Browse around! Yes! That simple! Check the online websites around, take a pen and paper and write notes! What did you like about the banners you just saw? What was the first thing you noticed in that banner? This will help you understand how banners are made and get a quick grasp of the strategies used.
Simple and direct! You don’t want your potential customers to be guessing what your ad is about. Go for the simple, direct and clear message. You want to grab their attention quickly without twisting their brains with lots of graphics.
Re simple! Prose and essays won’t work! You don’t want to bore everybody with lots of descriptions, go for a couple of small words! It is crucial!
Eye catching words! Free – unbelievable – affordable – easy… just a sample of words that will grab the surfer’s attention! Get your grey matter working!
Typography and fonts…ok using fancy fonts might help catching attention, but remember not to use more than two fonts! ever! And NEVER USE CAPS OR W3IRd F0rMz 0F t3Xt…3V3R!! (now that was annoying wasn’t it?) instead of caps use the bold option! And ramamber to youse a spallsheker! (and remember to use a spell checker)
Graphics…more is never better! You might add a couple of drops of hot sauce to your food, but one drop too many and it will taste foul and horrible! Again stick to simple is better!
Animations…it can be helpful, but remember not to overdo it and always make it slow enough to be read at a normal pace and that it would be easy on the eyes!
File size! Think about it for a second! Does it or doesn’t it get on your nerves when a web page takes a lot of time to load? Always go for the minimum and smallest file size! Never forget about the dial-up users! Ever!
Less is more. I cannot emphasize enough on this point! Always make your banner as clear as possible, as simple as possible without sacrificing the message!
Just be creative! And never ever use false advertisement just to get someone to click on your banner!