According to the great ad man, David Ogilvy, the average print ad is read by only 4 percent of its targeted readership. Small wonder. Just pick up any trade or industry magazine to see hundreds of ads vying for your attention, with a multitude of colors, fancy graphics and bold headlines.

Obviously, print advertising works, and it should be part of your marketing mix. But how do you ensure your ads are being read when they are competing with hundreds of other ads, as well as the publication's articles?

No matter how technical your product or service, or how small your budget, you can attract readers, get your message across and increase sales by following these five rules when creating print ads:

1. Use simple layouts

The most effective ads tend to be relatively simple. Headlines are short, powerful and to the point, and the image tells the story quickly. A company that uses a simple layout effectively is Research In Motion (RIM) the maker of the BlackBerry™ wireless e-mail device.

A recent two-page spread ad combines photography with whimsical design: On the left page, the popular handheld device is shown as an owl sitting in a tree. To the right, the headline reads, "Berry well informed" and the body copy, which is easy to read, uses few words to explain the benefits of wireless e-mail.

2. Use images people understand

When choosing the image for your ad, keep the following point in mind: If your reader needs to think too much when looking at it, then he or she probably won't "get it" and will move on.

Because we're overwhelmed with information, we've learned to quickly scan things to find what we need. Our eyes rather than our brains, do our "thinking" for us. So if the reader’s eyes don't comprehend the image’s message in just a few seconds, your reader will move on.

What are examples of ambiguous images? Those that act as metaphors for your message-- that are abstract or that don't relate to your product--will get in the way of reader comprehension. Before committing to any ad, run it by family, friends, and those associates not connected with your business or industry. If they don't "get it" immediately – or if you have to explain it to them -- then find a new image.

3. Keep body copy easy-to-read

In his book, "Type Layout: How typography and design can get your message across – or get in the way," Colin Wheildon uses statistical research to show how typography that is difficult to read significantly lowers reader comprehension.

Pick up that trade magazine again and pay attention to the body copy in each ad. Which ads were easy to read? Which weren't? Can you tell why? Copy that's hard to read will detract from your message. When designing your ads, steer away from the following common errors:

• Using large blocks of intimidating print. Direct mail experts figured this out a long time ago. That's why direct mail letters have short blocks of copy, bulleted lists and frequent indentations. These things make the copy easy-to-read, and copy that gets read, is copy that increases sales.
  
• Placing text over a "busy" image. I once saw an ad that had white copy imprinted over a picture of a meadow of white daisies. I have no clue what the copy said because I couldn't read it. The white letters were lost in the flowers.
  
• Using a sans serif font instead of a serif font. Serifs are the small horizontal lines at the top and bottom of letters when printed in certain typefaces such as Times. A san serif typeface, like Arial, looks smoother and does not have these little horizontal lines at the top and bottom of each character. According to Whieldon's research, more than five times as many readers are likely to show good comprehension when a serif font is used versus a sans serif font. (This article is written in a san serif font.)

4. Design ads with optimal "flow"

We obviously read from top to bottom and left to right. In fact, according to typographer Edmund Arnold, the eyes fall naturally to the top left corner of a page and then move across and down. Ads that make the reader fight this natural tendency lower comprehension – by almost 50 percent. Plus, they are annoying.

Last summer a major software company ran an ad with a great headline that immediately pulled me into the ad. My eye naturally fell to the copy beneath the headline. However, the copy was a continuation of what had been started above the headline – in other words, the headline divided the copy. I had to stop reading and start again from the top, which annoyed me. (You can see I have no memory of what the ad said, only what was wrong with it!)

When designing ads, work with your designer on the flow. Learn to see the printed page the way your eye does. Help your readers by placing headlines beneath graphics; headlines that divide text or are placed beneath body copy only hinder the reader.

5. Answer the question: "What's in it for me?"

According to a study Roper Starch conducted in 2000, many ads simply do not answer the basic question, "What's in it for me?" Of the ads studied, headlines failed to state a benefit and relied on the assumption that the reader knew what products or services were being sold and why.

As a marketing writer, I come across a great deal of marketing copy that backs up this study. Marketing copy often touts features (rather than benefits) and is laden with jargon and hype. Hence, the message is often vague and full of generalities.

When writing ad copy, be specific. Explain how your product or service will benefit your reader. Eliminate technical jargon – even if you think your reader understands it – and downplay hype such as "industry leader," "leading edge," "the best," etc.

Designing and writing print ads that get read isn't difficult if you know the basic rules for grabbing and holding your reader's attention. Proper design elements that help, rather than hinder, reader comprehension and benefit-driven copy will help you get your message across clearly – and increase sales in the process.



Dianna Huff specializes in results-oriented business-to-business marketing writing. For a free subscription to her newsletter, email Huff at dhuff@dhcommunications.com, call her at
(603) 382-8093 or visit her website at www.dhcommunications.com.