Insurance Unlimited

On April 9, 2009, the very first Hispanic Billboard went up in Tifton Georgia! This billboard is located on Highway 319 South and McCormick Drive in Tifton, Georgia.

The billboard translates to “Protect your car and your pocket too.” This sign advertises for Insurance Unlimited and was designed by Progressive Insurances’s National Art Department.

There were 15,060 residents in Tifton and only 7.56% of Tifton’s population is Hispanic, according to the 2000 Census Bureau.

What do you think about this ad? Is this the sign of a new trend? How effective do you think this ad will be?

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One powerful ad can make you a fortune, but ten horrible advertisements can cost you thousands (possibly millions) of dollars. This is why it is extremely important to pay attention to every detail of your ads.

Please remember that each type of media is different, so it is not a good idea to use a newspaper advertisement on a billboard. After all you wouldn’t wear your pajamas to church or a fancy dinner would you?

There are several different aspects of billboard advertisements. This article will tell you several designing tips to help you create a perfect billboard ad.

On average, a billboard is only viewed for 7 seconds! This is why it is very important to state your message as quick as possible.

A good rule is to use about 8 to 10 words in your entire ad! Your message must be very short so it can be easily read by the people driving 60 to 75 miles per hour by your sign. This is why it is very important to only include the most important information on a billboard.

Your billboard ad should include:

• The name of your business
• Contact Information: Telephone number, Web-Site Address, and or Physical Address
• A brief amount of directional information that can lead people from the billboard to your business.

You may also include:

• A brief description of your company
• A slogan - Try to make your slogan easy to understand, and be sure that it relates to your product. (Learn more about slogans)
• Benefits of your product: What does your product have that your competitors similar product does not have? How is your product better than your competitor? The answers to these questions are your most important benefits.

* Remember to use as few words as possible. Dwelling on one particular area will bore potential customers. A simple, catchy, easy to read ad will be remembered for a long time.

Size is also very important. Your copy must be big and clear in order to be read easily. Most people make their name bigger and bolder than everything else so it will stand out. A good general rule for the copy sizes is make your name at least 3 feet tall, and the rest of the copy at least 2 feet tall.

Use a font that is very clear, and easy to read. If you have to look at a word(s) for longer than 3 seconds, it is not clear enough. Thick letter styles are also more effective than thin, fancy fonts. Be creative with your fonts, but make sure they can be read easily and quickly.

Chick-fil-A billboard photo

Billboard Graphics:

Of course you can choose common graphics, like a photograph of your building, or if you sell cars, put a picture of your best seller on your billboard. These advertisements will work, but unique, creative billboards will get the most attention. Use a graphic that will make people turn around and take a second look at your ad. An excellent example of this is Chick-Fil-A’s billboard that has cows painting “Brake 4 Chikin” on a billboard.

No matter what type of graphics you decide to put on your billboard, be sure they are big enough to be seen easily from the road at extremely fast speeds. The higher the speed limit is, the bigger your graphics need to be. If your object is very complex or detailed, it needs to be big, but if it is something that can be easily recognized like fruit, it doesn’t have to be as big.

There are no correct or incorrect colors to use on billboards. Yellow and red are great colors for important information because they are attention getters. However, black and yellow ads get the most results.

One color rule is to contrast the background and the copy. For example, if your background is dark, use light copy and vice versa. Don’t put red copy on an orange background because these colors are too similar you will never see or be able to read the text.

Another good idea is to alternate your colors. An example of this is to have a dark background with one line of yellow text, the next line in white text, and then yellow text, and so on.

Be creative with colors. Don’t be afraid to blend your background or add an occasional outline or drop shadow. You must be careful don’t used too many colors, outlines, etc. because this will make your advertisement harder to read. Visual clutter is one of the most common design mistakes. Chaotic looking billboards will cause people to look away.

Also try to use colors that appeal to your target audience.

Zaxby

Simplicity:

By now you should have all the information you need and more. You’ll need to present the entire ad as simply and clutter-free as possible.

Simplifying things may mean that you have to prioritize things and only keep the most important items. This will not be an easy task, but it is definitely the most important one.

