15 Must-Do’s For A Successful Ad

Let’s break away from the ordinary and dive into the world of mailers with a fresh perspective. Here are our 15 top secrets to ensure your mailers deliver a response.

Successful Ad Techniques

1. The Spotlight Headline: Imagine your headline as the main act of your advertising. It should own the top, and front, be bold, and use at least 20% of the space of the ad.  Your headline must communicate a clear, striking message, usually a benefit of your product or service.
2. Graphics For Pizzazz: Graphics should do more than just decorate your advertising; they should amplify your headline’s message. For instance, if you are promoting A/C service, the headline reads “Is Your Wife Hot?” The graphic that would accompany the headline is of a woman in front of a fan, obliviously hot. The graphic drives home the headline.
3. Colors That Wow: Make your mailer pop like a fireworks display! Choose colors that make your headline and text leap from the background. If your eyes aren’t drawn to the headline first, it’s time for a color makeover.
4. Subheads For Eye Trail: Nobody enjoys diving into a sea of text. Subheads act as your mailer’s GPS, guiding readers with a “start here” sign. Trust us; your audience will appreciate the guidance.
5. Don’t Overload The Reader: People have very short attention spans today to be successful only advertise one product or service in an ad. I know it seems like you have a better chance of getting calls if you put more than one product in an ad but it never works.
6. Don’t Be Afraid Of White Space: Just because you have two sides to a postcard does not mean that you have to fill up every inch of the postcard with color, copy, and graphics. White space lets the ad breathe and makes it easy for the reader to instantly see the main point of the ad.  
7. Benefits Rule Features: Remember, it’s all about what’s in it for them. Instead of rattling off features, dive into benefits. Never put a feature in an ad without including a benefit.
8. The Tempting Offer: Temptation is the name of the game. Give them a reason to act immediately, whether it’s a “limited supply” or “rates on the rise”. Make the offer irresistible!
9. The Buy Now: OK you have a great offer now give them an additional reason to buy “NOW”. Put a deadline on the offer; add an extra incentive to call now. People will procrastinate unless they feel like they are losing out on a great deal.
10. Your Buy Now & Offer Have To Be Competitive: Look, when you advertise you are basically buying customers. You also have a lot of competition. So if your competitors are advertising a better deal – who do you think the person is going to call? YES – you are most likely going to lose money on the offer & buy now but what is a customer worth long term to your business?
11. Your Brand Charm: Your name and logo deserve recognition, but they’re the supporting actors. Customers want to know how you can transform their world, so let your offer steal the spotlight.
12. Call To Action Magic: Don’t leave them hanging; tell them precisely what to do. Whether it’s “call now for details” or “visit us online,” make it crystal clear and compelling!
13. Ring-A-Ling: The phone number should be in bold and in several places on the ad. I know this is obvious but you would be surprised how often this is left off.
14. Remember the Purpose of Buying Advertising: The purpose is and always has been to create interest and inspire action. Action being a phone call or a visit to your website.
15. Your Website Is An Integral Part Of Any And All Advertising You Do Today: Over 98% of people who are interested in what you sell will go to your website first. If your website is not designed properly you will lose interested prospects at that point.

Infuse creativity into your mailers with these successful ad techniques and make marketing masterpieces! If you need help creating an effective postcard mailer, give us a call at 727-536-4173.