Hair salons must be competitive to draw customers.
Let potential customers know what your salon has to offer by writing a clear, attention-grabbing ad. Whether you plan to run an ad in a local paper or on a radio station, include your essay in a newsletter to your mailing list or offer potential customers a brochure or pamphlet, a well-written advertising essay will both inform and attract clients. With a little planning and thought, you can write a professional, engaging essay that will let people know that your hair salon offers something unique.
Instructions
Planning
1. Decide the primary audience for your essay. Be as specific as possible: "Middle class women, 30 to 60, who already use other salons and might switch to me," or "Teenagers looking for a salon to provide ethnic styles" or "Customers I already have who might use more of my services." Remember, your primary audience is not your only audience; rather, it's the group you are most hoping to reach with your ad.
2. Decide how and where people will read or hear your essay. In a local newspaper? In a Yellow Pages ad? On the radio? In a newsletter? Make a note of the word count, typeface, accompanying photos or drawings permitted, and other basic facts about what your essay needs to end up looking like.
3. Brainstorm what you want to say. Jot down anything that comes to mind; you will pick and choose later on.
Focus on what makes your business different from other salons. Your "brainstorming" list might include entries like "low overhead---cheap," or "experience---this is the third salon I've run" or "something for everyone---more services than other local salons." You should end up with at least five or six ideas, and maybe a page full of them.
4. Turn your brainstorm list into an outline. Choose the from two to four ideas that are most important to include. Put them in the order you want to cover them in your essay. Finally, write under each of them the other, more minor points from your list that logically fit under that heading, plus any other supporting points that occur to you. For example, if your first main point is "highly qualified staff," you might group "my background," "all employees certified beauticians" and "30 years combined experience" under that heading.
Writing
5. Write a rough draft of your essay. Write a paragraph about each of your main points, "fleshing out" the main point with the supporting details you listed on your outline. A rough general guide is to write one sentence about each of your "secondary" points.
6. Use short, clear sentences. Be as specific as you can---not "we provide a range of services other than hair care," but "We also offer manicures, pedicures, facials and tanning." Avoid using many adverbs and adjectives; instead, use active verbs and specific nouns.
7. Make sure your first sentence grabs your readers' attention and tells them exactly what your overall message is. This is your only chance to get someone interested enough to keep reading.
Polishing the Final Draft
8. Set your essay aside overnight or for a few days if you can. Then read it aloud, making a note of anything you want to change.
9. Ask at least one other person to read your essay. Ask him or her to suggest changes or corrections. See if your reader can summarize the essay for you in his or her own words, so you can be sure you made the points you wanted to make.
10. Proofread your essay carefully. Typos look cheap and unprofessional, and your essay should reflect the image you want your salon to have.
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