Hi, everyone! I do graphic work for my company and they were considering doing some banner ads. I'm approaching this more from the design viewpoint, but using basic non-animated graphic banners... anyone have suggestions on design tips? We do a bunch of stuff but the focus is on telecommunication expense management. Basically they crunch numbers on small to medium sized businesses' cellphone bills and show them how to save money.
Well, if you're a graphic designer, then you know basic design principles like keeping things evenly spaced and working in 3rds or 4ths. From there, use Call To Actions but don't be too pushy. The CTA's have to make sense. For example, at the top of the forums it says "Click Here to Find Out How" on the banner. Right above that is the reason you should. Let's say you're advertising for a college. The wrong way to do it would be "Blah-Blah University" "Click Here" You haven't given them a reason to click and the CTA isn't smooth at all. People don't click because you tell them to; they click because you've enticed them to do so. Make sure to have clear design elements. Don't try to fill your banner with too much info. If you can't fit your message on the back of a business card; it's too much info. Whoever is watching the metrics; don't let them "stare at the clock". Let the ads run for a while and then compare data. It's a waste of time and effort to fire up an ad and then watch it hour by hour.
