You have a product or service to offer and want to make an attention-getting advertisement. But how do you decide what kind of ad to make? What image should you put on your ad? What colors and fonts should you use to really grab attention?
The truth is… you’ll never know unless you’re sure about who you want your ad to speak to. That starts with finding out who your target audience is. Once you do this, creating an ad and making sales from it will be easier and faster.
Here’s how to design eye-catching ads for your target audience step by step:
- Define Your Customer
- Identify Their Problem or Concern
- Give the Right Message
- Create Eye-Catching Advertisements
Continue reading and following these four simple steps to create perfect ads for your target audience.
1. Clearly Define Your Customer
You must understand who your customers are in order to create ads specifically for them. The goal here is to find out who is the person who will buy your product without hesitation.
Answer These Questions About Your Target Audience:
- How old are they?
- Are they male or female?
- Do they have children?
- Are they married or divorced?
- How much money do they make?
- How much education do they have?
- What’s their occupation?
- Where do they live?
You might also benefit by understanding their personal/professional interests and needs. What communities (online and offline) do they hang out in? Is there a common theme with other members of this community? Are they all over age 40 and divorced? All parents with teen children?
Finally, create an “avatar” of that customer (an image of this person in your mind or on paper). You can actually create a visual and stick it on the wall so that this person is easy to keep in mind.
2. Identify Their Problem
Now that you’ve identified who your customer is, what kind of problem do they have that you can solve? If you’ve identified your customer correctly, these people will be happy to “pay” you to solve their problem.
Therefore, your success with advertising depends on correctly identifying their problem, frustration, or pain. But no worries, you can do this by answering these questions:
- What are their specific problems, frustrations, or pains? Be specific.
- Can my product or service solve these problems?
- What are one or two reasons this customer would “object” to purchasing my product or service (even though it will solve their problem)?
- How will I overcome these objections? What will I tell them or show them that’ll squash those objections?
Here’s a Laughingbird Software example of an audience objection:
A common objection to using Laughingbird Software’s Graphics Creator is… “I don’t know anything about design, so I can’t create my own graphics!”
In response to the objection above about not having any design experience, I’d say… “You can create professional-looking graphics for ads, social media, etc., WITHOUT any design experience, using ready-made templates and easy drag-and-drop images”.
3. What Message Do You Want to Give Your Customer?
Now that you know who your target audience is, it’s time to be clear on who you are and what you have to offer. Although you’ll do this with the eye-catching design you’re going to create, you can also grab their attention using your words. Graphic design and marketing are different, even though they can both be used to grab attention.
To help you decide what to say, try this exercise. State EXACTLY what you offer, who you will help, and what problem your product or service will solve. Fill in the blank (remember this from your school days?):
I help ___________________ do/achieve/get/learn _______________ so they can _______________ without _________________.
Take a look at the Ad Creator Templates and use the coupon code below in your shopping cart to purchase:
Examples of the Perfect Message for Your Target Audience
Here’s my own example of how to craft the best message for your audience:
I help small, online business owners create their own graphics so they can quickly market their products or service without spending a lot of money or waiting for someone else to do it.
And, here are a couple more examples for various businesses:
I help middle-aged, professional women, get rid of age spots so that they can look great and feel confident without waiting months for a creme to work or getting laser surgery.
I help online solopreneurs create effective business plans so they can easily grow their businesses without feeling overwhelmed and financially drained.
Got it?! Now, translate your “me” statement into a “you” statement.
My example:
Small, online business owners… create your own graphics so you can quickly market your product or service without spending a lot of money or waiting for someone else to do it.
That’s it! Your audience has been targeted and you’ve got the information you need to design your ad.
4. How to Design Eye-Catching Ads for Your Customers
Now that you know who your customers are, understand their problems, and are ready with your offer, create a visual ad with a message geared toward helping them!
This is easy if you use a design tool with pre-designed templates. Make sure to watch this quick tutorial video to see how quickly you can design the best advertisement.
If you don’t already have The Graphics Creator, grab the downloadable Ad Creator templates here (BONUS: get The Graphics Creator 8 software for FREE… Don’t forget to use the coupon code ADCREATOR10 for $10 off!
The Creatorpreneurs Academy brings together strategic marketing with eye-catching design so you have the tools and skills to grow your business fast.
Final Thoughts
Learn how to design eye-catching ads for your target audience by following the four steps in this article. By following these steps, you’ll be sure to create an ad that solves potential customers’ problems. In turn, they’ll be willing to buy your product or service because it is just what they need!
