Deciding how much money to spend on advertising is a major concern for any small business. Sometimes it is not how much you spend but the quality of what you are spending the precious few dollars you have. Good direct marketing copy is essential to any advertising; however, for small business' it is essential. How do you tell if it is good marketing copy or "X" factor copy? Here are a few things to think about before placing another ad.

FREE! Do You? Exciting Opportunity! How would you...? These and hundreds of other words that are the key to any good piece of copy for marketing or sales. What got you to open this article in the first place? Why have you read this so far? The answer is simple - key words. The simple secret to a great piece of sales copy is that it keeps you reading until the very end. A radio copy makes you want to call. The TV spot speaks to you, not at you.

They all have one thing in common. They don't just present a brand name and price. They apply it to a personal reason why it would benefit you. Whatever they are selling, whether it is a product or a service, they show you how and why you need to have it.

Breaking the copy down, the first key is to get a hook. A hook is what draws a person into even picking up the print copy in the first place. Think about it, how do you decide which email to open? What words catch your eye? You are the customer you need to sell to first. Before I got into free lance copy editing full time, no one knew my name. I had no resume or clips to share. So I had to come up with a way to get my foot in the door. What did that - my query letter. I wrote a letter to sell me to me. Why would I hire me, why would I trust me, and how am I different than every other person out there sending in a query letter. I got the hook with the first line of the query letter.

But what kept them reading to the end of the letter? The second key is giving a personal benefit. What will the product or service do for them? How will it directly benefit them? Will it make life easier, simpler, or just better? Saying something is a good value will not work by itself. Lots of things on the market today are a good value. To stand out in today's media blitzed world, it has to be personal to the intended market.

Finally, you need to close the deal. You need to call your consumer to take action. The action needs to be simple and easy to do. A call, an email, a double click on a button - anything that is non-complicated. Then remind them of the benefit before calling to action a second time. You need to repeat the call to action at least twice. It is a proven fact that repetition strengthens and confirms. So repeating both the benefit and the call to action confirms in the mind of the consumer that yes I want this or better yet, yes I need this.
There is no big secret to great copy writing that costs $49.99. Mailing lists to intended consumers will pay you nothing in return unless the copy is great. Anyone can write great copy with enough patience and practice. Remember - Hook (opening statements), line (personal benefit), and sinker (call to action). Remember the simple analogy of hook, line, and sinker and you will start to produce a higher quality copy and with practice - amazing copy.

Learn more about this author, Reverend Ashira Goddard.
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