In your advertising, you must choose between boredom, shouting and seduction. Which do you choose?When it comes to crafting creative and effective advertisements, you’re definitely not going to want a bored audience. And you’re also definitely not going to want to shout at them. Have you ever tried to seduce your prospective customers? Do you ever rely on alluring ads? What’s irresistible about your product or service? What does your audience want?There are many questions that you can ask yourself as you try to hone your marketing messages, but here’s the first one to answer: what would seduce your audience into wanting, needing your company?Even though effective marketing requires math (statistics), science (computer science and digital technology) and social science (psychology), it’s not enough. You need art, flair. You need a voice that’s unique to your brand, and you need to use a tone that will allow your audience to feel a connection with your company. Seduction is an art, and we want you to be able to use it to your advantage–ethically of course. Before we can get into the more artistic or intangible aspects of successful marketing, let’s look at what the scripture says. Our marketing scripture, that is. According to us at the Wizards of Ads, there are laws that govern the advertising universe. At the front of The Wizard of Ads, Turning Words in the Magic and Dreamers into Millionaires, there’s a page that stands alone, and its header reads:
The Seven Laws
of the Advertising Universe
(Whence Cometh the Power of Ads to Work Magic)
Or, in other words, there are seven laws that govern the advertising world, and they will bring your ads a magic power. Let’s get into them.
Do You Know The Seven Laws of the Advertising Universe?
Once you have a firm grasp on these seven laws, you’ll have a strong foundation in the basics of advertising to build on. And if you have a hard time understanding how to implement these laws into your own marketing campaigns, then you can rely on us. At Wizard of Ads, we’re committed to guiding you toward all of your advertising and marketing goals. Click here to learn more!
1. An Energy of Words
“An Energy of Words has existed since the day He said, ‘Let there be light.’ Learn how to use this energy. You are created in His image.”If you’re going to create powerful ads, then you need to have a profound respect for the power of your words. What you say matters, and what you mean matters even more. When someone is creating an ad, the messaging they put out there can really influence viewers. That power needs to be used for good, and it can’t be harnessed effectively if it isn’t first revered. When your ads are moving people, they need to be moving them in the right direction, otherwise it’s unethical. And we mean the right direction for them. And for you, too. We start with this rule first because the power of what follows is great–and we want to ensure you understand that you need to use that power for good. By understanding your audience, you’ll be able to use your words with a stronger effect. You’ll also come to learn what they want and what they need. Serve your customers. It will always work out for you best that way in the end.
2. Masses of People
“Masses of People are predictable, though an individual person is not. The exception does not disprove the rule.” For the most part, it’s going to be more effective to target many people at once with your marketing, rather than individuals. It’s important to note that masses are made up of individuals, but they have common mindsets, goals and more. For ads to work well, then you need to have enough predictive power over your viewers. How are they going to react to this ad? What will they feel when they see this image? If you try to make those assumptions about one person, you’ll either be right or wrong. There isn’t much room between those two options. Hit, or miss. When you try to make those same predictions about a group of people, though, you might be right about some of them. You can be mostly right–meaning the assumption is right for more than half of those people, for example. You don’t have to simply hit or miss. You can hit the mark for a bunch of people, drawing in potential customers. Also, when your ads are effective, why wouldn’t you want more people to see them? Of course it’s not wise to indiscriminately target enormous masses of people with generic ads. That’s not what we’re saying. Instead, we’re saying to choose groups large enough to increase your likelihood of getting through to most people.
3. Intellect and Emotion
“Intellect and Emotion are partners who do not speak the same language. The intellect finds logic to justify what the emotions have decided. Win the hearts of the people, their minds will follow.”It’s true that the mind tends to follow the heart, rather than the heart following the mind. People very frequently will feel something and then determine their thoughts about it after. Our feelings are more abstract, so we often let them determine themselves. This applies to ads because people often try to convince their audience of something. That their product is the best. That their solution will definitely work! And those things may be true, and you might even be able to convince your audience of them. However, it’s not going to be the most effective way to approach your marketing. If you can tap into the feelings of your prospective customers, then you can see what they feel. You can win their hearts that way, and when they feel trust and connection with your brand, the sales will follow.
4. Time and Money
“Time and Money are two sides of a single coin. No person gives you his money until he has first given you his time. Win the time of the people, their money will follow.”When consumers consider purchases, they spend time considering what they want, what they need and how they feel. The longer they spend with one company, product, service or solution, the more they’ll be ready to trade their money. It’s easier to justify a purchase having felt like you’ve done your due diligence, isn’t it? We often think to ourselves that our time is easier to give away, so we spend our time as a consumer more readily than our money. And then it feels easier to let the money follow, too. So focus on gathering time from your audience. By captivating their attention, you’ll be able to get that time from them. And then, with that increased feeling of trust and sense of buy-in…they’ll be ready to buy!
