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Understand Hierarchy

Before beginning the designing process, it’s a good idea to outline your key message points. Understanding what you want your audience to hear or see first will guide content placement, size, color, etc.

Reflect your Prospects’ and Company’s Personality

It’s important to know your target market in the minutest detail their wants, problems, needs, and interests. Your communication pieces, therefore, should reflect your understanding of your prospects’ personalities.

This can be accomplished in many ways such as choosing the right paper (size, weight, color), fonts (for example formal fonts for wedding invitations; ‘childlike’ fonts for a day care center sign), size, and language (apt buzzwords). Traditionally, more upscale offers have uncluttered designs with plenty of white space while discount offers are just the opposite you can fill them up with graphics and words.

Color

While excellent marketers understand that effective use of color is elusive, they follow a few fundamental rules.

As you probably expect, there is plenty of scientific research on all aspects of color that is which ones are considered most attractive or eye-catching; what feelings certain colors inspire; or which colors are easiest to see. After sifting through the mounds of information the following tips were echoed repeatedly:

These four colors were symbols for the following:

Red: action, emphasis, recall, excitement
Yellow: happiness, sunshine, attention-getting

Green: reassurance, security, stability
Blue: order, tranquility, coolness, relaxation

Use these findings to guide your choices for instance, dentists should consider painting their walls a lovely shade of blue! Also, test your own color instincts, and those of friends and family, to find out what works best for you

A “quick printer” conducted a recent study in Cleveland, Ohio. He tested different color reply cards (identical wording and offers) for his in-house mailers. Surprisingly, the pink postcards resulted in the highest response rates!

Artwork and Graphics

Visual images are simple, yet widely effective ways to communicate a lot. Trite phrases such as “a picture is worth a thousand words” are certainly overused because they continue to “ring true”.

Your artwork will help you:

Tell a compelling and appealing story
Symbolize your company’s values and culture
Evoke important feelings
Explain your product/service
Itemize key points

Thus, visually pleasing communication is important and can increase your chances of capturing your prospects’ attention. Here are some tips for ensuring that it does:

1.Take your time while creating or choosing your artwork. If it’s rushed it shows. Great photography and graphics are affordable and easy to find on the internet. Check out these three: www.indextock.com; www.corbis.com, and www.fotosearch.com.

2.Make sure your artwork is compatible with your company’s and target market’s personality

3.Do not create an ad where your artwork overpowers your content, headline, product, etc. Yes, it should be noticeable and “tell your story” not be “the story”

4.Your artwork should increase the odds that your message will be notices, even to casual readers or viewers.

5.Don’t waste money investing in unnecessary, and often distracting, “pizzazz” - you know, graphics that flash, move around, dance, etc. They increase costs substantially and result in negligible or negative reactions.

6.Find ways to reuse photos, illustrations, testimonials, and blowups again. This will save you money and if they continue to work, why change?

Fonts and Typefaces

What exactly is a “font”? Simply put it is the specific traits (size, intensity, and typeface) for letters, numbers and symbols (that is, characters). “Typeface” is a subset of font and refers only to a character’s design (e.g. Times New Roman, Helvetica, Verdana). The right font will make your copy easier to read, create harmony with your artwork and graphics, and be reflect your company’s and target market’s personalities.

Choosing the right font can be daunting particularly given the sheer number of choices. However, let the following general tips guide you:

1.”Sans Serif” fonts are easier to read because they leave more “white space”.

Tip:

Serif: little decorative “doolollies” (adornments, flourishes) on the ends of the characters

Sans: Means “without”

Some popular “sans serif” typefaces are: Gautami, Microsoft Sans Serif, and Arial. I also like Verdana.

2.For a more traditional look you’ll want to consider using “serif” typefaces such as Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, and Garamond.

3.While it’s okay to vary font styles within a piece, try not to use more than two. Also, if you decide to try different fonts mix choose one of each - sans serif and serif. The contrast will result in an “eye pop”.

4.When choosing size, italics, and bolds keep readability in mind. This doesn’t have to be a major pain in the neck! Look in your own magazines, newspapers, and direct mail copy styles that you find appealing, easy-to-read and in keeping with your company’s tone and feel.

AVOID:

- Reverse Type while it works well for eye-catching headlines, it’s harder to read and tough on the eyes. Use sparingly

- Overdoing italics, underlining and capitalization it looks unprofessional.

- Fonts that look typeset (making them fuzzy). They should be clean and crisp.

Mary Eule specializes in helping small and medium-sized businesses get and keep profitable customers. Formerly a Fortune 500 marketing executive; founder of two successful small businesses and award-winning speaker, Ms. Eule is President of Strategic Marketing Advisors, LLC. and co-author of a new book, “Mandatory Marketing: Small Business Edition”. She holds a master degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University. Log onto http://www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com for free articles, newsletter and helpful tools, tips and templates.

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Did you know a 30-second spot during the 2006 Super Bowl cost a whopping $2.5 million? That’s $80,000 a second!

But consider this: 90 million people tuned in to the game, and many of them did so just to watch the ads.

Why am I talking about SuperBowl advertising to small business owners and solo-professionals who are marketing on a shoestring budget?

After all, who can even begin to relate to spending that kind of money on marketing? I know I can’t!

