There are two things you can take from this conservatory ad. And use in your own marketing to improve readership.
First, note the first letter of the first word in the first sentence. It’s what is known as a drop cap letter. Its purpose is to grab your attention. That’s once you’ve read the headline.
By using a drop cap on your first word you increase readership. In fact, you can increase readership by somewhere around 15%. That’s right 15% more people will read your ad. That’s not too shabby.
The second thing to notice about this ad is the bit at the top.
Look where it says “an advertisement feature by Thomas Sanderson.” This is the newspaper’s way of telling you the ad is… well, an ad, and not a newspaper article. Otherwise the newspaper could be seen to be endorsing the company.
What can you learn by this?
Well, if the newspaper didn’t make this disclaimer then the ad would look like editorial or an article. This is great news for you the advertiser. You’d get your ad read by more people.
So the moral of the story is this: Don’t make your ads look like ads. This way you boost readership of your ads. After all, people buy newspapers and magazines to read news. Not ads.
Until next time
Mark