Advert Writing – Why Analytical Skills Are Required

Regular readers of our content know that we are constantly talking about how copywriting requires skill and experience. Not just anyone can throw together 1,000 words in a way that gets the point across and meets search engine requirements. However, within the field of web writing there is one particular discipline that requires good analytical skills: advert writing.

We use adverts as a way to promote a business, sell a specific product or service, or attract job candidates. We will use the last category – job adverts – to explain why analytical skills are necessary. Here’s a question to get started: when you are hiring, what do you look for in a CV?

If you believe BBC News – and there is no reason you should not – the successful CV is one that is short, concise, and filled with only the information necessary for the job. You know yourself that reading a long-winded CV is the quickest way to drive yourself insane with boredom. That document will hit the waste bin faster than the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, there is more to it than that.

You want a CV to tell you something about the candidate – something that sets him or her apart from everyone else who is applying for the job. The person who gets your attention is the one you will call for an interview. Now, let’s translate that to your hiring advert.

Get Their Attention

Advert writing for the purposes of filling a job requires that you capture the attention of exactly the type of candidate you want to hire. Let’s use spelling and grammar as just a basic example. If you are looking to hire an Oxford graduate, they will pay no attention to an advert filled with spelling and grammar errors. Does that make sense?

Assuming it does, let’s talk about analytical skills in advert writing. We borrowed here from an excellent piece published by The Startups Team in 2002 and updated in 2013. Here are some of their suggestions for constructing a successful hiring advert:

• Analysing the Job – Far too many hiring managers start looking for candidates without fully understanding the job. Before you can adequately explain a position, you need to know exactly what it entails. When it comes to the actual advert writing, you should be able to use descriptive text that will leave the job candidate with few questions.
• Analysing the Skills – Along similar lines is analysing the skills necessary for the job. Job applicants need to know before they send their CV if they have the necessary skills. If so, they will be able to demonstrate those skills through their CVs. If not, any that still send a CV will be easily identified by the hiring manager. Analysing skills might be best left to direct managers who know the jobs inside and out.
• Analysing the Facts – There are some other facts about any given job that might need to be included in your hiring advert. To figure out which ones are necessary, try to put yourself in the position of the job candidate. What would he or she want to know? What things are important before sending a CV? If there is anything related to the job that might be a deal-breaker for some applicants, it should be included in your advert.
• Analysing Company Personality – This last tip is my personal favourite. Why? Because just as not every candidate has the right personality for my job, not every company has the right personality for a given candidate. If your company adopts a more casual approach in the workplace, it should be noted in your advert. Likewise, if your workplace is fast-paced and hectic, that needs to be known.

Hopefully you can see that advert writing requires you to stop and think as you write. Adverts are specific in terms of their use, so without analytical skills you might be wasting your time and your words. Let’s address commercial adverts in this regard before closing.

WebTY’s says that adverts can be one of the most powerful tools to drive online sales and recruit new customers. They go on to say that 20 years of experience has helped those in the advert writing business fine tune their skills for maximum effectiveness. We agree.

If you look at any well-written commercial advert, you will find it meets all of the qualifications listed above for hiring adverts. The content may be different, but the philosophy is the same. Your commercial advert needs to say what you are selling, how it benefits your customer, any facts that might be deal breakers, and who you are as a company. The secret is getting it into 100 words or less.

If you are in need of competent advert writing, Connotations would be happy to talk things over with you. Our professional writers can create a perfect advert for you, whether you want to sell something or hire the best person for the job. We offer a full range of writing services for both online and print.