1. Forget Bigger is Better
Most people go wrong in their advertising campaigns believing that “bigger is better” when in actuality frequency weighs heavier on your success. It’s far better to have a 2-by-2-inch ad ran 15 times than to have a one time full page ad. Most people do not pick up a newspaper or magazine on a consistent basis, but by having a steady stream of advertising you reach more viewers and see greater results.
2. Know Your Target Audience and Personalize it
You must know everything about your target audience and what it is that they want. Remember to make it all about them, not you. Nobody cares about what it is that you have to offer. Everyone’s only concerned about one thing and one thing only, “What’s in it for me?”
3. Captivating Headline
Your headline should pose a question and/or if at all possible, evoke an emotion within them. One effective ad headline used was “Are you angry?” This obviously was geared to those who had anger management issues and were sick of being angry, thus posing the question and evoking an emotion at the same time. Now do all ads have to be both? No, it’s just ideal.
Also remember that a headline is a headline, not a chance to display your logo. Your logo belongs at the bottom along with your information. Most advertisers get tripped up with this because they want everyone to know whose ad they’re looking at but like mentioned earlier, nobody cares about you, only what’s in it for them.
4. Keep it Simple
Keep the ad as simple as possible. Limit the number of fonts and colors you use and be sure to have only one distinct message and product/service. Don’t clutter the ad with all kinds of information about what you offer. That’s what the one-on-one sale is for. Your main job in this ad is to make it clear about one aspect of what you do in your business and how it solves one of your potential customer’s biggest problems.
5. Use the Ads to Overcome Opposition
Gear your ads towards objections that you and your staff have heard over the years, and then shoot them down. Many companies are cutting back on the number of sales reps they have because this method is so effective.
6. Use Pictures
Having the right picture in some instances can do more for you than any catchy headliner ever will. When you see a beautiful picture of a Hawaiian beach doesn’t that make you wish you were there right now? A powerful picture with a great deal attached to it will bring people pounding on your door.
7. Give Your Ad Some Space
30-40 percent of you ad should be blank space, the blank space will make your ad look clean, professional, and have it really stand out. Imagine putting a thick white border around your ad rather than a black line like everyone else. You essentially clear room around your ad so that others can notice yours.
8. Call to Action
Give people a reason to respond to your ad, this can be as simple as “Call Today”. But the most effective call to actions are when you add scarcity to your offers such as a limited time offer or the first number of buyers get a special rate.
9. Set up the Ad to Generate a Mailing List
Whenever possible and without making it difficult for your customers to purchase anything from you, create an ad that requires information to be provided to you in return for your services. An example of this would be a postal address for delivery or email address for special online offers and discounts. That way you can keep in constant contact with your current/former customers and already have a pool of highly potential customers to advertise future products and services to.
10. Get Professional Advice When Needed
No matter what the form of advertising, it always helps to have a second or third opinion, even if you, yourself are an expert. Most advertising services such as newspapers and magazines will already offer this to you for going with their agency, especially if you’re investing a lot of money into their services.
Conclusion
After you’ve created your ad you’re obviously going to want it printed. There are many local and online print brokers that you can go to if you’re going to use any of your ads in something other than a local newspaper or magazine. However, I would recommend going to this website first and having it printed there http://ow.ly/3pQrD because of the extremely high print quality and for the pricing that I have yet to see any cheaper. They even have templates that you can either use or look at as a reference guide if you need.
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