Ad designs can either make or break a business's objective in advertising. Either it will draw people to contact the business or it won't draw attention at all.

In this article, I'm going to go over 7 tips for effective ad design:

     I. Headline

    II. Logo

  III. Picture

  IV. Bullets

    V. Color scheme

   VI. Contact info

  VII. Action item

I. Headline

      A good headline on your ad should grab your viewer's attention and make a statement. "Japan Surrenders!" was a headline on newspapers worldwide in August of 1945. People bought newspapers by the score because of that one headline.

     "Need a good dentist?" or "Your real estate agent" can work with small ads, such as what I recommend to my customers, but still, it must be followed up with the other components of an effective ad in order to draw the viewer in and convince them to place a call or schedule a visit.

II. Logo

     A logo can be a great complement to your ad if it's easy to read and helps to promote your objective. Take a look at the logo for Amazon. Although I cannot add it here for illustration purposes, I'm sure you, the reader, will have their logo in mind anyway. It's simply a curved line with an arrow that goes from left to right. It used to be pointing from A to Z in the word, Amazon, and helped to show that they have everything on the market that ranges from A to Z.

     Other logos can be the three red circles of State Farm or the little green gecko lizard that stands on this hind legs and talks like a man from England or New Zealand or Australia (pardon my ignorance; no offense intended) telling us we can save 15% or more on our car insurance.

     If you don't have a logo, you might be able to settle for a clipart version, but that can backfire on you if you have a product or service that you want to promote as valuable. Investing in a graphic designer to design a custom logo for you might cost you several hundred dollars, but it might help you grow your business beyond what you imagined, too!

III. Picture

     "A picture is worth a thousand words," some anonymous person once said. As in the pictures on this article, the images portray quality and professionalism and can speak volumes to someone who's looking for both when choosing a real estate professional who is proud of the work they have done and consistently do every day for their clientele.

     If you choose to use a stock photo, make sure the designer picks the picture closest to your ideal image, not something unrealistic or unbelievable. The wrong picture might give the viewer the wrong message and you might lose a prospect you might otherwise had gained had you used the right picture.

     It's important to note here that you do not "borrow" a photo from a paid broker's site without permission. Brokers like Getty Images can send you an invoice valued at several hundred dollars or more if you choose one of their pictures for your ad design. I know this from personal experience. I didn't do it myself but a good friend "borrowed" several images from Getty Images without permission and later received an invoice demanding payment valued over a thousand dollars. Touch lesson learned.

IV. Bullets

     Just like bullets in a gun give you 2, 6, 11 or 30 potential hits to your target, well chosen bullets on your ad can effect the same outcome. Choosing your bullet points wisely can tell the message of your service(s) without overloading the ad.

     As mentioned above, too many words can overload the ad and make it hard to see everything in the short time your viewer may see your ad. That's why you should keep your bullets to just a few. Preferably your most popular services only.

     I have a client that chose 6 bullets. It was perfect for them. Another client chose over 20 bullets. Both have only ten seconds to view their ad. The viewer, once they've read your list of bullets still have to see the phone number and name of business. Too many bullets can kill the viewer instead of attract them. Remember that.

V. Color scheme

     The color you choose makes all the difference in the world when you want your ad to best portray your message to your desired demographic. The wrong color scheme can cause your viewer to choose to look away or have the wrong impression.

     For ads that appeal to women, pink might be the dominant color to accent a lingerie shop or clothing line for young girls. For men, they might like black or dark colors. People in America seemed drawn to using the same colors as the American flag. Pink doesn't send the right message if you're appealing to male hunters just like camouflage colors don't help to sell Victoria Secret merchandise.

VI. Contact information

     Just like providing a good address for first responders to find your house in an emergency, providing good contact information is vital for giving people what they need to quickly and easily contact you.

     Services like carpet cleaners and home appraisers don't need to waste space on their advertisements to show their addresses, but if a car dealership or restaurant doesn't show their address, they likely won't ever get anyone to visit.

     The most important information to use, besides your name and phone number, is a website and/or QR code that takes the viewer to the website or calendar, as one of my advertisers prefers. It's most important that you choose to make it as easy as possible for the average viewer to know how and when to call you.

     The abovementioned advertiser with the QR code pointing to his calendar is someone who does taxes. He needs to give someone the opportunity to schedule when they can come and get their taxes done. That's a clever way also to track his ROI, return on investment.

     Catchy phone numbers, like 1-800-Call Ken or 1-904-444-4444, can make it very easy to get people to remember your number. The problem lies in the amount of money you're willing to invest for that luxury. 

VII. Action item

     Last, but by no means least, we have to have an action item in order to design an effective ad. Whether it's telling your viewer that you've been in business for X number of years or that "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there," the message should be consistent with all your advertisements. 

     If you're the victim of a fire or flood and your house needs repair, who comes to mind? To me, ServPro comes to mind because of what their action item has been for years: "like it never happened." That speaks volumes and draws clients constantly.

Summary

     If you've made it to the end of this blog post, I want to thank you. If not, and you've only taken the "bullet points" and left, at least you got something to take with you. Either way, it's my small contribution that I hope will help you when you're deciding what to do for your next advertisement.

     One word of advice I would interject here is to make sure you gather all your components you want for your ad according to the 7 Tips for Effective Ad Design and send it to your designer with the subject line in your email: Ad design for {your company name}. That one thing will help your designer design your next ad for your approval much faster.