Better Print Advertising
1. Headline: On the average, five times more people read the headline than the body copy. If consumers like the Headline they will go on to read the body copy. The Headline is what brings them in. The headline must be easy to understand and state the reason why the consumer should continue on and read the body copy.
2. News and headlines: People read consumer magazines and newspapers to get news. If you have genuine news such as product updates or new innovations by all means put it in the headline.
3. Localize headlines: In local advertising, sometimes it pays to include the name of the city in your headline.
4. Speak to Your Prospects: When a specific group consumes your product; Flag them in your headline – mothers, bald people, business owners?
5. Purchasers Read Long Copy: Non Buyers quit reading by the 50th word, between 50 and 500 words are where you must sell the product to potential buyers. They will read longer into an advertisement. Get their interest with the headline, Give them a reason to buy in the copy. Make sure the copy sticks so they do not substitute brands when they get to the retail store.
6. Before and AfterAds: Before and after ads are above average in grabbing the readers attention. Contrast seems to work well. If then seems to be well understood by the consumer.
7. Line Drawings vs. Photos: Photographs work better than Drawing almost allways. The Reader relates better to ads he feel are genuine. The photo should pull readers in and be directly related to the reason why they should buy your product or service.
8. Captions: Twice as many people read the captions under photographs as read the body copies. Never place a photo without a caption. Because Associated Press Style calls for captions under photos people expect it.
9. Editorial layout vs. Art Layout The more an advertisement looks like the editorial in the magazine the higher the readership on most occasions. The art layout is much easier to get by the President of the company you are representing. A good agency will take the time to convince the CEO that he knows much more about their product that the consumer.
10. Test and Retest Readership has been known to increase with repetition. Continually test new ads against the old ones and run the winner.
