CC appreciated on 1st Advertisement

[rascal64]

<p>Keep it simple...images and contact info. You might want to get a business phone. If you were selling blenders, a website and email contact would suffice. Photos are a bit more intimate and a lot of people (not everyone, but a lot) want to talk to a person about what they want and what to expect.</p>

[missy_kay]

<p>But I noticed a lot of photographers dont list their phone #'s like Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, etc... Is it really a necessity?</p>

[jessica_caradona]

<p>Think about it this way:<br>

If a potential client is paging through the magazine and wants to contact you right then and there, do you really want to make them take the time to pull up your website (if they have access to the internet at that moment) and have to hunt down your phone number? It's just adding a barrier to contacting you by not having your number listed.</p>

<p> Many brides do make first contact via the internet and email, however, there are just as many who prefer phone. When I'm shopping for a product or service, I email when I'm price shopping and I call when I'm serious about doing business.</p>

<p> You also should look at this from a credibility standpoint. I'm assuming that up until now you've been getting business through word of mouth referrals. These are great because you've already got some credibility built in. The person who referred you loaned their credibility to you. They may not be as concerned about not having a contact phone number for you since their friend/co-worker/relative had a great experience.</p>

<p> Since this is your first ad you are trying to get your name out there and get as much business as possible from this ad, it doesn't do you any good to look so new that you don't even have a phone number. Brides today have too many choices to take a risk on someone they're not 100% sure about. The people who will see this ad have no idea who you are or what you're about. They have no expectation of credibility on your part other than what you show them. Only being able to contact you through the internet may make them uneasy. Jessica Claire and Jasmine Star have their reputations already established (though I would still question why they don't include a phone number). Potential Clients know who they are and what to expect about them. Unless you have this kind of nationally-acclaimed reputation already built, I wouldn't recommend modeling your advertisements after them in this respect. You are still building up to where they are and the cost of having the ad not be as successful is probably much greater for you.</p>

<p> This all being said, if you still don't want to put your phone number in the ad, don't. It will most probably hurt your response rate, but only experimenting both ways in your particular market will tell. If the magazine only runs for a few months and you can afford to make the gamble, try without the phone number and see what response you get. If you're happy, great! If not, try again with the phone number added and chart the difference.</p>

<p> Either way, not having a phone number at least on your website is a really bad idea, specifically for the credibility reasons noted above.</p>

 

[victoria_harris1]

<p>I like the most recent try however I don't like how many fonts there are and I personally really don't like the papyrus font, it is way over used. So I would suggest going with a different font. It is a bit less choppy though.</p>

[missy_kay]

<p>I've taken the advice of many from this forum and came up with this ad which I will include a phone #.<em> </em>I might change the papyrus font still but what do you think about these edits?<br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3870524579_49cf3d2806_o.jpg" alt="" width="365" height="580" /></p>

[silverdae]

<p>I like the last version, just center your type in the white area. As it is now, there is too much space below and not enough at the top.</p>

[aimee_pieters]

<p>My preference is the one in Missy Kay's post with the black background, although I'd eliminate the Hot Pink font altogether. Print out your ideas and view them upside down. This way you're not distracted by the copy or the images, and you can better analyze the colors. The lightest area will always stand out the most. If you make the background black, then the images are lighter and will be more visible. <br>

Also, decide what your message is and say it in as few words as possible because people really don't read.<br>

Foremost, you should want to send people to your website. So there's no need to put your email in the ad. But you should probably list your phone number.<br>

Also, no need to tell them what's on your website. In this world of website, people know what to look for.<br>

So keep your message as brief as possible and good luck....-Aimee</p>

[think27]

<p>Agree with Aimee - I also prefer the black. Scroll fast though the page - and one will pop out... It's the black one that does but I'd also loose the bubble gum color ;-)</p>

[missy_kay]

<p>Should I do black and that light color blue instead of the pink? :)</p>

[fotografz]

<p>The way to evaluate "cut through power" is to print the different layouts to size and place it in the actual publication.</p>

<p>Scrolling through this thread is a useless exercise ... unless that's the way the ad is actually going to appear.</p>

<p>If it is a fractional page ad amongst other fractional page ads ... place it there ... then watch the dark background one disappear in the clutter. White space is very helpful in separating one boxed fractional ad from another.</p>

<p>

<p>FYI, Black backgrounds with reversed type (especially colored type) in actual publications usually have the lowest readership scores of all the ads in the book.</p>

 

</p>

<p> </p>

[jessica_caradona]

<p>Kay,</p>

<p>You're going to find a million opinions about what photos and colors you should use. I worked under a publisher who had a tremendous knack for picking images for covers/ads/etc that were wildly successful and sold incredibly well, but that most photographers would have never included in the final cut much less an ad. I remember arguing about an image that she wanted to use on a cover that I absolutely hated because it wasn't technically perfect. She won the argument and that cover ended up being one of the best selling covers we had all year. After that I started trying to see what she saw and how she saw it. That's when I realized that she wasn't looking for technically perfect, she was choosing based on emotional response.</p>

<p>The problem here is that photographers think like photographers and not like brides. It took me a while to learn how to stop thinking like a photographer (ruling out images because of minor technical imperfections) and look for emotional response when choosing images. Once I finally did, it changed everything - bookings became easier because brides were responding emotionally to the images. The moral here is the technically correct answer is not always the one that will sell best. It's advertising. You're not selling a logo or a color or even a picture. You're selling an emotion - a reaction. It doesn't matter how technically perfect the picture is, how well the colors blend, etc if the ad lacks emotional appeal.</p>

<p>Yes, pasting up your preferred design in the publication in question may give you an idea of what it will look like, but it is highly unlikely that you'll be placed next to the same ads or that the ads will even look the same. Your ad needs to stand on it's own and command it's own presence. The images you choose are by far the most important part of the ad and the background you choose should enhance and not compete with those images. Period.</p>

<p>So, your best bet is to show these potential ads to your target market. Pick several ads, print them out and show them to as many 20-something girls you can find. Ask your past clients, young women at your church, etc to tell you their favorite and what they like about it. Keep a tally. Listen to what they're telling you and go from there.</p>

<p>Just be sure that you're hitting the right age range and try to keep it within your market area. If potential brides like something then you're probably good. If their grandmothers don't like it, don't stress. It wasn't that long ago that posing every single image within an inch of it's life was the norm and what was considered good photography. Trying to sell the majority of today's bride on perfectly posed photos won't fly. Most brides want fun, candid, emotion-filled photos that tell their story. Their grandmothers may love posed photos, their moms may too, but the person you're selling to is the bride.</p>