How Do I Develop Effective Print Advertising?

To develop effective print advertising, it must be compelling for your target audience to want to read. For this reason, matching your ad to the readership of the publication, whether it's a newspaper, magazine or trade journal, is crucial. You must be able to capture the readers' attention, hold it and create a memorable impression in their minds of your product or service. It's also important to consider the type of ad to run as well as where it will be placed in a publication.

Display ads are typically the most expensive print advertising, yet they're also usually the most noticed by readers. They may take up an entire page, or much less than a full page, and may be placed between the text of feature stories. Since most readers will read the features, this type of ad placement can be effective. These are usually full-color ads that allow for graphics and text to catch the readers' attention. For the most effective print advertising in display form, be sure to get your budget's worth by having an ad created by a good professional copywriter.

If your budget for a print ad is more limited and your product is suitable for a classified ad in the back of a publication, this may be a good choice. Keep in mind that not all readers even look at the classifieds in the back of a magazine or newspaper though. In order to turn a few lines of classified text into effective print advertising likely to compel readers who do see it, an eye-catching headline and a clear call to action are essential. The call to action may be to go to a certain website address to view an online catalog. If space allows, adding an extra incentive such as a percentage off of merchandise by responding promptly can help increase the effectiveness of the print ad.

Adding a coupon in a display ad is another way of increasing its effectiveness, as it can inspire people to cut it out and take it to the store to look specifically for your product. Check with magazines and newspapers for special rates for coupon ads. Make sure the coupon will be placed in a part of the publication that won't interfere with the articles so that readers won't be reluctant to remove it. Of course, for the most effective print advertising, you shouldn't simply rely on the coupon to entice readers, but should rather first convince them of why they should purchase your product.