We received an email from a client the other day with the subject line “Too many leads!” This client literally had to add staff to handle the influx of new prospects generated from their campaign with us. A problem most marketers would be happy to have.

It wasn’t a fluke. Their campaign, which our team strategized, wrote and designed, followed a formula that’s been around for decades.

It’s called direct response marketing. This type of ad strategy’s sole focus is to evoke an immediate response and compel prospects to take a specific action. And it comes with a time-tested formula.

Let’s take a look at the 4 essential elements to a direct response ad.

[1] Attention-Grabbing Headline

My favorite quote from David Ogilvy sums up the importance of your first line of copy: “When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” Five times as many people read the headline as the body copy. This is where you should spend most of your time.

The key to powerful headline writing is to pique the reader’s curiosity. You want the readers to be asking themselves, “What is this about?”

[2] What’s In It for Me?

Good direct response copy evokes emotion, solves problems and provides a real and attainable benefit. Good ads focus on helping agents accomplish something — instead of pushing product and sales messages. Too many companies focus on the features of what they’re selling rather than the benefit to the agent.

“When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.”

[3] Clear and Valuable “Call to Action”

We see it time and time again: this is where most companies fail. Ads not including an offer or a weak offer (i.e. call for more information) simply will not work. You have to tell them what to do next with a clear call to action tied to a valuable offer.

Another tip for direct response success: provide one or two ways to respond and make sure they’re trackable. We include both a campaign landing page and a unique 800# on our client campaigns with a dedicated dashboard to track so we can monitor response.

[4] Urgency

Create urgency around your offer. If the information is timely, let the reader know why. If a limited quantity is available, name the exact number. Specifics are more persuasive than generalities. If your offer or the information you’re sharing is timely, say so. “Offer ends soon” will be perceived only as shallow hype. Be specific.

Regardless of how you deliver your message — print or online, on your website or social media, in content or on a landing page — your copy should compel your reader to take action.

Direct response is a philosophy about advertising. It’s a firmly held strategy that mandates that the creative, the offer, the media and the campaign should drive sales. It’s advertising with a profit and loss statement attached.

Isn’t that what business is all about?