Getting The Most From Your Ads

For an advertisement to be successful, it must grab the reader’s attention. Here are seven suggestions to make your advertising more attention-getting:

• Busy layouts often pull better than neat ones. One split-run test showed busy layouts out-pulling neat ones by 14%.
   

• Vary the shapes, sizes, and colors. People will get bored, and turn the page, if there is no variety.
   

• Color will attract attention. But usually, it isn’t cost-effective. Tests show that color is not a good idea in four out of five cases.
   

• Putting something odd into a picture will attract attention. In a Hathaway shirts campaign, the model wore an eye-patch. That odd detail made the campaign famous, as well as successful.
   

• Too many extraneous props divert attention. One company ran a curtain ad with a cute teddy bear. They got more calls about the bear than the product.
   

• Photographs are more convincing than drawn illustrations. Photos can increase response by over 50%.
   

• Before-and-after pictures are very persuasive. This technique is a great way to show the benefit of your product.