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Are Your Ads Using a Winning Layout?

By Jenna Bruce on Wed, Jul 01, 2020 @ 03:50 PM |

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We’ve created publication-ready print and digital campaigns for advertisers both big and small. And we’ve learned a thing or two about “best practices” when it comes to creating the kind of layout that gives your messaging the best chance at reaching your audience and converting them.

If your ads are a little lackluster – if they aren’t driving brand recognition or inspiring action in your audience - then use the following checklist to create a winning ad layout that will get the ROI you need.

  1. Does Your Ad Immediately Grab the Reader’s Attention?

The overall look and feel of your ad’s layout must be professional and very eye-catching. Without these two essentials, your ad won’t cause the reader to stop and give your messaging any kind of attention.

  1. Does Your Ad Hold the Reader’s Attention?

Great, you’ve gotten their attention, but can your ad hold it? If you want the reader to continue to digest and absorb your messaging, you’ve got to use compelling headlines, imagery and offers to sustain interest and move the reader along to your call to action.

  1. Is Your Content Easy to Digest?

You’ve got mere seconds to convince a reader they should even bother to attempt to read your ad. So make your ad seem easy to digest visually. Don’t pack your ad with as much text as possible. Give it some breathing room and make sure to have plenty of white space. Use skim-able bullet points to highlight benefits. Keep the number of fonts to a minimal. The easier your ad is to read, the more likely a person is to give it their effort.

  1. Make Your Messaging and Imagery Hyper Targeted

Does your ad “speak” to your target audience and only to them? Or does it have a general feel to it because you are trying to appeal to EVERYONE?

You should have spent considerable time researching your target audience before creating your ad. Who are the people you are trying to reach? What are their pain points? What is their demographic makeup? What language resonates with them? How can your offer help them?

The more you know about your audience, the more chance you’ll have of creating hyper targeted messaging that converts.

  1. Define Your USP

What are the key differentiators between your organization and your biggest competitors? Once you’ve determined these USPs – or unique selling points – position these within your ad as benefits, not features. Consumers react rather luke-warmly to product or service features. What they are really looking for is solutions to their problems.

  1. Does Your Ad Develop Trust?

There are obviously different stages of getting a cold prospect to buy from you. Your ad layout has worked so far and you’ve gotten their attention and held it, making sure to provide hyper targeted messaging and images that speak directly to your audience’s pain points.

Now what?

Well, before they decide to do business with you, they’ve got to make sure they trust your brand enough to give you a try. This is why it is essential that your ad also develops trust. You do this by using testimonials, BBB logos, reviews, and awards received to make the reader feel that doing business with you is safe and smart.

  1. Does Your Ad Give the Reader a Little Nudge?

You’ve been there yourself so you know what it’s like to read sales copy… you’ve liked what you’ve read and think the company may be able to help you. They’ve also gained your trust. And yet… you still need that little push to get you to take out their credit card.

We all need a last little nudge to get us to pull the trigger when interacting with a new brand. That’s why you need to highlight the overall value of your offer right before the call to action.

  1. Does Your Ad Create a Sense of Urgency So the Reader Takes Action?

Your call to action needs to compel the reader to take action in a timely manner. You don’t want their business next week or three months from today. You want their business NOW. So be sure to use limited-time promotions and expiration dates.

 

If your ad can tick all of these boxes, then your layout will be a winning one that drives consumer action. If you need any help with creating a winning layout, get in touch with us. Media Space offers creative solutions for our clients so their campaigns have the best chance at converting.

 

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