Motley Fool is one of the biggest direct-response advertisers online, especially in the financial niche. They are known to spend a significant amount of money...View More
on advertising, primarily to sell their newsletter and they take a very content-driven approach. The majority of their ads are written in the amount of text you might expect in a classified ad and they have a common formula for many of their ads, which I'll share in a bit. What's interesting about Motley Fool is that the majority of their ads are focused on "The Death of" an industry, company or way of doing things and have been for years. These are big, bold ideas that are meant to grab attention & set the stage for valuable advice. Below is the formula I recognized in these ads.
The first sentence of the ad structure makes it clear that "A particular industry, company or way of doing things is dead & coming to an end." Sometimes that sentence is followed by another one that further stresses the case. The second, following similarity is that they quote a popular, well-known publication to support their case. For instance, you'll notice sources cited such as Business Week, The Economist, Bloomberg, Wall St. Journal etc. This is a smart move because it gives the big "Death of" claim credibility & helps develop believability if the person is unsure of Motley Fool's reputation. The third component is that they hint at revealing a secret piece of knowledge that you will find out by clicking through. For instance, finding out a particular stock pick or prediction. Lastly, they increase the sense of urgency by telling you that you need to act quickly in order to take advantage of their profitable tip. They finish with an action-based link (e.g. Click here for...).
