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Checklist for advertisements: You’ve got it all together, and now it’s worth the time it takes to ensure it’s right.  Advertising space is expensive, so ensure your advert will be effective “out there”. A quick glance will tell you whether you have at least followed a logical approach in conveying your message:

• Will the headline and illustration gain the reader’s attention and entice him into reading further?  Getting attention is the first step, but it must be comprehensible and attractive to the reader.  Is there anything which might discourage him from reading on?

• There must be no mistaking WHAT product or service is being advertised by WHOM.  This is essential, for if readers do not go through the entire advert they will at least have received a part of the message.  The reader’s natural eye movement is to focus on the illustration and headline, then to move down to the bottom of the advert.
• Is the text  and the entire appearance of the advert  such that the reader will find it easy to go on?  There must be nothing — no off-putting mass of copy, irrelevant or incorrectly positioned illustration, to disrupt the flow of reading.
• There must be a direct link between the message conveyed by the headline and illustration and the facts that the copy reveals.
• The reader must be asked for action, and the details he needs to do so must be present.

Although working your way through those will provide a good idea of whether you’re on the right track, also take the time for a more detailed check:

Is the headline correctly matched to what you identified as:

• your target audience needs?
• the sales approach you decided would work best with them?
• the product or service benefits?

Will the headline:

• appeal to the reader’s self-interest, or …
• give him news, or …
• arouse his curiosity?

Is the headline:

• easy to understand?
• in the prominent part of the advert?  It must not be buried somewhere in the text.
• If using capitals in your headline, is it perhaps too long for this?

The illustration

• Does the illustration tell a story?
• Is the right illustration allied to the headline?
• Can the illustration be rectangular instead of square?

The sales copy

• Does the copy fulfil the promise contained in the headline?
• Does this particular advert sell one thing only?
• Does the copy respect the reader’s intelligence?
• Is it perhaps too clever or bold?
• Does the copy contain at least one of the human appeals?
• Is the text personal?
• Does it seem sincere?
• Are there enough action and emotive words?
• Do the sentence lengths vary?
• Is the copy broken up into manageable clumps?  Would it look better if you used columns?
• Will the reader find your arguments logical?
• Does the key benefit appear more than once, but phrased in a different way?
• Does the name of your business, its logo and slogan, appear strong enough?

Other Elements

• Will the logo reproduce well?
• If there’s a coupon, is it in the lower right-hand corner?
• Is there enough space for the respondent to fill in details?
• Is the entire advert large enough?  White space is important to avoid a cluttered appearance.
• If you are using colour, is this really necessary and is it used in the right places?
• Is there a focal point that will draw the reader’s eye into the advert?
• Are there too many different typefaces?  Keep the advert simple to read.
• Will the advert border be strong enough to let it  stand out on the page?

Recommended Reading

• marketing
• Format
• Illustrations
• Positioning an Advertisement
• Colour in adverts
• Advert Size
• Advertising Frequency
• Advertising Snipes
• Headlines
• Advertising Basics
• Advertising Copy