5. Sight and Sound
“Sight and Sound function differently in the mind, with sound being the surer investment. Win the ears of the people, their eyes will follow.” When you hear a noise, do you look to figure out exactly what it is? When you see something, do you listen to figure out exactly what it is? Sounds tend to invoke our sense of curiosity, thus directing our eyes. With your advertisements, you can use this same principle. When we say to win the ears of the people, if you can do so literally, then go for it. But for text based ads, it might be more complicated. The point is rather to have your audience metaphorically hear your messaging to get their interest and attention. That gets more eyes on your products, which will lead to more sales.
6. Opportunity and Security
“Opportunity and Security are inversely proportionate. As one increases, the other must decrease. High returns are gained from low-risk strategies only through the passage of time. He who will cheat time must embrace the risk of failure.” If you’re an entrepreneur, you already have firsthand experience with and knowledge of this principle. And it’s true in marketing, too. The riskier you are with your ads–the edgier you make them–the more your possible reward increases too. Don’t abandon your sense of what risks are worth what rewards, but if you want to find success, you need to be willing to push the envelope. People respond well to content that is new, fresh, exciting, invigorating, controversial and more. While staying true to your company’s mission and code of ethics, see how you can invite in more opportunities without lowering your security too much. It can be a hard balance to find, but it’s very fruitful and rewarding when done well.
7. Engage the Imagination
“Engage the Imagination, then take it where you will. Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the body will surely follow. People go only to places they have already been in their minds.” If you first engage the imagination of your viewers, your ads will have a much more powerful effect. Someone’s imagination is much more capable of steering them or influencing them than what you come up with for them. As with reading a book versus watching a movie, getting to picture something for yourself can be so much more interesting. By using this same principle in your marketing, you can encourage people to imagine things for themselves. Asking questions is a great and simple way to quickly engage someone’s imagination. Invoke your audience’s sense of wonder, and try to see what you can get them to imagine before you try to tell them too much.
How Can You Become a Successful Advertiser?
In addition to utilizing the above rules, we have some tips to point you in the right direction as you craft your marketing materials. Here are seven of our tips to becoming a successful advertiser.
Investigate
You need to know a lot before you can start on your ads. Investigation and research are two essential stepping stones on the path to effective ads, so what are you waiting for? Figure out who you’re targeting, why you’re targeting them and how you can help them. What are their pain points? What do they feel, or think? Why haven’t they been able to solve the problem for themselves? What are your competitors trying to do? What’s working, or not working, for them? There are essentially endless possibilities of topics to investigate or questions to find answers for. Get started now, because it’s step number one.
Decide on the Ideal Spot
Now that you know who you’re targeting and why, you can make your next determination. Where is the ideal spot to target them? Where should your ads, marketing campaigns and content live? If you want your advertising efforts to bear fruit, then choose spots where many of your ideal customers spend a lot of time. Sometimes, marketing is a numbers game. That means you have to take a bunch of shots to make a bunch of shots, but we want you to do so as strategically as you can. When you can generate a lot of good leads, by picking the ideal spots, then your sales will skyrocket.
Make a Design That Stands Out
If it doesn’t stand out, it will be forgotten. It might not even get recognized in the first place. Wouldn’t it be a shame if your advertisements were so boring that no one even paid attention to them, that they couldn’t even have a chance to be forgotten? That sounds pretty dismal to us, so we suggest you make your designs stand out. You don’t have to use bright colors and loud words, but you do need to be unique enough to stand apart from the rest. There’s lots of noise out there, and you need to be heard. But sometimes whispers are heard the loudest, so don’t forget that there are many different ways to get recognized.
Create a Lasting Impression
When your audience is loyal, your sales figures will be stronger and steadier. For scalable, sustainable growth, your marketing campaigns need to play the long game a bit. Establish trust, build a relationship and create a lasting impression on your viewers. Over time, the money will flow in as a result.
Personalize It
People like to feel special. The easiest way to make your customers feel special is to personalize your ads or communication with them. Using their name is the simplest route to take, and using it in emails is probably the easiest application. Try it, and track your click rates or conversions to sales. It’s a simple way to boost your email series.
Don’t Oversell Yourself
If you oversell yourself, then you’re guaranteed to only get one sale, maximum, from that client. They’ll know you bent the truth, or exaggerated, and your relationship will be irrevocably shattered. They won’t trust you, your brand, company or product. Trust is hard to build, and easy to break. Overselling yourself is sure to break any trust that you were able to foster. And don’t undersell yourself, either, or you might not get the sale in the first place.
Make it Known
Get the word out. Let everyone hear about your product, service or solution. Make it known what you stand for, how you help people and what sets you apart. Don’t be shy about it, either. People like upfront and authentic communication, so just make it known what you want and how you can help your customers! And if any of this sounds daunting to you, then don’t go it alone. With the experience we have behind us at Wizard of Ads, you can rely on our expertise to guide you along the way to finding the most effective and magical advertisements for your business success. Click here to contact us!
Ryan Chute
Helping small businesses become BIG brands with a holistic marketing strategy that speaks the same language across all sales and marketing channels.
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