Website promotion almost always involves some kind of written ad copy. What I mean is, you can only add so many meta tags, and keywords to your website, and submit it to so many search engines.

Not only are you going to have to write some ad copy, you're going to have to write some pretty good stuff to get them to buy, once they're at your site. And this, my friends, is where the AIDA formula comes in.

There are so many formulas in selling, yet this is the one I use the most because I know, from experience, that it's the easiest one to put to use in almost any sales situation. Here is the formula:

• A: Attention
  
• I: Interest
  
• D: Desire
  
• A: Act
  

You must first get the prospects' attention, if you want to sell to them. Think of it, in this formula, as getting to first base on a baseball diamond. Here are some examples:

"Work At Home In Your Pajamas"
"FREE ________". (Anything free gets attention).
"Buy One, Get One Free"

Second base is Interest. We can begin to build interest if we have someone's attention. Interest is developed by giving a prospect the multiple benefits of what you have to offer that will positively affect their lives, or solve a problem for them. Examples:

"With our new, great tasting, vitamin bars, you will eat your way to a healthier lifestyle."
"Our psychics will take all the guesswork out of your life!"

I made these up, but you get the idea.

Third base of course, or the third step, is Desire. You build desire by making your offer irresistible. You know you have succeeded with a powerful and compelling offer when people feel badly if they DON'T order. I try to make offers so juicy, that you just have to say yes. Example:

"A year from now, you can be living the lifestyle you desire, or you can just be another year older. It's up to you."

Here are a few ways in which you can also do so:

1. Give strong guarantees, better than your competition.
2. Spend time and attention of packaging your products attractively.
3. Give at least one bonus that the customer can keep, even if they don't like the offer, just for their trouble.
4. Build urgency. Most people will put off making a decision to act. Build your offers in any business to get people to act now. They'll be happy they did, if you properly package your offer. Finally, you get to home plate with asking people to act, the action phase of this direct response formula.

Many ads get the first three elements of the AIDA formula correct. Then, they forget to close the sale. You have to ask people to buy! If you've given them a reason to buy, a slew of great benefits, strong guarantees, and great bonuses, you shouldn't be shy to do so.

When you ask people to act, make it easy for them to do so. Tell people "it's easy to order." Or, "all you have to do" is make this call, fill this out, go to your secure order form. Offer as many payment options as possible, especially credit cards. As a rule of thumb, the easier it is to buy, the more orders you'll get. Remember, you have to lead most people to a decision. If you can do it in a charming manner, and eliminate the risk that the purchaser goes through, you'll find that asking people to order is easy.

Also, you want to create that urgency once again. Examples:

"This offer will expire 10 days from today."

"Supplies are limited. Buy Now!"

Use the AIDA formula. It's simple, basic, and time tested.

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Kim Skinner, of K & D Publishing, is the author, and publisher of Success Online Weekly, a free e-mail e-zine developed for the online marketer. To subscribe, send any e-mail to answers-on@mail-list.com K & D Publishing offers many free online marketing resources. Visit them at http://www.advertisingtips.net/