An area of advertising skill that is often overlooked is copywriting. A picture, they say, speaks louder than a thousand words. On the other hand, a single well- chosen phrase can stir up deep emotions creating a profound effect on the reader and motivate a ‘buy’ decision.

Online Advertising with Incentives
While most offline advertising is being used as a means to drive customers to websites, some firms are trying online ads like banners, pay-per-click ads and pop-ups. There are e-newsletters, websites, search engines and online versions of newspapers and magazines, which are all good ways of reaching people who shop or gather information online.

On the whole, the same design and content requirements apply to online ads as to more traditional forms of advertising. So much so, that an existing print ad can actually be duplicated as is, in an online version - as long as a link to the website is included. Elements like color, artistic fonts, ad size and ad message play the same elemental role in enhancing the visibility of the ad and the response to it.

Keep your ad content concise and clear and try to relate it to an elemental, basic emotion or situation likely to be shared by the consumers that you are trying to reach. Just a company logo on a banner is not enough to get people to click and buy. Enhance your ad with a message that will register with your target market (hopefully you’ve done your research and will know how to do this). Unlike a radio listener or a TV viewer, the online customer is probably already focused on something else and pays scant attention when your ad appears. That’s why online ads need to have that extra appeal. They also need to be placed where your target market segment will see them. You should formulate your ad according to demographics like age, gender, hobbies, income, education and so on. No matter what you are selling, you must send a message that resonates with your customers.

- Article by Wale Bello