Part of succeeding is knowing what success looks like.
As the owner of the Directory of Ezines I am often asked”what does a profitable solo ad look like?”
People who ask believe that modeling something that has worked will give them an edge; that knowing what success looks like and doing something similar will lead to better results.
And they are right!
Today I’d like to share with you a very profitable solo ad.
If you know me you know that I never talk about money in specific terms and never ever show my Clickbank screenshots or other “proof” of my sales or earnings.
So I won’t be getting into the “this ad pulled in $125,000” or any of that.
What I will say is this – when I was promoting my Directory of Ezines membership site, this ad was responsible for more sales than any other ad I ran.
I tested five sets of solo ad copy for a specific Directory of Ezines campaign and the ad you are going to read today was the clear winner.
I suppose you could say that it was in indeed a profitable solo ad!
So let’s look together at the original ad and then pull it apart to see why it worked so well.
Read through it and see what you think.
I will duplicate it below and then we can examine it section by section.
PLEASE NOTE: This ad was a plain text ad. That means all I used were words – no bolding, no images and no special characters or italics.
This empowered me to run the ad in any ezine or to any list I wanted and ensured the ad would look great.
I’m not saying to only use plain text ads; I’m just saying this ad was plain text which is why it looks unformatted below.
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE SOLO AD AND THEN CONTINUE
What They Are Not Telling You About Solo Ads!
I’m sure you have heard about solo ads by now.
It seems that every business opportunity or Internet marketing course out there all say the same things.
PLACE SOLO ADS EVERYWHERE YOU CAN!
Know why they say to do that?
Because solo ads work!
But here’s what they DO NOT tell you.
- They don’t tell you HOW to write them.
- They don’t tell you WHERE to place them.
- They don’t tell you HOW MUCH to pay for them.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT AND MUCH MORE!
Click here to learn how it’s done!
In fact, I spent 2 HOURS on Tuesday night TEACHING Directory of Ezines members HOW to write a solo ad!
The GOOD NEWS is that anyone can write a solo ad.
The BETTER NEWS is that I’m working with DOE members to make the ads they write the BEST they can be!
** And I want to do that for you too! **
Click here to work with me on YOUR ad!
In fact, let me GIVE YOU a secret that I shared on that call.
There are SIX elements to a profitable solo ad.
Miss ANY OF THEM and your ad will be weak.
And weak ads don’t get clicks.
Here are the six parts of a solo ad.
- The headline
- The claim
- The benefits
- The reason why
- The proof
- The call to action
Now … HOW do you use those to YOUR advantage?
You can find out RIGHT NOW in the member’s center of Directory of Ezines.
Is Directory of Ezines worth the money?
Only if you want your ads to work.
I hope you join us.
Charlie Page
P.S. Do you know WHY a P.S. is important?
You will when you get INSTANT ACCESS to the Directory of Ezines members area and access the Learning Center.
— END OF ORIGINAL SOLO AD —
Now let’s see why this ad worked.
I’m going to show you the ad again and make notes showing you why it worked.
Pay careful attention to these “reasons why” and you will be able to apply them to your own ad writing.
After we take the ad apart I will share three keys that you can apply to your own ad writing beginning today!
Here is the ad again with my notes about why it worked.
My notes will follow the part of the ad we are analyzing.
— START OF ANALYSIS —
THE HEADLINE
What They Are Not Telling You About Solo Ads!
NOTES
The headline is the most important part of the ad.
In email marketing, the headline is the subject line of the email and primarily determines if the email gets opened.
Here I am using fear of loss as a motivator.
Many people believe there are “secrets” they are not being told.
This headline works with that thought process to make the reader want to know the secret.
INTRODUCTION
I’m sure you have heard about solo ads by now.
It seems that every business opportunity or Internet marketing course out there all say the same things.
PLACE SOLO ADS EVERYWHERE YOU CAN!
Know why they say to do that?
Because solo ads work!
NOTES
This is my CLAIM … solo ads work.
But here’s what they DO NOT tell you.
Now we are getting into one of the most powerful parts of the ad.
Telling people that there are things they need to know but not telling them what those things are is a failed advertising strategy from long ago.
The key online is to be transparent and give as many details as you can so people will want what you are offering.
- They don’t tell you HOW to write them.
