A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words.
I have said it many times before but it is worth repeating, your advertisement has mere moments to capture readers attention. A combination of things can help you achieve this goal but pictures capture attention even better than headlines or slogans. The Newspaper Association of America says that an image that takes up more than 50% of your ad space will increase readership by 50%. That is why a well chosen picture truly can be worth a thousand words. And a large image can help your potential customers visualize the benefits of your product or service, answering the age old question, “What’s In It For Me?”
Because advertising space is limited and can be costly, you want to use an image to get the biggest bang for you buck. But not just any image will do. You want to make sure the image you choose is relevant, and matches the rest of the content of your ad.
Lets look at this weeks sample ad.
This ad has a few small images, but neither of them really help the customer visualize what Martinez Painting & Powerwashing can do for their customers. However, by adding a few large and relevant images and moving the text around, we can create a very compelling ad.
First I added a large main image of a beautifully maintained house. Letting potential customers envision how beautiful their own home could be with just a little help from Martinez Painting and Powerwashing. Then I added two smaller image,s one of powerwashing, and one of paint to let customers know, without reading a word, what is being offered. I have also added a headline that lets the customer know what’s in it for them. We will talk more about effective headlines in a future blog post. Now this ad grabs attention and evokes emotion, two things essential to effective advertising.
Please keep in mind that all of these suggestions are just that. There are no hard and fast rules to good design or marketing and what works for one may not work for another. But if you feel your advertising has not been as successful as you were hoping, look over your past ads with a critical eye. Could you be making any of these mistakes?
If you have any questions or need any help with your advertising, please leave a comment or contact me at info@creativesparkmarketing.com