How to write a great ad, by Nick Jervis

If you followed my blog last month, I hope that you find this article really helpful when it comes to writing your advertisements. However, it is also incredibly useful to use this guide when writing any content to promote your services, from brochures to website pages.

The traditional AIDA system

Traditionally, when it comes to writing an advertisement, many people for years have used the AIDA system. This stands for:

A – Attention

I – Interest

D- Desire

A – Action

However, I believe that in today’s environment, when clients are bombarded with information and advertising messages, a more complete and targeted system is required for writing great content for your advertisements to ensure that they generate more in fees than they cost to place.

Let me pause on that point for a moment.

That should be your yardstick for all of your advertisements; they should instantly generate more in fees than they cost to place. Brand building advertising or sponsorship should not be entertained by law firms. You need every advertising pound spent to reward you with new instructions.

Now back to the AIDA system. The fact is a few years ago I found it simply did not work very well any more so I developed my own system (as much as anything to prevent me from missing important parts out – which I frequently used to do). When I was in private practice I had pre-trial checklists, now I have marketing ones (some habits never leave a solicitor). So let me introduce you to my PASTOR advertising system.

The PASTOR system

My PASTOR acronym stands for:

P – Problem

A – Agitate

S – Solution

T – Travel

O – Offer

R – Rally

Problem. We all react more to a problem than we do to the solution (you need only read the Daily Mail or see Sky News headlines for two minutes for this point to be confirmed). So when writing an advertisement, you need to start by addressing the problem or challenge which is faced by your client at the moment in time when they are viewing your advertisement.

So often solicitor advertisements start with the firm name at the top of them, when for it to be effective it absolutely must start off by addressing the problem or challenge your potential client is facing at that moment in time.

This will ensure that the visitor keeps on reading.

Agitate. Once you have identified the problem, you need to expand your understanding of your client’s problem so that they know you really do understand their current predicament or situation.

Solution. If you have followed steps one and two, you will now have the full attention of your reader, so you can start to show them how you can provide a solution for their needs. This is the time to start mentioning your experience, but by reference to how you have helped other people in their situation in the past.

Travel. Now you should go further with your solution for their problem. This is the time to bring in testimonials and case studies to prove to the client that you really are the only firm they should be contacting for assistance. External endorsement of your services is vital if you want to improve your conversion rates.

Offer. Now is the time to make an offer to your reader. They have taken the time to read this far, so now is the time to reward them. The offer could be a free guide or report about the area of legal service they are interested in (allowing you to capture their contact details for future follow up), a free quotation, or a free telephone enquiry. You have to say exactly what you would like your visitor to do to ensure the highest chances of success.

Rally. Finally, you need to ensure that your visitor takes action. Ideally this is best achieved by reference to a deadline for them to take action (no deadline = total decline).

This could be as simple as a special offer for your services if they reply within a set period of time (no longer than 14 days), or a free guide limited by the number you have printed.

Failure to follow each of the steps in this process will mean that you miss a vital element of the conversion process, making your advertisement less effective. However, if you do follow each step I am certain that you will generate more enquiries from your advertisements and obtain a much better return on investment.

Nick Jervis is a solicitor (non-practising) and the managing director of Samson Consulting, a law firm marketing consultancy. He offers a free guide ‘Eight ways to win new clients’ from his website www.samsonconsulting.co.uk. Email: njervis@samsonconsulting.co.uk