Brian's Business Tips

Before I begin, let me introduce myself. I’m Brian Gillett MD at bloo.com.au. This is my first blog. I’m going to try hard not to be a “flogger” but a blogger. From what I’ve been told, that means I should probably switch my brain from wanting to talk about bloo all the time to sharing other information with all you folk that may be useful.

I have a passion for business and deal heavily with SME’s on a day to day basis. So most of what I’ll be blogging about will surround this.

Today I want to talk about effective advert design and why designing an advert for a business directory is sometimes fundamentally different to outdoor media or flyers and brochures etc. This is just as applicable to any online directory such as bloo or Yellow pages online as it is to hard copy print publications such as Yellow pages print.

Layout – You have to first remember (I’m in a directory!), so people obviously know they need my type of business but just don’t know who to use. We call these “ready to buy” consumers. They know what they require, but just don’t know who to get it from. So what about your layout can make sure that you are found and transacted with?

Don’t go minimalistic : You are not on a branding exercise here, and if you are? you should be looking at other media types.  You need to give people answers to what they are looking for. You need rich information without clutter.

Your Brand doesn’t need to take up half the page at the top : This is generally not considered the best use of the page. Find a niche/need within your industry and use the top area of your advert to answer that need. An example of this is “On Time – Or the 1^st Hour FREE”. If you believe this is a soft point for a lot of consumers, go out there and milk it!

Dot Points : These work an absolute treat in directories. They are easy for a consumer to absorb and mention your essential information without clutter. Inform & educate.

Avoid massive phone numbers : This one cracks me up. We all tend to think the bigger we put something the more likely it is to be noticed. This is typically opposite to what we think. Research shows us that people typically look straight past it and their eyes wander to the bottom (typically right) of the page for contact details. Bold, with one or two bigger font sizes is fine.

Images : Avoid use of negative images. For example don’t put a picture of a burglar breaking into a house if you own a security company. People don’t want negative associations especially if they have just been victim to something in their life. Before and after images are also dangerous. It is tempting to put them into certain adverts but can quite often have an adverse effect. Once again it applies to a similar principle that consumers like to see the end product (where they want to be, not where they are).