World - Recreation

Recreation

The graphics should be appropriate to the type of merchandise being sold. As a rule, photographs sell better than illustrations, but a drawing is usually faster and less expensive to produce than a commercial photograph. There are also many books, CDs, and Web sites featuring copyright-free clip art that can be used in ads at no charge. To create a Christmas ad, for example, you might select a clip art holly border, write your own copy, and illustrate it with a clip art drawing of a wreath. Be sure to add your symbol logo and tag line, if you use them, and your store name in its logo typestyle, along with the address, telephone number, and store hours. The use of open areas, or white space, can make an ad stand out, or headlines can be printed in white against a black background, called a reverse, to catch readers attention. The use of open areas, or white space, can make an ad stand out, or headlines can be printed in white against a black background, called a reverse, to catch readers attention. Visitors and newcomers are especially likely to turn to the yellow pages, as are potential customers seeking a specific item. Be sure to have at least a simple listing, called a line listing (as opposed to a larger display ad), under all the various subject headings a consumer might consult when looking for your products. Your yellow pages ad should be fairly simple and straightforward, because you dont need to work hard to catch the readers attention. Include all the facts that customers want to know: location, store hours, credit cards accepted, telephone number, Web site, and perhaps fax number. If you offer brand names or special services, mention these in your ad as well. And list any awards you have won or trade or professional organizations you belong to that will make your store seem more credible than the competition. And list any awards you have won or trade or professional organizations you belong to that will make your store seem more credible than the competition. In addition to framed signs describing your merchandise, you might want to have a supply of individual cards or handouts available by the products for customers to take when they make a purchase. This is a particularly useful service if the items you carry require special assembly or care, or if there is interesting information youd like to share about your products, such as the biographies of the artists who made them or the folk traditions the items represent. Be sure to put your store name, address, Advertising in the Store 237 Web site, and telephone number on these flyers, and encourage customers who are buying an item as a gift to include one in the package. Business Cards: Your Smallest Ad Have you ever thought of your business card as part of your advertising program? Customers appreciate being able to help themselves to a business card by the cash register, and it is surprising how much information you can fit on these little giveaways: store name, location, and telephone number, plus your tag line, hours, the names of the stores owners, Web site, and e-mail address, a fax number, and so forth. Californias Z Gallerie uses a clever fold-over card with lines for customers notes on the inside cover. At Music and Memories, a music box store, the back of the stores business card was designated as a wish list, with room for the stock number, description, and price of the items a customer would like. At Music and Memories, a music box store, the back of the stores business card was designated as a wish list, with room for the stock number, description, and price of the items a customer would like. hotographs are displayed in the store for all to see. DIRECT MAIL: BUILDING A LIST In Ogilvy on Advertising (New York: Vintage Books, 1987), advertising guru David Ogilvy refers to direct mail as his first love and secret weapon. While media advertising can reach a large group of readers or listeners, direct mail advertising allows you to target one specific customer. It also allows you to test every variable in your mailing, Ogilvy points out, by making minor changes in a piece each time you mail a batch and tracking the responses you get each time. There are two ways of using direct mail: to advertise to existing customers and to solicit new customers by focusing on a selected list of likely prospects. How do you develop your first mailing list? When your store opens, put a guest book by the front counter and encourage everyone to sign it. How do you develop your first mailing list? When your store opens, put a guest book by the front counter and encourage everyone to sign it. Recreation.