How to Create an Effective Print Ad
When advertising your practice in print, you want your ad to be effective. But what does “effective” mean? For most print ads, the goal is to attract more prospective patients. So, an effective ad is one that motivates people to pick up the phone and call. How do you do it?
Consider all the variables
There are many factors involved in making your ad effective. Most practitioners – even those who have been advertising for years – are unaware of the variables involved in the success of a print ad, which include:
Topic. What do you want from your ad? More of a particular condition or procedure? All kinds of patients? More Medicare? Less? You may have a few objectives. But each ad needs a narrow focus. (To hit a target, you first aim.)
Message. Your ad must attract, address and motivate its audience. So it needs to answer these questions: So what? Who cares? What’s in it for me? Your message must also be consistent with – and promote – your practice’s brand.
Offers. Enticements work. You need an offer that will get the phone to ring without jeopardizing your professional image.
Visual appeal. Your ad should be eye-catching, professional and consistent with your brand as well as your audience’s sensibilities.
Publication & placement. Should you advertise in newspapers, magazines or elsewhere? Which specific ones? The answer depends on who you’re trying to reach. It also matters where in the publication your ad is placed.
Frequency & duration. An ad that runs more often is more likely to be noticed over time. But exactly how many times and for how long must be carefully considered.
Size. The size of your ad matters, especially if it runs against a competitor’s ad. But a large ad can cost the same as a smaller one that appears more often.
Timing. Make sure your ad is running on the right day and in the right week, month, year. For example, it’s hard to get your ad noticed over the winter holidays.
Know what works…and what doesn’t
The only way to know if your ad is generating phone calls is to identify the source of incoming calls (patient referral, provider lists, print ad 1, print ad 2). It’s called “tracking,” and it is imperative. Without tracking, you can’t know if your advertising investment is generating return.
Here’s another reason tracking is vital. If your ad is not generating calls, you now know what doesn’t work and can dispense with it. But if it is driving responses, you need to identify why. Once you know, you can apply it to your next ad to make it more effective… and a better investment.