- They don’t tell you WHERE to place them.
- They don’t tell you HOW MUCH to pay for them.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT AND MUCH MORE!
THESE ARE MY BENEFITS – I WILL SHARE WITH YOU WHAT OTHERS WON’T
What I have said so far is “people are succeeding with solo ads but not telling you how to do it.
I will show you what they refuse to show you – exactly how to do it.
And to prove that I’m telling you three things I know you need to know.”
This is the basis of “insider secrets” advertising. This was a very powerful part of the ad.
VERY IMPORTANT! Every time there is an emotional peak in an ad it is vital that you immediately offer the reader a call to action.
Your ad has brought them to the point of saying “YES, I want that!” and now you have to show them how to get it.
Putting a call to action immediately following the emotional peak will increase clicks dramatically.
THE LINK TO THE DIRECTORY OF EZINES IS MY CALL TO ACTION #1
I spent 2 HOURS on Tuesday night TEACHING Directory of Ezines members HOW to write a solo ad!
Notice the specifics here. “Two hours on Tuesday night” works better than “call three covered …” Be specific in your ads when you can.
It helps people connect with you as a person and not as someone “hard selling”.
The GOOD NEWS is that anyone can write a solo ad.
The BETTER NEWS is that I’m working with Directory of Ezines members to make the ads they write the BEST they can be!
MORE BENEFITS. As much as possible be positive and share only good news in your ads.
This is actually a fear-based ad (not my normal style) but putting something positive in helped soften the sound of the ad.
And I want to do that for you too!
EMOTIONAL PEAK #2 – I will do something for them that other people will not do. Remember what comes directly after the emotional peaks?
Become a member today!
In fact, let me GIVE YOU a secret that I shared on that call right now.
THIS IS MY PROOF. If I did not know what I was talking about I could not share in such detail or offer any “secrets”.
There are SIX elements to a profitable solo ad. Miss ANY OF THEM and your ad will be weak.
Talking about weak ads reinforces the “fear of loss” theme I established in my headline.?
And weak ads don’t get clicks. Here are the six parts of a solo ad.
- The headline
- The claim
- The benefits
- The reason why
- The proof
- The call to action
Now … HOW do you use those to YOUR advantage? You can find out RIGHT NOW in the member’s center of Directory of Ezines!
EMOTIONAL PEAK #3 – You can have it now! Immediacy is a very powerful tool to use in your advertising. I know you know what comes next! 🙂
CALL TO ACTION #3 – Never neglect to call for action immediately following an emotional high point.
Is Directory of Ezines worth the money? Only if you want your ads to work.
THIS IS MY REASON WHY. Why would you want to buy my product? So your ads will work better.
The “reason why” can be the reason why you can deliver something OR the reason why the prospect should take action.
Using a reason why satisfies the logical side of the brain. The transparency and benefit statements satisfy the emotional side of the brain.
When both are satisfied people take action.
I hope you join us.
Charlie Page
P.S. Do you know WHY a P.S. is important? You will when you get INSTANT ACCESS to the Directory of Ezines Learning Center!
EMOTIONAL PEAK #4 – The peak here is pure curiosity.
Notice how I actually asked a question and then did not answer the question. That leaves the reader needing to know the answer, and needing to buy my product to get the answer.
Some people call this an “open loop”.
This particular link generated big clicks, as we often find with links in a P.S.
In fact, the P.S. is one of the first things people read so putting your hanging question here is a good strategy.
CALL TO ACTION #4. I never waste an emotional peak, even if it’s in the P.S.
— END OF ANALYSIS —
Key Concepts To Take Away From This Article
Why did it work? Because it does TWO THINGS well.
- Uses a Super Motivator well – the fear of loss motivator runs throughout the ad
- Calls for action at emotional peak points – this is very important for getting more clicks.
I want you to be able to use the information in this article, so let me share with you the three keys I feel are most important.
- The headline matters most.
- Your copy does not need to be long … but it does need to be powerful.
- Tell them what to do early and often.
I hope you enjoyed this analysis of a profitable solo ad. Feel free to copy the ad and change the wording in any way you like to make it fit the product you are promoting. If you did like this article please leave your comment below and take a brief moment to tweet it out as well.
Thank you for your time!
