If you’re still running print ads, try this handy “Ad Assessment” tool.

(It will help you improve your ad.)

By Brett Lloyd Abbott, Pool Builder Marketing LLC

Print advertising may be shrinking, but it is by no means dead. There are plenty of situations where magazines, billboards, direct mail and other print advertising can produce a handsome return on investment. But you can waste a lot of money also, if the ad is not well-crafted.

A print ad costs the same whether it is powerful or weak.

So you might as well make it as powerful as possible.

One of the first things I learned as a marketing consultant was to use the following simple four-step formula for creating powerful ads:

  1. Interrupt (with compelling headlines & images)

  2. Engage (with a subheadline, to confirm the promise of more info)

  3. Educate (with body copy, claims, facts & figures, etc.)

  4. Offer (a low-risk offer that is too good to resist)

This formula should apply to ALL advertising, including radio, TV, websites, PPC ads, etc. But it’s especially obvious when you are looking at a print ad. (That’s why there’s a fifth element to look at – the overall design, flow and layout.)

How do you know if your ad is powerful?

Use this simple “Ad Assessment” tool:

MYMAustinAdAssessment.jpg

I don’t think you have to be a marketing expert to conduct your own ad assessment; I think you’ll find all of the questions / measurements quite self-explanatory.

Would you like to try it yourself? Email us and we will send you the electronic scoresheet. Totally FREE.

By the way, if you’re wondering what a level 5.0 ad might look like, here’s one concept/template you can follow to get there:

SampleAdtemplatewithimage.jpg

Again, email us if you’d like an electronic copy of this ad assessment tool.

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