How to Design Magazine Ads that Work

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by: DennisGartlandII | Total views: 4 | Word Count: 429 | View PDF | Print View
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1. Headline: On the average, five times more people read the headline than the body copy. If consumers like the Headline they will go on to read the body copy. The Headline is what brings them in. The headline must be easy to understand and state the reason why the consumer should continue on and read the body copy.

2. News and headlines: People read consumer magazines and newspapers to get news. If you have genuine news such as product updates or new innovations by all means put it in the headline.

3. How many words in a headline? Research conducted with cooperation from a large department store found that headlines of ten words or longer sold more products than short headlines. In terms of recall, headlines between eight and ten words work the best. On average, long headlines sell more goods than short ones - headlines like David Ogilvy's "At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." have been remembered for years.

4. Speak to Your Prospects: When trying to reach a specific groupt; Speak to them in your headline - Parents, bald people, CEO's?

5. Buyers Will Read Long Copy: Readership falls off rapidly up to 50 words, but drops very little between 50 and 500 words. Potential buyers will read longer into an ad. Peak their interest with the headline, and then sell them in the copy.

6. Before and AfterAds: Before and after ads are above average in grabbing the readers attention. Contrast seems to work well. If then seems to be well understood by the consumer.

7. Photographs vs. drawings: Photographs work better than Art almost all the time. People like to feel thins are "real." The photograph should help pull readers in. Plus it must be pertinent to the product you are selling. The photograph must have story appeal.

8. Captions: Twice as many people read the captions under photographs as read the body copies. Never place a photo without a caption. Because Associated Press Style calls for captions under photos people expect it.

9. Editorial layout vs. Art Layout The more an advertisement looks like the editorial in the magazine the higher the readership on most occasions. The art layout is much easier to get by the President of the company you are representing. A good agency will take the time to convince the CEO that he knows much more about their product that the consumer.

10. Test and Retest Readership has been known to increase with repetition. Continually test new ads against the old ones and run the winner.
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