Cool Stuff

1. Headline: On the average, 5x more people read the headline as the body copy. If people like the Headline they will continue to read the body copy. The Headline is what pulls them in. The headline should be simple and clearly state a benefit.

2. News and headlines: Consumers read news stand magazines or news papers to get news. Real news or innovations can be placed in the headline, consumers may even find it a service. They very well could increase readership.

3. Localize headlines: In local advertising, sometimes it pays to include the name of the city in your headline.

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 After Ads: Before and after advertisements get better than average readership. The contrast seems to work well. Consumers tend to comprehend them well.

7. Line Drawings vs. Photos: Photographs work better than Drawing almost allways. The Reader relates better to ads he feel are genuine. The photo should pull readers in and be directly related to the reason why they should buy your product or service.

8. Captions: Captions under photographs are read 2x that of the body copy. Never place a photo without a caption It helps make your ad look more like editorial which will increase believability and results. Because Associated Press Style requires captions under photos readers 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.