Advertising is an important tool in any marketing strategy to promote sales, communicate information and strengthen brand awareness.

Good advertising is all about providing the right information to the right people through the right message using the right words….

… And Web Windows is your one shop stop to help you design the perfect advertisement to:

• Promote your business
• Give your brand a unique identity
• Create awareness of new product launches
• Improve your sales
• Strengthen relations with existing customers
• Build new relationships with potential customers

If you want to create your own advertisement, Web Windows tips for designing the perfect ad can guide you through the process.

Why advertise?

So why and what is that you want to advertise? Is it to boost sales, increase brand awareness, announce a new product or service, launch a new business, or recruit new hires? The answer to this question will provide a direction to planning your advertising strategy.

Plan your advertising strategy

It is all about perfect timing

For your advertisement to hit the bull's eye, the timing has to be perfect. If you sell a seasonal product, the best time to launch your advertisement is when its demand is at the peak. During peak selling time of a particular product, the number of advertisers for the same product is also at its peak. If you advertise at this time, your advertisement will be one amongst the crowd. So it becomes all the more imperative that your advertisement should be powerful enough to tower above the rest and strike the right chord with the target group.

Yet, it all depends on how you look at it. There are people who kick start their advertising campaigns well ahead of the season and their competitors. The early start gives the product the advantage of time to create a conditional awareness in the minds of the people.

Choose the right media

Advertising channels can be broadly categorized under three sections: mass media such as radio and TV, print media such as newspapers and the Internet.

To decide on the media channel that suits your requirements you will need to consider factors such as budget, target audience and the channel's reach to your targeted group.

Advertise on the Internet…

The Internet is one of the most cost effective channels for advertising both products and services. Points in its favour include speed, low costs, and an instant global audience reach. So powerful is its reach that internet advertising spend exceeds TV. Internet marketing is also known by various other names such as online marketing and web marketing.

Advertise on the Internet by:

• Creating your own website
• Advertising on other websites
• Linking your website to online directories
On your own website
Your own website is your most powerful marketing and advertising tool to promote your product and push its sales. You are not limited with space constraints as is the case with other media advertising. You also have the advantage of regularly updating your content and promoting your latest offerings. Your website gives you the perfect platform to give detailed listings of your products and services. This is not to say that you can write realms on the subjects. Web writing is an art that should be able to:
• Make an effective impact and convey the right message that can grab the reader’s attention in the first five seconds, build a rapport, and leave a positive and a lasting impression.
• Deliver market-focused content that serves business and audience needs.
• Attract customers, educate target audience and push sales.

You can reap the benefits of advertising on your own website only if people visit it. To ensure this, you will need to optimize it for higher page rankings on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN and driving traffic to it.

It is also important to provide for easy navigation and make your website interactive to expand your sales pitch.

On other websites

Browse through the websites and you will notice numerous banner advertisements, pop-up ads and sponsored ads or Google ads posted there. This method of advertising is based on the simple give and take philosophy: You post your advertisement and link to your website on other people's websites and reciprocate the arrangement by allowing them to advertise their products and services by link through advertisements on yours.

On online directories

These online directories are more like the traditional Yellow Pages where people make the listings of their products and services. In case of online directories, you can:

• Set up links to your website in directory companies such as Yell.com and ThomsonLocal.com.
• List in specialized directories for products and services. For example if you have a manufacturing related product you can list your website in specialized directories such as Kellysearch.

Advertise in newspapers and magazines

Newspapers and magazines form the traditional and till date, one of the most trusted, channels of advertisement. These is Web Windows main areas of expertise and from your home page you will find an array of advertising opportunities in various colour supplements. By discussing your requirements with an experience Web Windows media exec, we will be able ensure your first foray into national press is a successful one.

Advertise on TV

Of all the advertising media, this is the most costly especially channels with a national reach. However, you can get cheaper packages if you choose to advertise on a large number of terrestrial and cable or satellite TV channels. This form of advertisement is beneficial if you have a localized market for your product.
The communication channel you choose to advertise your product and services plays an important role in how you create your advertisement and a call to our offices will give you a wealth of advice and information.

Create the perfect advertisement for the print media

Frame your tagline

The most important part of an advertisement is the tagline; it defines your product and positions it in the minds of the consumers. The tagline can be a play of words or any phrase that can immediately create an impact and catch the imagination of the targeted group.

Write your copy

A clean, concise copy is what makes an advertisement sell. A good copy should be able to convey the main message of the product in the minimum of words.
Successful ad copy for depends on the medium you are advertising in. In case of audio visual channels the consumer attention is divided between the visuals, background music and the words. But in the case of print media, the copy is the centre of attraction; it has to have the zing to make an impact. Also, a creative copy should be able to paint a complete picture of the product leaving no scope for questions in the consumer's mind. Use of a single image can often negate the need for lots of text.

Design your copy

In the advertising world packaging makes all the difference. An attractive design is an effective tool to attract reader attention. The design of the advertisement should compliment the copy. The messages and imagery/visuals should capture the imagination of the target group so that they are able to identify the differentiating characteristics of the product or service being advertised.

The use of colours, images, imagery, typography and image symbols and a powerful play of words are what make an advertisement stand apart from the others. A final note of caution, don't say too much and don't say too less, just the right amount to tickle the imagination and keep the interest alive.

Web Windows maintains excellent relations with the Advertising Standards Authority and we often check on behalf of clients to ensure that copy is legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Get value for money from your advertisement

• Get the best from your advertising by combining it with other marketing initiatives such as direct selling, press releases, and special events.
• Look before you leap. Reduce the risk of your campaign by researching and studying the advertising strategies followed by your rivals in the market.
• Do a cost analysis of various advertising media and plan out your marketing and advertising strategy that can effectively communicate your message to the audience within your budget.
• Advertisement, in any form, involves repetition over a period of time. Discounts will be offered for series advertising.
• If you are advertising in the print media make sure that your advertisement has maximum visibility for maximum impact.

Monitor your advertisement

What is good on paper may not hold well in the market. The ground reality may throw up surprises---some positive and some not so positive. So monitor the response to your advertisement and be prepared to change the advertising strategy in terms of re-working the concept, design and in some cases, even the channel if it is not reaching your target audience.
There are various methods available to monitor the success of your advertising campaign.
• You can have a standard enquiry form for your products and services with columns asking which product the customers are interested in and from where they had heard about it.
• If you have advertised on websites, you can monitor your campaign through the clicks your advertisement receives and also on how many of the clicks actually converted into sales.
• It also makes good business sense to follow up any lead that you get. It may not get translated into sales immediately but may have possibility of a sale in future.
• Study the kind of sales and profit margins of each sale that is generated from the advertisement.

Respond to your advertisement

Response to advertisements, in most cases, can be instant. Once your campaign hits the road, you should have:

• The product and services to meet customer demand.
• A trained customer care system to provide value services to the potential customers.