If you’re planning on taking your newspaper advertising to the next level this year, it’s important to consider every aspect of your ad, from font style to content. Every little tweak you make to connect with your customers better will be a step toward gaining more leads and boosting sales this year. Here are some essential design tips to consider for newspaper advertising in 2022.
Typography
When choosing the typography for your advertisement in a newspaper or magazine, you can go a long way by keeping it simple. Keep your fonts simple and use no more than three types in your design. Fonts that are in print will need to look heavier and clear, so don’t simply trust what looks good online. Choosing your typography carefully will make a big difference in how your readers receive your message.
Write for the Eye
Print ads are visual, which means you need to consider how to catch your reader’s eye as they peruse through the medium you are advertising in. Keep the following tips in mind and you’ll be on your way to creating a catchy ad.
- Entice them with your headline—lead them to want to learn more
- Use art like photos, illustrations, clip art, shapes and colors to complement your words
- Make friends with graphic designers—they will ensure you get the results you want from your ad by helping you get your readers’ attention and ensuring that your ad stands out from the page
- Include white space in your ad to prevent it from looking overwhelming and stuffed with pictures and text
Leading, Tracking, and Kerning
Adjusting the leading, tracking, and kerning on your ad will help to guide your readers seamlessly through the text of your ad. This is extra important when using web fonts because interline spacing that looks crisp digitally might look too wide when printed on paper. Kerning may involve using straight and rounded letters as your measuring guides and adjusting a few letters at a time. Pay attention to letters like A, V, and Y, which are given extra space in automatic tracking due to their wide flared ends.
Copy Styling
The newspaper or magazine you post your ad in will likely have a style guide to promote uniformity in terms of copy formatting, grammar, and tone, so your ad should follow suit. Establish clear and detailed ground rules for how all your text should look, whether that be putting periods between letters in acronyms or using Oxford commas. Keeping it consistent will decrease the risk of confusion that distracts the reader from your message.
Write for the Busy Eye
Although you want to use print media to get your readers’ attention, chances are they’re not reading the medium to find your ad. Your ad is most likely an afterthought, so they won’t be spending a lot of time looking at it. That’s why it is important to write for the busy eye. Focus on getting their attention, delivering a clear message and call to action, encouraging them to remember your message, and persuading them to act. Focus on only saying what is necessary, rather than sharing every fact about your brand or product. Your call to action should tell them what you want them to do, whether it’s to hire your services, donate money, apply today, or make a purchase online.
Color
Using too much or little color in visual media can stand out in the wrong way as you place your ad in print media. Choose a maximum of two or three colors in your ad design or choose a prominent color and balance it with a neutral color. Your design colors should not be based simply on your brand’s logo or desired image, but also on what appeals to your target audience.
White Space
It’s easy for advertisers to forget the importance of white space as they try to get the most out of the space that they are utilizing to post their ads in print media. However, using white space lets you isolate and empower specific design elements and direct your readers to follow your message easier.
Keep Your Target Market in Mind
Keeping your target market in mind is one of the best tips for ensuring your ad is effective. Consider what your customer needs, not your business. Although you need your customers to buy your product or opt-in for your services, you should focus your ad on how your offer solves their needs.
How North American Media Can Help with Your Ad Campaign
If these tips for advertising in magazines and newspaper have you excited and ready to improve in 2022, you may need some help planning and creating a campaign that is sure to win. Print remains the most trustworthy way for customers to shop and absorb information about a business and its products. Consumers and marketers both have the luxury of choosing which channels they want to buy and sell from, and print media boasts significant benefits for everyone. Ready to improve your ad campaign? Our marketing agency can help.
At North American Media, we specialize in helping our clients create robust, effective, successful newspaper and print ad campaigns. Our variety of services can be customized to suit your business goals and we have packages that can work with a range of budgets. Whether you need to target your market better, retain your customers, or improve your reputation, you can trust us to ensure your message comes off the right way and creates a positive impact.
We can help you set up a successful print ad campaign and get it up and running. Our services also include direct mail marketing, list & insert brokerage, data solutions, list fulfillment, list management, radio, TV & Podcast media. For more information about advertisement costs in print media and how we can help grow your business, contact us for a quote today!
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