Now that you know how to design a money making ad, don’t forget to tell your potential customer how to contact you and, or your business.

Don’t try to make your ad appeal to everyone. Design your layout so it will appeal to your target market. Your ad response rate will be greater this way.

Proof-read Ask someone else to look at your ad. Find out if any part of your advertisement is unclear or confusing to them. You can also ask them what information they see at a quick glance. Listen to their first comments very carefully. After all, billboards aren’t allowed enough time for much more than a first impression.

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Throughout my life, I’ve seen billions of ads. Several of these ads are good, and several are bad. Since advertising is expensive, it is important for us learn how to produce successful ads so we don’t waste any money on bad advertisements. This article will show you the secrets of producing successful ads.

Chick-fil-A Billboard in Waycross Georgia

Secret #1 - Simplicity

This is a very powerful yet most overlooked rule of design. The truth is that a clean, crisp, non-cluttered ad will outperform a cluttered, hard to read ad.

The main purpose of an ad is to get people to purchase your product or service. The next objective of an ad is make people want to learn more about your product or service.

Benefits sell, features do not!

People want to know what’s in it for them. They would rather know how your product can help them (benefits) instead of what your product can do (features.)

For example, let’s say you are a real estate agent and your company has just won the best real estate award possible. I know you’re proud of the award and you should be, but please don’t make the award a big part of your ads. People that are buying or selling property would rather know that your agency will list their property on-line for convince and to time-savings.

Don’t try to make your ad appeal to everyone. Design your layout so it will appeal to your target market. Your ad response rate will be greater this way.

Remember each of us is in a different stages of life, and we all want different things. Once you find out what stage of life your target market is in, then you can make your ads reflect their emotional status.

Silhouettes Billboard

Secret #4 - Emotional Appeal

Design your ads in a way that will show consumers how your product or service will make them feel. This is a very effective marketing technique because ads us subliminal messages that will make us feel a certain way about your product or service.

Kay’s Jewelers ads are a good example of this technique. These ads always show happy people that exchange jewelry, hugs and kisses. When we view or hear these ads, we feel warm, loving, and happy. After seeing these ads several times, we start to associate warm, loving and happy feelings towards Kay Jewelers.

Ever since I was little, I was always told to “color inside of the lines” and “you have to color apples red instead of blue.” When I colored things the same way every else did, my work got lost in the crowd because it looked the same as everyone else’s.

In advertising the rules have changed. It’s ok to be different; in fact it’s great to “think outside of the box.” Some of the best advertisements are so effective because they are completely different from all the other ads.

Decide what is the single most important part of your ad. Then find a way to make it stand out more than anything else. Arrange the ad so the human eye will see the most important item first, then the second most important item, and so on.

Colorful Billboard in Blackshear, Georgia

Secret #6 - Colors

According to psychology.about.com, “Psychologists have suggested that color impression can account for 60% of the acceptance or rejection of that product or service.” The human eye is attracted to the colors red and yellow before any other color. Yellow backgrounds with black text is the most effective color combination.

Each color has different meanings to different cultures. For advertising purposes, it is extremely important to design your ads in a way that appeals to your target market. Try to choose colors that will compliment the message you are sending to your consumers.

Use as little words as possible. Try to use words that catch attention like powerful, amazing, shocking, and revealing.

Be sure the copy you use will be legible for your audience. Use fonts that are clear, easy to read and big enough for each particular ad.

Also be sure your ads have a smooth flow. Viewers may get confused if your ads constantly jump from one topic to another.

An ad will not be effective if no one believes it. You can have the most creative, colorful, and eye-catching ad, but if people read your ad and say “Yeah, Right,” than your ad will not be profitable. For example, an ad that says “Earn $100,000 a week with XYZ product” will not be as believable as an ad that says “Increase your sales by 20% with XYZ product.”

People always want help with things and are always looking for easier ways to do things. Make your ads help them and solve a certain problem your consumers have.

Try to start your ads with a question that allows your product to be the answer. Here are a common few examples:

• “Is your cold keeping you up all night?”
• “Are you tired watching your weight?”
• “Do you want to be your own boss?”
• “Is your cellular phone bill as low as possible?”
• “Are you unhappy with your current internet service?”

