Print Ad Design Archives

How to write print advertising copy that sells

If you have ever read any books on print advertising copy, you probably came across the AIDA formula. This is a basic set of steps or advertising rules that many professional ad copywriters use when the formulate their print advertising.

These four key components for effective print ad copy are Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Grab a reader’s attention, pull them into your message with interest, create the desire, and encourage them to take action.

Of course, how you approach your ad copy is closely related to the service or product you’re selling, so while this is not a hard and fast rule, it’s always good to keep these items in mind while creating your newspaper ad or magazine advertisement.

Start with the first draft.

Start with the reader in mind. Who is your audience? What is that one thing that can grab their attention?
Transition from attention to interest. Now they see your ad. What is the one thing that will hold their interest?
Create the desire. Now work to make them really want it!
Fulfill the need. Now appeal to their left brain. What are the benefits, that unique quality of your product or service?
Present the offer. What’s the one thing that will make them take action? Let them know what to do next!
Create a sense of urgency. The easiest thing for a reader is to turn the page. Don’t let them get away! Add a limited time offer, or bonus if they act NOW.

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Direct Response Advertising: Efficient and Effective for Small Businesses

target You have a small business. You have been going strong for several years, but you are looking to grow. Your mind immediately goes to new marketing strategies. So you try several mass marketing options: television ads, radio ads, Internet ads. Unfortunately, you see little return on your investment. In fact, you quickly discover that the capital you would require to compete with larger businesses would put you out of business in a week.

Don’t be discouraged! There is a more efficient and effective marketing technique that could just do the trick for you.

Direct response advertising allows you (the small business owner) to capitalize on the funds you have available for marketing. This form of marketing elicits an immediate response from your potential customer. Whether it’s being added to your email list, being redirected to your website, or being encouraged to call for more information, direct response advertising does not waste any time in getting prospective customers to your literal or virtual doorstep. [Read more…]

Newspaper ad design: 3 Elements that make a terrific ad

newspaper ad design Even with many people making the shift to reading their news online, millions of people all over the country either have their newspapers delivered every day or they make the trek to the store to purchase one. That’s why newspaper advertising is still relevant, and why many businesses depend on these ads to keep a steady flow of traffic coming into their stores.

The question is, what’s the best way to create a newspaper ad design that will get results? Today we’d like to discuss three different elements that come together to create a terrific newspaper ad.

Element #1: Speak to the reader’s pain

The very first element that captures the attention of any reader is when their pain or their problem is identified. If you think about the types of ads you have read in the past, and the ones you responded to, what sets them apart? Chances are that if the ad touched on a subject that was personal to you, or that identified an issue you were experiencing, you responded positively to the ad. This takes some practice in order to do it right, but once you figure out how to identify with potential customers through your print advertising copy, you’ll have figured out how to use them to grow your business. [Read more…]

Is Newspaper Advertising Staging a Comeback?

In an era of digital news, it is easy to forget the days when the Sunday paper was the source of news and ads. People turned to the weekly paper for everything from world and local news to the stack of newspaper advertising inserts buried inside.

But when the digital age appeared, the Sunday paper seemed to fade into the background — or so many thought — but it turns out that may not be the case, after all.

According to a recent survey by the Newspaper Association of America, which works on behalf of the industry, 79 percent of the adults surveyed, had “taken action as a result of reading or seeing an ad in a print newspaper in the past 30 days,” — and the survey also revealed, “that 57 percent of respondents had used newspaper media for shopping purposes in the past seven days.” [Read more…]

Why do you need direct response advertising?

You may be wondering why you need direct response advertising. This branch of marketing is what it seems: consumers’ immediate response to a company or product’s advertisement.

There are a multitude of reasons why a company might want to consider direct response advertising. According to BusinessDictionary.com, direct response advertising involves at least four devices in which they are presented to the consumer:

These devices (called direct response mechanisms) include a (1) coupon to cut and mail, (2) business reply card, (3) toll-free telephone number, or, on the internet, (4) hotspot to click. Most retail sale advertisements are direct response ads in one way or the other.

These forms of direct response advertising allows the company or product to communicate directly with the consumer. This is used to get an understanding of how the company or product can better serve their consumers. [Read more…]