage the reader to act? Does it make it clear what to do next?
• Are the special benefits of your product given the emphasis they deserve?

7.2 If you can look at your advertisement with the eyes of a reader - one of your potential customers - and answer 'Yes' to all these questions, you have a good ad.

• If not, it may be worth paying a specialist to write it for you, rather than wasting money buying space for an ad that will not bring you in any business.
• Advertising agencies are good at matching the style and content of an ad to the prospective customers for your product.
• If you cannot afford an agency, shop around for a self-employed copywriter and work together to generate ideas for ads.