McDonalds classic directional sign

Secret #10 - Call to Action

Don’t forget to tell people what you want them to do after they see your ad. Don’t be afraid to come right out and say “Order Now,” “Call Today!” or “Visit our web-site at www.bpsoutdoor.com.”

Don’t forget to put your name and / or logo on all your ads, letterhead, envelopes and anything else your customers / potential customers will see. Make sure they are big enough to be seen. There’s nothing worse than seeing a great ad and wondering who the advertiser was.

Make sure your graphics, words, slogans, and so on make sense when used together. If your viewers have to ask what your ad has to do with your product than it won’t be effective.

Successful ads make a lasting impression on everyone. Give your ads something special and unique that will help make your ads memorable.

Good examples of this are: The AFLAC duck, the “Whats up?” telephone commercials, Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” from the 80’s, and Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” commercials.

Secret #14 - Repetition

Your ads will look more professional if you use the same fonts and colors as often as possible.

The average person must see an ad 7 times before they remember it. Once you’ve found an ad that produces results, use it everywhere and as often as possible. This will brand your ad into consumers minds.

Suggestions / Comments / Questions are welcomed. We want to know what you think makes an ad effective.

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The colors you use for an advertisement are more important than the actual wording of the ad. The reason for this is the colors (and graphics) capture the consumers attention then causes them to read your ad. According to psychology.about.com, “Psychologists have suggested that color impression can account for 60% of the acceptance or rejection of that product or service.”

Each color has different meanings to different cultures. For advertising purposes, it is extremely important to design your ads in a way that appeals to your target market. Try to choose colors that will compliment the message you are sending to your consumers.

Red

Red is a color that symbolizes action, warmth, power, aggression, excitement, drama, fire, blood, passion, love, danger, anger, and heat. It is a highly visible color that will always attract attention. Red will also stimulate several emotions.

Stop signs have trained us to stop and look when we see red. So it is only natural to want to stop and look at a red billboard.

Studies show that people in casinos gamble more in red rooms than room with any other colors. Red is also a good color for automobiles sales, pet shops, pasta shops, pizzerias, and restaurants.

However, the color red is not recommended for medical companies because it signals bad health, blood, and emergencies. Red is also the color accountants use to show that they have a negative cash flow.

Orange

Orange is a vibrant and fun color. It improves mental clarity, promotes warmth and happiness. Orange also increases the oxygen’s flow to the brain. Contentment, fruitfulness, and wholesomeness are qualities that are also associated with orange.

The color orange can help an expensive product seem more reasonably priced. It is the perfect color for products that appeal to a wide variety of people.

Orange is an appetite stimulant. It is a good color choice for vitamin shops, Mexican restaurants, dance clubs, and products that target Latin and French people.

Yellow

Yellow is a perfect color for sunny, happy, bright, cheerful, playful, easygoing, and optimistic advertisements. Ideal for florists, candy shops, toy stores, amusement parks, and discount stores.

Yellow is the first color the eye processes. It is also the most visible color to the human eye. This is why it grabs attention faster than any other color.

Yellow is also a color of caution. Most yellow road signs are warning drivers of a problem in the road or with the on-coming traffic. This is just another reason why yellow grabs our attention quickly.

Green

Green symbolizes life, nature, environment, youth, money, renewal, hope, and power. It is a color that soothes people, reduces pain, and makes us feel safe.

Since green traffic lights have conditioned us to go forward or to enter places, it makes us feel welcomed. This is a great quality for any product or service.

Yellow-green is not a wise color for food advertisements because it is an appetite depressant.

Light green calms people. That is why most walls in jails, schools, waiting rooms, and hospitals are light green.

Green is a great color for financial advisors, banks, and accountants because it signals money. It is also good for outdoor products because it gives consumers a natural outdoor feeling. The color green can be used for green houses, vegetable stands, landscaping, and farmers because it signals life.

Blue

Blue makes people feel calm, relaxed, tranquil, peaceful, wise, loyal, and trustworthy. It helps people accept themselves and resolve their problems.

