Welcome! Introduction Best Accounts to Choose Common Mistakes Gathering Info Securing Artwork Determining Ad Size Attention Grabber Benefit Headline Copy Other Elements Producing the Ad The fastest way to increase sales! Participate in this award-winning, newspaper-specific ad sales course on-site or in a Webinar.  • Get past upfront stalls and objections without any pushing  • Make the account believe he really needs you  • Get better information from your prosepct  • Develop quick ad strategies that work the very first time  • Eliminate size, frequency, content, cost and most other objections before they ever arise  • Get dramatic responses for all kinds of advertisers  • Never have to push an advertiser to run again click here

The balance of the ad simply should get into detail about whatever benefits you chose in your headline as well as more information on other less important points that are still worth mentioning.

How much copy should you get into? That depends on a few things. For example, how much information do the target customers need to have in order to believe that they should go to that particular place instead of where they might be comfortable going already?

For example, if it's a service-based business and the quality of their service is a major consideration for people deciding where to buy (such as a doctor, lawyer, or real estate agent), then more copy might be necessary to win the target customers over.

If the advertiser is selling a product that people are likely to be unfamiliar with, such as a new water filter technology, then you might need to get into more detail about the product just to build demand before making a case why people should buy it from that particular business.

If there's a brand name associated with it that everyone trusts, like Sony, you might not need as much copy to prove value as it would be, for example, a place that makes handmade furniture.

If you need to and have the space, don't be afraid to use lots of copy. Sure, some people won't need to read it all, but the people who are about to buy the product might think it's the most important item in the newspaper that day, and if it matters to them they'll devour each word. And remember, people who are buying and reading your newspaper are readers. They like to read. They don't immediately become illiterate when they enter an ad.

The idea that you've got to keep it simple or people won't read it is just part of newspaper advertising design folklore, along with the evils of white space, the superiority of being in the front, right-hand-side of the paper, and logos needing to be at the top.

In the seafood restaurant example we've been working with, the copy really doesn't make a case that it's good seafood at all, just that they have it, which probably gives them no advantage. Adding more info on why the seafood is better–fresher and prepared by a great chef, dramatically improves the ad here.

Next: Other spec ad elements