There’s really only one thing that separates Image advertising from Direct Response. Image advertising just wants you to think about a product in a certain way. Direct Response wants you to do something about it. Now.

Direct Response can be entertaining. It doesn’t have to sound like a used car salesman on steroids. But it will have one element that sets it apart from it’s “pretty” cousin:

A call to action.

Without a call to action you’ve got to spend the big bucks to be effective. And even then, you’ll never know for sure. I mean, how do you measure an image? On the other hand, if you ask your prospect to do something, he either does it or he doesn’t. Right away you know whether your money’s been wasted or not.

But if you don’t ask him to do anything, it’s a safe bet he won’t.

So get him off his rear and doing something. (After all, he can’t reach his wallet if he’s sitting on it!) Tell him to call now. Visit this website. Clip this coupon. Click here and “Buy It Now!”

Of course, people don’t take too kindly to being ordered around. So before you start issuing commands, you need to build your case. You’ve got to make him WANT to take action.

You’ve got to tell him W-I-I-F-M: What’s In It For Me? Don’t just list the features of you product or service. Tell him the wonderful things those features do for him. Tell him the benefits. Paint him a picture of how wonderful life will be, if only he’ll do the tiny little thing you are asking of him.

Tell him all it takes is one simple phone call. Tell him the problem he’s having can be solved with just a click of a mouse. Tell him he can have the widget of his dreams at a 20% discount if he tears out this coupon and brings it into the store today.

And don’t let “I’ll do it later” even cross his mind. This is, after all, a very limited time offer. Isn’t it? It better be!

And there had better be a believable reason. “Hurry, sale ends soon!” isn’t enough. An expiration date on the coupon is a good start. A limited supply helps. But a definite, set-in-stone date for a specific price increase is even better.

He might get just a little nervous right about now. You are, after all, asking him to part with his money, and not really giving him time to think about it, either. So be sure you mention your money-back guarantee, or the fact that you won’t give out his personal information, right beside your call to action. Make sure he knows that he has nothing to lose.

Except, of course, this golden opportunity. All he has to do is act now.

Since you put it to him this way, he’s much more likely to do just that.