The color blue also helps increase productivity.

On the other hand, the color blue can also symbolize sadness, and depression. Since most foods are not blue, the color blue is an appetite suppressant that can help people lose weight!

Blue is definitely the most popular color of both men and women. Several well-known corporations use blue in their logos. It is a great color choice for travel agencies, pool companies, masseurs, doctors offices, pharmacies, medical suppliers, motels, psychologists, and weight loss centers.

Purple

Purple is a sophisticated, creative, luxurious, and wealthy color. It is also associated with royalty. A bluish shade of purple tends to create mystery, while a reddish shade of purple is sensual, and creative. Purple with a red tint will get more attention.

Purple is hard for some people (mainly men) to see. However, it is a great color for artists, elaborate restaurants, clothing stores, book stores, art galleries, night clubs, magicians, photographers, country clubs, golf courses, jewelry stores, beauticians, and fortune tellers.

Brown

Brown symbolizes coffee, lumber, and earth-tone products. It is a reliable, solid, strong, mature, and comfortable color. Brown is now considered a rich and robust color.

The color brown is an excellent color for hardware stores, coffee houses, craft shops, herbal shops, health food stores, male haberdasheries, cabinet shops, western stores, contractors, clock shops, and carpenters.

Black

Black symbolizes power, prestige, elegance, style, reliability, simplicity, and sophistication. The color black is more about attitude than anything else. It is a trendy color that keeps consumers up to date with technology. It is also a very informative color.

Black used to be viewed as the color of death, witches, demons, and evil. However, this perception is declining.

Black is a great color choice for music shops, accountants, lawyers, electronic stores, and tire stores.

White

White symbolizes purity, cleanliness, virtue, innocence, and freshness.

The color white is a great choice for bridal shops, weddings, religious groups, daycare centers, medical facilities, wineries, dentists, catering companies, bakeries, museums, historical sites, bed and bath shops, dry cleaners, and cleaning services.

Please be careful, because white is a color of death and mourning is China, Japan, and other Middle East countries.

Once you have selected the right color(s) for your business, be sure to find out what colors effectively compliment your color choice.

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In the ever-changing world of advertising, one fact remains the same: Simple is better. This holds true for just about every type of business out there; whether they use television, radio, print ads or banners. Most of all, banners.

In today’s fast paced world, most people do not have time to read long, elaborate banners, because they are usually in a rush for work or school, or they are late picking up the kids from soccer practice, late for a doctors appointment, etc. Generally, they don’t have time to read a banner with a lot of words in it.

For example, take two convenience stores across the street from each other at an intersection. Both stores have banners out in front with the sole purpose of attracting new customers.

Let us say the first store is Paul’s Convenience Store. The banner says: “Paul’s Convenience Store/Gas/Drinks/Coffee/Snacks/We Strive for Customer Satisfaction!”

“We Strive for Customer Satisfaction” would be the main point of the banner. However, it was at the bottom of the banner, and several other things have to be read before reaching it. When someone is at the traffic light, they are waiting for the light to change and reading just about everything around them just to pass time. It’s a good chance they won’t make it to the bottom of banner for two simple reasons. First, they are pressed for time, glancing back and forth from the light to the different banners placed around, which means they are only scanning the banner, reading just a few words to see if it strikes an interest. Second, when they read the first part of the banner, they already know it is a convenience store, and they already know what convenience stores have to offer. So chances are, once they take their eyes off the banner, they will stay off.

The second store is Missy’s Convenience Store. Their banner says: “20 oz Dr. Pepper: 2/$1.”

The banner has a total of three words and three numbers, which is very easy for the brain to compute in a very short amount of time. The banner is read in less than a second. However, this is what it says to the customer. First of all, people who drink Dr. Pepper find this to be a very good deal. Does the other store have good deals like this? Who knows? The other banner just said something about gas or something. This store has a good deal on Dr. Pepper, and they know it. The banner also says other things. For people who drink Coke, Pepsi or other products, it makes them wonder if the other drinks in the store are reasonably priced as well. They know the store has them, because what store in the world carries Dr. Pepper and nothing else? If the store carries drinks, obviously it carries snacks and coffee as well, so those words aren’t needed in the banner. Gas pumps can be seen outside, so they have gas as well. If they are letting people know they are having a sale, they must care about customer satisfaction. Missy’s convenience store banner says everything the other one says!

