THE SECRETS OF A DIRECT RESPONSE AD
Need Help Designing an Ad? Consider These Tips.
By Jeffrey Dobkin
PART THREE
To design a great ad, start out with some thumbnail sketches of how your ad will lay out. Pick up any magazine and find an ad to emulate. Draw some fast, smaller than actual size likenesses of all the elements in your ad. Hand letter the headline. Does it look better on one line or two? Can you break the wording logically? Use straight lines to represent the body copy. One column or two? Will all the copy fit? Are you sure? Hint: Better edit again.
When you get a thumbnail ad you like, move up in size. Draw a border the size your actual ad will be. It's easiest to trace the border of an ad the same size in a magazine. Now pencil in your ad copy following the thumnail sketch you made as a guideline. Don't spend a lot of time on this one--this is just a "rough." Does everything work? Everything fit? Enough room for the photo? You don't have to write the body copy, but rule some lines in its place to get a feel for what it will look like. Sketch in your logo, and your company name and address at the bottom. Pencil in your phone number.
Now--do all this again. Yep, it's part of the process and everyone does it. Tighten up the ad. make your headline more perfect. Tighten where the copy will print. Exactly where will you place the headline, and where will the line break? Pencil in the subhead to size, and where does the break fall? Refine and define all the elements. Work out all the details.
Sorry: now make a third and final ad, crisp enough to show people. This is called a comprehensive layout or comp. If there are colors, show them. Show the border style. Everything should be as it will appear in the final ad, but in pencil. Don't hand write the body copy, but have it represented with straight ruled lines. Hand letter the head and subhead to approximate size. Shade in where the photo or illustration will be placed. Complete with your logo and name at the bottom, and the large phone number. It should be nice enough to show around.
Now show it around. Does everyone like it? Get opinions. Do they read it? No, don't just ask if they would read it, hand them the ad and the typed copy on another sheet and SEE if they read it. Hint: If they don't smile the moment you show it them, you're in trouble. If they don't read it in entirety, you're in deep trouble.
Everyone like it? Read it? Good. Now you have two choices: (1) Set the ad on your computer, at a typesetting house, or a copy shop like Kinkos or (2) take it to an advertising agency and have them set it. If you've selected door number 1, you're almost finished. The people at Kinko's are generally friendly and helpful. Everyone will respect you if you come in with a well thought-out tight comp. Create your ad on their computer. Ask them to help you if you need help. Best of luck.
But I recommend option number 2. Since your ad is already written and in final layout form, it shouldn't be too expensive to have an agency look it over and get the type set. Included in the price--you'll get someone qualified looking over your work. They should let you know if you have any gross errors in your ad, or anything wrong at all. They'd by stupid to set a typo or misspelling, and should give you some feedback on any defects, etc.
Having the agency set your type is the final frontier for your ad before you place it--it's nice to have a knowledgeable stranger look over your work before it becomes very expensive to make changes or very expensive to run. But remember--an ad is only expensive if it doesn't work.
Jeffrey Dobkin, author of HOW TO MARKET A PRODUCT FOR UNDER $500 and UNCOMMON MARKETING TECHNIQUES, is a specialist in direct response copywriting. He writes powerful, response-driven sales letters, TV commercials and scripts; persuasive catalog copy; and exceptionally hard-hitting direct mail packages that increase sales. He also analyzes direct marketing packages, ads, catalogs, and campaigns. Mr. Dobkin is an acclaimed speaker and a direct marketing consultant. Call him directly at 610-642-1000 for free samples of his work.
|
|
Index |
 |
Idea Help |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |