You must ask the person reading your advertisement to take action. If you do not, then no matter how interested they may be at that moment — no matter how eager they are to spend their money on your product or service — you’ll risk them getting away without so much as a trace. You won’t turn your nibble in to a full-fledged catch: sales and revenue. But there are simple ways to do that.
Once you’ve built a reader’s momentum with your stirring advertisement, you must convert that momentum. As you no-doubt know from your own experience as a shopper, delay kills a sale.
“Let me go home and think about it.”
“Can I take a brochure with me and read more about it?”
“Call back in two weeks.”
You must remove as many barriers as possible that would give your reader an excuse to not buy right now — or take action in general. Ask them directly, or offer incentives.
Imagine that you were talking to the reader in person. How would you persuade them in conversation to take action right now? What would you do to make it as easy as possible for them to take the action that you are asking them to take?
Legendary ad man Claude Hopkins said that advertising is salesmanship in print. For example, think of a print advertisement that exclaims in big bold letters “Best all-around. . . .for 30 years!” Can you imagine a real salesman running up to a prospect and yelling in their face “Best all-around! For 30 years!”
That would be ridiculous. The customer would, at the least, be a sure-fire lost sale. Depending on the prospect, the salesman may even catch a knuckle-sandwich to the face.
When persuading your reader to take action, keep this idea in mind. Tell them directly what you want them to do. “Write your name on this coupon and mail it in today for an immediate gift!” Or “Fill in your name and email address and click the ‘Submit’ button to begin receiving your free benefits today!” (Look how I’ve phrased my own request in the top-right corner of this page.)
You can go even further: “If you are still unsure or hesitant (I know . . . . you probably already get tons of email a day), click here to read more reasons why I think you will save money and XYZ.”
Be natural and human. If you ask for action from your reader in a way that is personable and real, while removing barriers that will prevent them from taking action right now, you will convert more nibbles into catches. Make it easy for them to do what you’re asking them to do.