It’s hard to believe that one little banner, with those few words on it, could say so much, but when people are sitting at a traffic light, it says a lot in the mind. The same goes for drivers going down the road. They have a very short span of time to take their eyes off the road and read something. Because of this, the second banner comes in handy as well. Its letters are bigger, and can be read from a moving car. The more letters on a sign, either the smaller the letters, or the bigger the sign. A bigger sign is more money, considering most sign companies charge by size, and not what is on it. A large amount of words, no matter how big the font is, are just as hard to read. So it really isn’t better to make a bigger sign, for words that won’t be read, and pay more money.

This same theory doesn’t just go for convenience stores. It can be used for any retailer out there. Take restaurants for example. If two restaurants were on the same road a couple of blocks apart, they would need to compete for customers.

Gregg’s Mexican Restaurant has a banner up with its name, (even though their name is on top of the restaurant!), and then a big, elaborate description of one of their dishes. “Try our new, chicken pasta dish! Fresh and hot, with lot’s of peppers and onions to make your mouth water. Cooked in an authentic Mexican sauce with queso on the top!” Next to it is a picture of the dish.

The point of the banner is to make people hungry for it and go to their restaurant. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a customer hungry for the dish. It made them hungry for Mexican food.

Johns Mexican Restaurant has a banner up as well. It simply says: Lunch specials starting at $4.25. Which restaurant will people more likely go into? Well, they are already hungry for Mexican food because of the other banner, but this place has lunch specials for $4.25! So in the mind of the new customer, they have a picture from banner 1, and the price for banner 2! They know both places serve Mexican food, but they know restaurant two has a really good special. In all actuality, banner 2 was more effective, because it brought in more new customers. Not to mention, it cost about half the amount to make it.

(Without looking, what did banner 1 say? Did you have to think about it? What about banner 2? Go back and look at it to see how close you were on the two banners.)

Of course, you do not always make the decision on what will go on a banner that a customer orders, but you are the expert and can suggest a simpler approach that will help to increase their business. Explain to your customer that, overall, simple banners are just plain better. It gets the customer’s attention, it is easier to read, it gets the point across fast, and in most cases, it cost less. When it comes to creating an effective banner, just remember to go against everything that was taught in school, and DON’T use your imagination! Keep it simple!

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We all know that advertising is very expensive and very few of us can afford to lose $5000.00. Below you will find a list of the most costly billboard advertising mistakes and tips to avoid making these mistakes.

• Don’t use the phrase “Clean Restrooms.” Of course people want to use clean restrooms; they just expect all restrooms to be clean. We have taken cleanliness for granted. We don’t notice items because they are clean; however, we do notice items when they are dirty. Think about it, how many times have you heard someone say “Wow, that bathroom was so clean?
• Do not use your magazine ad, newspaper ad, or any other type of ad for your billboard ads. Hire a professional billboard artist to design your billboard layouts. A professional can tell you what colors, fonts, and graphics work best on billboards. This concept makes perfect sense because, you wouldn’t take your children to the veterinarian if they had the flu would you?
• Red words on a blue, or black background is not very visible from average driving speeds. This color combination looks good on paper, in magazines and newspapers, but it is very hard to read on billboards. The red words tend to blend in with the dark background of the sign making it difficult to separate the words from the background. For billboard advertising purposes, red is considered a dark color, and should not be used with other dark colors.
• Using yellow copy on white backgrounds is another costly mistake. The reason for this is that from a distance, the yellow and white tend to blend together and look like the same object. Since both of these colors are light, it becomes almost impossible to tell them apart.
• Blue and white sky backgrounds look great on paper. However, when used on billboards, they tend to blend in with the real sky. A solution to this is to use a sky background that has a sunset on it, or to add pinks and reds to the sky. The goal is to make the billboard stand out and be separated from the real sky. (Of course this doesn’t apply to signs on building.)
• Any kind of fancy script is a definite “no-no” for billboards. Fonts with thin letters are also not recommended for outdoor ads. Billboards need to have thick, easy to read fonts in order to be read. Remember that people only have an average of 7 seconds to read a billboard.
• On a standard size billboard (10 feet to14 feet high) do not use more than 4 lines of copy on your billboard ads. For boards between 15 feet high and 20 feet high, you can use 5 lines, but it is not recommended. A good general rule it to only use a total of 8 to10 words on your entire billboard.
• Simplicity is the most important quality for billboards. The more simple a sign is the better response it will get.
• Don’t be generic (boring.) For example, instead of putting a photograph of your staff or building on your billboards, do something more creative. Dare to be Different! You’ll have better results this way.

