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Saga of the Billboards
Once upon a time, at a party, I was introduced to the person who was arguably – according to my peers and those in the industry who knew him, or knew of him – the best copywriter in the business. (Since he wishes to remain anonymous and for purposes of this post, I'll just call him, Jack.)
After I met Jack and we exchanged basic information – I was also a copywriter of some repute – the conversation went something like this:
"OK, Jack, fess up. What's your secret?"
"Secret to what?"
"Your phenomenal success as a Billboard Copywriter."
Did I mention that Jack writes advertising copy for billboards? You have to be very good and in possession of a skilled and sometimes, evil, yet experienced marketing mind to do something like that. And expect to be paid for it.
"You know my secret."
"I do?"
"You use it every day in your own copy."
"I do? How do you know that?"
"I know you're a damn good copywriter because I've read your copy."
"You have?" I was in awe.
"Remember that thing our friends in the Photography industry used to throw at us?"
For a moment, it didn't dawn on me. Then it dawned on me. "Oh, you mean ... a picture is worth a thousand words?"
"Exactly! Now ... substitute the words, 'a single sentence' for 'a picture'."
I thought for a moment. "A single sentence ... is worth a thousand words??"
"Right again! Now, read that billboard across the street."
We were standing next to a window, out of which we could see a number of billboards lined up across the street.
"Which one?"
"Which ever one catches your eye first."
"The one that stands out says, 'I did not refer to the Ten Commandments as the 10 suggestions! And it's signed, God?'"
"Get the point?"
"That about says it all!"
"Precisely."
"Straight forward, to the point, all the stuff they left out, simply implied. It's understood!"
"Now, you're catching on. But you still didn't get my point."
"Enlighten me. Please!"
"That's my secret! That's the technique I use to push a message into the minds of all the motorists whizzing by at 40 to 70 miles an hour on the freeway."
"Because you only have a few seconds ... "
"4 to 7 seconds, to be exact."
" ... to register your message and get your point across?"
"Correct. Same technique you use in your 30 second commercials. The one you wrote about the apple?"
"Oh, yea ... juicy, mouth-watering, indescribably delicious, makes you want more and you can have more because it's so good for you?"
"That's the one!"
"The 7/11 Apple spot."
"The stuff you left out was simply implied. Implication and suggestion (innuendo, if you will) is one of your most effective tools in communication. It gets the reader, or listener, involved in your message, personally. She fills in the blanks in her mind. She knows instinctively what you trying to say. At the end of that 30 seconds, she knows exactly what you wanted her to do. Go to 7/11 and buy that apple."
Sorry about the crass, commercial plug
The point is ... Rick has become a master of the teaser, probably Advertising's most effective tool. Even the 6 o'clock news does it. And that's why you'll hardly ever see more than one sentence of copy plus a phone number and a Website address on one of Rick's billboards.
So where's all this get us?
Let's talk about another highway. The one that goes around the world. The one we call, the Internet. The "billboards" on this highway represent the home pages, or landing pages of the Websites you pass. Keyword here is "pass."
According to the latest research, it will take your Visitor exactly 4 to 7 seconds (the same time factor as the billboards) to get the message and make the critical decision to either move on ... or to stay for awhile.
Unfortunately, most will opt out.
Why?
Because most people have great difficulty within that 4 to 7 second window, finding anything relevant to their search on the page we send them to.
That's a problem that can kill a lot of sales — a lot of conversions.
Ads that Lead to Landing Pages
Listen carefully. Landing Pages must have ... must have ... the same relevant keywords and information as the ads or articles that take you there. In this case, you need a creative "billboard" ad that leads to a relevant landing page, or an article that's rich enough in keywords to entice your visitor to take action. To convert. To actually buy something.
If it's not a well-written, strong call-to-action landing page, it will not convert!
For that, you need a professional Copywriter!
Likewise, even if your Visitor comes to your site looking for something in particular (a product you sell or a service you provide), if they encounter a Home Page that's nothing but irrelevant marketing clutter (like so many pages on the Web), they can easily become confused and frustrated and take off down the road.
The idea is to mentally stop them with something that is remarkable, unique and, above all, RELEVANT. Relevant to their wants and needs. And then, lead them through a call-to-action message that will convert them into buying customers. Help them make the decision to buy.
Welcome to the World Wide Web!
Lee Gillette has 35 years experience in copy writing for Radio, TV, newspaper, magazines and ... for the last ten years ... the Internet.
If you've got a copy writing project (Website content, a newsletter, ezine article, etc.) please don't hesitate to contact him by email. Or call 352-409-7086. Remember. The consultation is free.
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