AIDA Marketing Model: Sex Sells The Test

AIDA Marketing Model: Sex Sells The Test: by Jason Li 2012 ©

Sex sells is a long known myth in advertising...

But is it really true?

I’ve found some evidence it does...

And how you can apply this method to reap rewards.

The method to prove if sex or any other subject sells

If your business is struggling, what is one of the best ways to find out how to get more people interested in what you offer? It can be a problem as you search around and pitch to new people. They go “hmm” in a kind of interested-but-they’re-not-too-sure-if-they-are way.

The answer is to read magazines on your subject field, whether it’s from your local store or an emagazine.

Magazines tell you the current trends, and what your prospect is into, and what messages are swaying them.

And what is the best way to see what subjects interest your customers in each magazine? The main headlines on the front cover. Great copywriters spend days agonising over the right headline and subject to attract prospects.

Testing adverts

All the great marketing businesses are amazing at direct response marketing, creating copy that attracts buyers who read the copy and then like shopping-drunk-prospects go on to buy. The reason for this is plain and simple, if prospects scan the front cover and no-one goes on to pick up and flick through the magazine, it’s like prospects have said: “I’m not interested.” The death phrase of all sales people. No sales means no magazine business.

So the beauty of looking at magazines in your field is that people have done a lot of the testing and leg work for you. What sits on the shelves and catches people’s eyes are proven subjects that your prospects are interested in.

In order to get the best results, many businesses test the different subjects until they find a hot button that gets the prospect excited. Once you discover this hot subject, you then put it in the most prominent place to attract prospects.

Simply put, your most attractive subject headline in the right area of your magazine front cover generates sales.

So taking this methodology, you can apply this to your business.

Let’s see some test results

Without doubt, a magazine that finds this formula will keep on rolling out headlines based on the same subject if it works month-on-month.

So I’ve found two magazines that is focused on the activity of sex and improving sex appeal.

As you can see, it’s no coincidence that the best subject headlines are in the top left corner because most people look at the top and to the left in the western world at the start of a new page.

Click on the magazines below and have a good look at their front covers.

Cosmopolitan

Men’s Fitness

AIDA Marketing Model:

Marketing  uses the AIDA  model to take prospects from Attention, Interest, Desire and Action – where the prospect buys and becomes a customer.

Advertising, one of the main marketing communications tactics in marketing; uses the advertising AIDA model to generate interest. The whole point of advertising is to get your attention and sell you the desire to buy the product; not to entertain you with award winning art which is the biggest misconception sold to businesses.

So have a look at magazines covers. Do they pull you in. If they do, then look at your marketing. Is it just fancy art work that has no copy (writing).

I’ve been providing sales copy for a while and it’s always been the writing that people read that got responses rather than the graphics.

In fact you can test this yourself. Just put the best ever picture/graphic you can find with minimal or no copy on your web site, on a leaflet or in a magazine and check your response verses an ad with lots of writing on. You’ll see a big difference.


Can pictures get your interest. Absolutely. Will they persuade you to buy. Less likely. Words help buyers get over their sales objections in the most efficient and effective way. Always has done. For further proof, watch the charity events such as Children in Need and Red Nose Day, they all have written words and celebs verbally pitching people to open their wallet. The campaign can't leave it to just pictures only.

Your take away:

1.         Find the most important subject that will catch the eye of your prospect in your advertising.

2.         Put it near the top left hand corner.

3.         Test it for a few months with different headlines.

4.         Use the winning subject and headline.

5.         Pat yourself on your back for making your business more appealing to your prospects.

6.         Share this article with other people who might find this of interest.