There you have it, a simple list of the most costly billboard design mistakes. Now you can easily avoid these common billboard advertising mistakes and several others by trying this simple experiment.

1. First, take a printed copy of your billboard and put it up on the wall.
2. Then take 20 steps in one direction away from the layout.
3. Now turn around and immediately start walking towards the billboard layout. But be careful and watch where you step so you don’t run into anyone or anything.
4. Do not slow down when you reach the sign, instead just turn away from the sign.
5. Now stop and think about the layout. You have just viewed your billboard just like passing motorists would see it.
6. Do not look at the layout again and ask yourself the following questions.

• How clear was the copy (words)?
• Could you read everything?
• Could you tell want the graphics were?
• Did the layout leave any unanswered questions?
• Could you tell what the advertisement was for?
• Did the advertisement make sense?
• Did you remember to tell consumers how to get more information?

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Have you ever had an ad designed by a professional that was completely terrible and did not produce any results? If so, you’re not alone.

We recently had a client purchase several billboards, but when the vinyls (she ordered through someone else) were put up she was extremely unhappy at the quality and design of the ad. She thought that we did not install the vinyls correctly, but actually the vinyls were designed to look old, torn, and imperfect. The creative did not follow any of the rules and it was very hard to believe that this artwork came from a large national company.

Unfortunately, this happens on a regular basis so that’s why I think it’s important for every marketing person and or business owner to know the basic rules of billboard advertising.

Rule #1 - Effective billboards are short, sweet, simple and to the point. Passing motorists are limited to the time they can see your billboard and they can’t safely read very much. They also can not read small copy (less than one foot tall) when “flying” by the sign.

Rule #2 - All billboard words should be at least one foot and 6 inches tall in order to be legible from the road. If your sign is close to the road, please do not ignore this rule, it still applies. Also if your sign is further away (higher than average) from normal, your copy should be bigger than this.

Rule #3 - All graphics need to be large enough to be seen at fast speeds and far distances. I generally try to make graphics as tall as the billboard with an exception to directional information.

Rule #4 - Use contrasting colors like yellow and black or red and white. Do not use colors that are similar to each other like blue and purple or orange and red because it will be hard to see two different colors from a distance.

Rule #5 - Make sure your ads appeal to your target market. Use colors, graphics and words that they will be interested in. Make sure your target market can understand your ad also.

Rule #6 - All effective ads must have a smooth flow. When someone looks at your ad you want them to see one thing first, then another item second, and so on. You don’t want them to get lost in your ad and not know which way to look next. If this happens, they will stop looking at your ad!

Rule #7 - Getting attention is the most important thing your ad needs to do so it won’t be overlooked. You can get attention in several ways, but the best advice I can give you is to be creative and do something out of the ordinary.

Rule #8 - Once your ad has captured attention, your next step is to create an interest in your product or service. Your main goal here is to make your product stand apart from your competition. Use benefits to tell your target market what’s in it for them; do not bore them with the facts. For example, instead of saying “product xyz reduces fine lines” say “xyz will make your skin look 10 years younger.”

Rule #9 - Create a desire for your product. Give your audience a small taste of your product or service. But don’t give away too much information because the goal of your ad should be to get people to request more information.

Rule #10 - Call to Action - Don’t leave your audience hanging; tell them what to do next. For example, “Call Now”, or “Visit our website.”

