A few things for you to keep in mind while designing your next advertisement. Remember, the true test is always in your own customers response to your advertising. If they buy - then it is right for them. If not, test another variation.
Things to test:
1) Coupon style borders simulate eyeballs - that dashed border or straight line border around your ad will increase readership
2) Test having a circular border - keep the text straight but the border to be designed like a circle - in a square and rectangular world like most publications are - yours will definitely stand out
3) Reverse print will kill your response - you see it all the time - copy heavy text with white text on black background. This is proven to decrease readership on text heavy marketing by 50% and more.
4) Colors to use to make certain headlines an subheads standout - blue and then red are the most powerful - and the most profit pulling
5) White background with black text always pulls best response - second choice is yellow background with black text
6) Online fonts to use - Verdana or Arial are most widely received for body copy - Tahoma for headlines and subheads
7) Offline fonts to use - Times new roman and courier new for body copy - I personally like Tahoma for heads and subs offline as well - tests prove buyers do too
8) Never use all caps in headlines or subheads - use initial caps (first letter of each word in caps). Also test in heads and subs using only a capital on the very first letter - the rest all in lower case...Initial Caps: If A Corporate World Flunkie Can Write A Simple....Regular: If a corporate world flunkie can write a simple...
9) Keep your columns fairly narrow - both online and off. It make for easier reading and lesser chance of getting lost in the text
10) 11 point font receives the most favorable readership and action
Again, everything above needs to be tested with your product or service in your market. It is only your prospects that will say with 100% certainty what they want to see - and what they will respond to.
Source: http://advertising.ducttapemarketing.com/2006/06/top_10_design_t.html
About Me
- Jeffrey Summers
- I am the expert you call when you need to learn how to increase top line sales, lower your operating costs, increase your profit margin, hire and train better managers and staff, evolve your operation into more and better ways of doing business, buy or sell a restaurant, improve your service, engineer (or re-engineer!) your menu, market your business better and less expensively, keep yourself from going nuts because you have no life anymore, open more and better restaurants, don't want to have to give up your first born child to pay a consultant and have more fun! My mission is to enhance the quality of life for my clients by providing the best products and services to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. I take great pride in my clients, my company, my commitment to service and the products I sell. I am a recognized expert in the hospitality industry with over 24 years of success at planning and executing strategies for delivering dramatic results, a former "GM of the Year" for 2 major, full-service, franchises, an Award winning Multi-Unit Executive with 2 of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S., published author, husband and father of two.