Writing Great Ads

Great advertising can mean the difference between a customer reaching for their wallet to buy your book or putting the book back on the shelf. Big billboards sell books.

But what is an advertisement, exactly?

A blurb is the copy on the back cover of your book. After the cover, the blurb is the first thing a customer will look at when he considers buying a book. It should immediately engage, intrigue, and engage the reader.

“Book ads are consumer appeal,” says publicist Penny Sansevieri, founder of Author Marketing Experts.

Not just customers. Good advertising can also help you find a publisher or agent.

Last year I sent out dozens of query letters in my search for an agent. As you probably know, most query letters are made up of a book review (the hook), some information about the book (genre, word count, etc.), and a short author biography or list of ratings. The agents who said replied “No thanks.” I’m not surprised. The propaganda was as flat as a French crepe. One of these agents wrote to say that she wasn’t particularly thrilled with my book, but she asked if I had anything else to show her. By that time I had improved my blurb and had a completely new version. I mentioned this to him and asked him to consider my edited blurb, which he did. His response was “Well, I have to admit, this is some pretty convincing propaganda.” She ordered the first three chapters. To cut a long story short, she took me in based on the strength of those three chapters. In this case, my propaganda was the key factor in getting the agent’s attention.

This is the blurb I first included in my query letter:

Can a good man be persuaded to commit murder and still retain his goodness?

Lullaby is about the restless soul of an aborted baby who, in order to become powerful enough to be reborn, must tempt humans into evil deeds. Having temporarily taken the form of a beautiful woman, this being plays mind games with the protagonist, bringing back memories of his tragic childhood. As deeply buried feelings of hatred and revenge surface, the protagonist must wrestle with his conscience to do the right thing. But will he do it himself, when his own ideas of justice and the highest good tell him that it is right to kill?

Now compare it to the second one that caught the agent’s eye:

In a trendy Turkish tavern one Friday night, astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz meets a mysterious young woman. Captivated to death by her physical perfection, as well as her views on right and wrong, he spends the next few days with her. However, after a while, he begins to notice something strange about her: her abnormally high skin temperature, her obsession with dairy products, her childish and strange behavior, as he seems to enjoy she playing with her conscience.

The young woman, Kamilah, invites him to Rize, Turkey, where she claims that her family owns a cabin in the woods. Despite her heavy workload and disturbing visions and nightmares about her sister’s soon-to-be-born baby, Gabriel agrees to go with her.

But nothing, not even the breathtaking beauty of the Black Sea, can hide the horror of its nature. In a place where death dwells and illusion and reality seem one, Gabriel must now come to terms with his own demons in order to save his sister’s unborn child and ultimately his own soul… .

Here are some guidelines to help you create great banner ads:

*Keep it short (100-250 words). The goal is to convey what makes the book unique in a small amount of space.

* It sets the mood, the scene and the conflict or enigma.

*Must have mounting voltage. The beginning should have a “hint” of the conflict or threat, but still be fairly innocuous (see my blurb number two: boy meets girl in a tavern). At the end of the blurb, the conflict or threat should be imminent (the protagonist must save his sister’s unborn child and his own soul).

*Think about the best angle to approach your story. Both of my ads describe what happens in my novel, but the second one sounds much more exciting.

*As with a good book review, never put “spoilers” in the blurb. You can do this in a book summary or synopsis, but never in a blurb. (Look again at my blurb number one. In it I make the big mistake of revealing the nature of my “evil” female lead: she is the soul of an aborted baby. In blurb number two, you suspect something is wrong with her. , but you don’t know what. You are left with the doubt).

* Think about what makes your book different.

*Question marks can be used to intrigue the reader.

*An ellipsis is often used at the end to leave the reader asking questions.

*Keep adverbs and adjectives to a minimum and use action verbs.

* Needless to say, make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.

*If your book is nonfiction, does it have special features like pictures or diagrams? What is the objective of the book? What are you trying to accomplish? Teach something? How is this book different from others in the field?

*Remember that advertising notes are not summaries! Don’t tell the whole story, just the exciting part so the reader wants to know more.

* Don’t overdo it or sugarcoat it. To be professional.

*Study the advertising notes on your shelves, paying special attention to their style, language and content.

*Write and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Then show it to people who can offer honest feedback.

One last tip:

You know that powerful, dramatic voice you hear in theaters during movie trailers? That seductive, often exaggerated voice that describes the movies? Well, read your own propaganda with this voice in your mind, matching its pitch and tone. You’ll be surprised how much it helps!