Hopefully this article will teach you how to tell the good designs from the not-so-good designs so your ads will stand out in a crowd.

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All great advertisements have powerful copy. These ads have special ways to convince us that we need to buy their product. But how do these words actually make us buy? This article will show you how to choose money-making words for your ads.

Always start with a plan. In order to do this, you must:

• First decide who your target market is.
• How do you want to reach them?
• What do you want them to know about your product or service?
• How is your product different / better than your competition?

Make a list of your products features. Then take each one of these features and pretend to be your customer. Ask “What’s in it for me?” about each benefit you’ve listed. The answers to these questions are your product or services benefits. Benefits are the key ingredient to selling your product. You are now ready to design your ad.

The A-I-D-A (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) Method is very helpful when designing powerful advertisements.

Getting the attention of your target audience is the first thing your ads should do. People see hundreds of ads every single day, but they only read a small portion of these ads. This is why getting the consumers attention is the most important part of designing advertisements. If you don’t succeed in this area, potential customers will pass over your ad and possibly your product!

Headlines are the best way to grab the attention of your target market. Use the benefits you listed earlier to create a good headline. Use exciting words in your headlines, such as: Breakthrough, Incredible, How to ___, Announcing, Revealing, Discover, FREE, Guaranteed, Powerful, Proven, Shocking, and Uncovered.

You may also ask a question that can be answered by using your product. When you start your ad with a question, the reader will usually mentally answer the question, and keep reading your ad.

Another good technique for headlines is to shock your readers. Make a statement that makes readers take a second look at your ad. For example, if you are selling alarms, your headline could be “How to Break into Homes with Alarm Systems.” Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Would you read it?

Keep your headlines short, and be sure they make sense to your target market. In outdoor advertising, the shorter ads are the most effective.

Colors also grab attention of passing motorists. Brighter colors, like yellow and red get the most attention. Black and yellow, when combined, also receive great responses. Learn what colors appeal to which target markets, or to see examples of proven winning color combination.

Graphics will also help your ad get stand out in a crowd. Be careful; make sure they are big enough to be seen from passing motorists. Details are very hard to see on billboards so keep your graphics simple. Please be sure to make the graphics relate to your product or service.

Once you have the attention of your target audience, you must try very hard to keep it. But hurry, because you don’t have a lot of time before the passing motorists either pass your sign, or lose interest. Do not waste time and, or money trying to appeal to people who do not, will not, or can not use their product.

In order to keep your potential customers attention and interest, you must make your product or service exiting, and intriguing. Use your products benefits to do this.

You may also want to make your ads emotionally appealing. For example lets say you have a bakery. You can put a big picture of cakes, cookies, and fudge all across your billboard. Then you can say “What’s Another Lap around the Track?” You have just shown your audience how great your food is, and how easy it is to say “yes.”

Be unique. Unless you have set rules and regulations you have to follow in your advertising, be creative. Do things differently. Your advertisements will stand out and be recognized, and your sales will skyrocket!

Make your target market want to rush right out and get your product. Show them how greatly your product or service will benefit them. For example, if you sell diet products you can show pictures of people who used your diet pills and how great they now look because of these diet pills. Remember to make your ad believable. Don’t use two different people to show the before and after results of your diet pills.

In other words, your job is to make potential customers desire the image or benefits your products offer.

Create a sense of urgency, and or deadlines. For example, “If you act now you’ll get ____ for free or at a discounted price.” Use words like Hurry, Limited Time Only, and Call Now.

Please don’t follow a common mistake of others, don’t forget to tell your potential customers how to get in touch with you. Put your address, phone number, web site address, e-mail address, or some kind of directional information on your sign. Of course you will not have room to put every type of contact information on your billboard, but try to put at least two different contact options.

You’ve already made your target market want your product or service. You’ve told them how great it is and most importantly what it can do for them. Now proofread your advertisement. Then get someone else to review it.

Once you have put your billboard up, test it. Ask people how they found out about your company. You can also give out free samples of your product to those consumers who will fill out your brief survey.

Now that you know how to choose the correct wording for your advertisements, don’t forget about the colors and design.

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