Successful Creative, Copy and Design for Print and Web

Course Overview

Developing and implementing a winning creative strategy can be both fun and challenging. In this course you’ll explore successful campaigns to get a better understanding of how to write and evaluate effective copy and design. You’ll learn what mistakes to avoid and how to modify your campaign to target special interest groups within your marketing universe.

Course Content

Words and design are critical to the success of your campaign. Learn how to write and evaluate copy for online and print media. Design creative that’s easy to read and comprehend and that will likely elicit a response. Delve into ways copy and design must work in tandem for the most effective marketing message.

 A quick look at missteps to avoid
• Specific words, easily replaced, that turn off desire
• Avoiding the Bore/Snore Effect
• Ignoring the 21st century approach
• Antique but still-used ways to open a DM letter
• Misuse of the word “Important”

Four questions to ask and answer before you start
• Who is supposed to respond?
• “In your face” messages
• The Shock Diminution Rule

Developing Successful Message Strategies
• The Celebrity Endorsement Rule
• Why subtlety doesn’t work as well as immediacy
• Why examples outpull statistics

Creating Direct Marketing Copy
• Present tense, not future tense … why?
• The Four Great Laws
• The Emotion Over Intellect Rule

Design
• Balanced vs. Unbalanced layout
• Mistakes to avoid
• The Emotion Over Intellect Rule

Marketing to special-interest groups
• Marketing to seniors
• Telemarketing

Maintaining effectiveness, whether mail, print, or online
• Pros and cons of envelope copy
• Structuring a powerful email subject line
• Unique tools available only for an online message
• The pros and cons of social media