1) Include a coupon in your large ads. This can increase response from 25 to 100 percent. Your coupon could offer the prospect your brochure or catalog.

2) Use a benefit headline on your coupon that affirms the prospect is getting valuable, needed information. E.g. "Yes, I want to reduce my inventory costs by 50 percent."

3) Include a picture of your brochure or catalog in your ad.

4) Use a sidebar in your ad packed with tips that your prospect will find useful. E.g "10 Ways To Reduce Your Phone Bill."

5) Concentrate your copy on the prospect, not on your company. Tell your prospect how your product or service will solve their problems. Use the words "you" and "your" frequently and "I" and "We" less.

6) With a smaller ad, you can ask the prospect to tear out the ad, attach their business card and mail it to your company.

7) Consider converting your ad into an advertorial. This format looks more like an article and contains valuable information. It attracts people who normally skip over ads because advertorials look like editorial content. If the publisher will allow it, use the same typeface as the publication the advertorial appears in.

8) Put quotation marks around the headline. This can draw 28 percent more attention than a headline without quotation marks.

9) Consider running your ad in black and white if you're using mostly text in the ad. Without colour, the ad looks more like an article.

10) The headline is the most important part of an ad. Spend time creating a powerful, benefit packed headline. If you don't stop the reader in their tracks with a good headline, few will bother to read the rest of the ad.

About The Author

David Coyne is a copywriter and marketing consultant.