It has always fascinated me that most people like to complain about advertising, and will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid being subjected to it, yet nothing grabs the average person’s attention faster that a good piece of sales copywriting.

This set me to wondering if there were some basic components to effective advertising techniques that any business, or entrepreneur, could employ that would grab a reader’s attention, and give them an opportunity to have their core message consistently strike home. As I dug beneath the surface, I discovered that there are indeed a few such mechanisms that have stood the test of time, and should always be kept in-mind when trying to draw attention to a product, or service.

3 Most Effective Advertising Techniques

Snatching the Reader’s Attention
One of the first things that dawned on me as I reviewed some of the better advertising techniques out there is that they all have one thing in-common; namely, really good headlines. The simple truth is, if a reader isn’t intrigued in some way by the very first words of an ad, they just won’t keep going.

In fact, cognitive studies at several leading universities have shown that an attention grabbing headline is 70% responsible for the success of a good piece of advertising. So while each element of an ad must contribute to the overall message you want to convey, no single part of what is written on a page is more important than the headline.

Of course, now that you have the reader’s attention, the next most important thing is to take advantage of this by going on to tell them a good story. Be aware, though, that the average person will quickly gauge how long the text following your headline is, and then decide in an instant if they’re going to invest the time to keep reading. So keep it succinct, on point, and interesting. Those are the ads that get read.

It’s All About You
I also spent some time looking at sales writing that just wasn’t very engaging, and I realized that nearly all of these examples had failed to utilize one of the most fundamental advertising techniques any business can make use of – which is – talk about the reader.

When people are reading your ad, they want to know how it will benefit them, so be sure to use the word you frequently. Show your reader that you have their interests at the forefront of your thinking. And talk about them in the present tense. After all, everyone wants to know the advantage of something now.

This, of course, means pointing to the benefits and solutions you are offering for their real world issues. One of the most powerful advertising techniques available to you is to drive home how the reader will be able to avail themselves of whatever it is you’re discussing – so don’t disappoint them

Save a Thousand Words
Of course, one of the most tried and true advertising techniques ever conceived of is the use of compelling imagery. Pictures communicate instantly in a way that stays with the viewer. Good ads almost always have captivating visual images that compliment the accompanying text.

Spending the time and energy to find the right image to go with your text is well worth the investment. Combined with the other elements we’ve discussed, it provides the added extra element that often separates ads the connect from those that barely generate a glance.

The bottom line is that the most powerful advertising techniques are usually the easiest, and most basic at available. And using them works.