But you can learn from this marketing spectacle. Here are a few ways …

Lesson #1: Putting “Buzz” To Work

SuperBowl advertisers are taking advantage of the environment their message is in. Buying a spot during the SuperBowl is unlike buying a spot at any other time. There’s a great, big, huge spotlight shining on those ads, and that’s good news for the advertisers.

Why is this important?

When you’ve got an event with a lot of hype, it creates an environment where people are paying attention. Getting people’s attention is often a marketer’s biggest challenge.

With these ads, that first hurdle is a slam dunk.

Lesson #2: Taking Advantage of Free Publicity

Everyone’s talking about the game and, more specifically, the commercials. For weeks leading up to the game and for weeks after, there is press about the commercials. Just Google “SuperBowl Ads” and you’ll see.

These advertisers are no dummies. All this PR provides additional exposure at no extra cost and adds mileage to their paid marketing.

Lesson #3: Using Today’s Technology To Reach Customers

This year all the talk was about Burger King, who made their SuperBowl spot available for download onto Sprint cell phones.

None of this has anything to do with the quality or the cost of these spots.

It has to do with marketing strategy. And you can apply these same strategies to your marketing, regardless of your budget.

Ask yourself, how you can capitalize on buzz … or create it.
Are you launching a new program? Don’t just spring it on your audience.

Tease them …let them know it’s coming soon. If you publish an ezine or newsletter, include short announcements about your upcoming new product or service weeks before you actually unveil it. Build some anticipation.

Look for ways to get publicity.

Is there an industry event you can tie in with? Is there news or a trend you can piggyback on? By tying my Marketing Makeover Program into the current “Extreme Makeover” trend I was able to get the attention of Entrepreneur Magazine (10stepmarketing is in the March 2006 issue) Look around … what’s going on that you can capitalize on?

Learn and use technology to get your message out.

I know, it’s tough to keep up, but as marketers we have to. Technology is changing the way your prospects and clients get their information. If you don’t stay on top of things, you may be left in the dust.

In the last 10 years we’ve gone from printed direct mail and newsletters, to digital ezines and email marketing, and now we’re entering the world of consumer-driven media with blogs and podcasting. Ask yourself how you can deliver your marketing and services using these new mediums.

So there you have it, three ways you can use and benefit from the same marketing strategies as the big guys.

Debbie LaChusa created The 10 step marketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com

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Behold! He with the light cometh!

He shall light thy darkest night, illuminate thy muddled confusion, and he shall uncover all that hides from thou. He who holds the knowledge of the ancients comes quickly to you. Be not afraid, for he brings hope. Tremble not, for he will calm you. You shall see as a blind man cured. Riding close behind comes with him the mysteries of wealth, knowledge, and power.

OK, so do I have your attention? I called you to read the ad and take action didn’t I? I made you “want” to read more, to “see” this light so to speak. Don’t feel dupedJ You have not been. What I present here is a simple psychology behind the reason someone responds to an advertisement. The “Lost Secrets” I refer to are right in front of you.

When you write a headline you must grab the readers attention within 2 seconds. That’s it! You get no more time. Do not stop, do not pass go, and certainly do not collect your $200. Certainly do not believe anyone who will tell you differently. To get your prospect to your offer your ad must be enticing, yet present a certain “hope” to the reader that what lies on the other side of the text is a solution.

But, it should not be just any solution. This solution must solve a specific problem. There is no other reason to entice your prospects. You can think of tons of needs and wants but the simple, cut and dry, black and white of it is that your customer “needs” a “solution” to a “problem”.

This problem could be anything as simple as a new computer chair to the much more powerful and complicated ink pen. Every pun intendedJ The pen offers you the ability to write, and what you write will be ads. Not just any ads mind you. But prospect pulling, customer converting, sales exploding ads.

Using the power of the pen, and the written word has caused wars and saved lives. It has placed a value upon every real and conceivable thing on the planet. When you see the written word it pulls you into it’s meaning. Too often today we are bombarded with advertisements that SCREAM at you to Buy, Buy, Buy Now! Get Rich Quick! Make Tons Of Cash Sitting On Your Duff! Either the guys that write these type ads are desperate or they are idiots.

Get real people. It doesn’t work as good as well written, enticing, hope giving, problem solving, ads. Simple as that. Who else would try to sell you a SPAM blocker in an email you never asked for in the first place. They would argue that it’s clever, or that the sheer number of ads will pull in the money, and make it worth it. They play the numbers game. Are you?

Are you simply throwing as many ads out there as you possibly can hoping someone will find you and your product? I tell you now that doing that is like throwing mud against a wall while standing next to it. Some will stick but most will come back and slap you in the face.

On the flip side of this advertising coin are the people who really don’t care. They are after, and only want one thing. Your money. They couldn’t care less whether they were providing a service to someone, or solving someone’s problem with a “win-win” solution. This causes the real solution provider much grief and increases the distrust between the consumer and the salesperson/advertiser. Ultimately it makes the job of the “real” business owner that much more difficult.

Two of the oldest business ideals around are Quality and Quantity. Which one do you use in your business? Which one do you believe in? If you are of the latter group, than please stop reading this article right now. The internet would be a better place without these types of advertisers. Unless of course you are ready to change your world weary ways.

People are tired of reading ads that SCREAM at them. A few examples are:

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