Banners are a necessity for anyone doing business online.
Sooner or later you'll want to do some banner advertising
or simply swap with another site, so you'll want to make
sure you have a few to choose from when that time comes.
There are "standard" sizes for banners, and you need to
make sure you adhere to those standards before creating
them. The most popular size by far is 468X60. Some of
the others are:
234X60 Half Banner
120X240 Vertical Banner
Popular button sizes are:
120X60 and 125X125 and a micro size of 88X31
You'll want to make a few in a variety of sizes so you
already have the right size for the job at hand.
So what do you need to include on your banner? There
are a variety of things you can do when designing to
ensure clickability.
1) Use the actual words "click here" somewhere on the
banner as a call to action.
2) Use some form of animation- Movement catches the eye
3) Make sure your banner loads quickly by keeping the
size down to no more than 10K if possible.
4) Offer Something Free
5) Tell them just enough to pique their curiosity so
they'll want to click and learn more.
6) Studies have shown these colors work the best
Orange, Green, Red, Blue, Black and Purple.
7) Create a sense of urgency by stating something
like "Last Chance," or "Limited Time Offer."
So you've taken all this into consideration and
you're thinking to yourself, "I can't even draw
a stick figure - how am I going to design a
banner?" Have no fear, there are many resources
online that will help you make banners quickly and
easily.
http://www.Addesigner.com
I love this one and have used it many times. Make
all you like free. You'll have to register first
to get a password.
http://www.Animation.com
Here you can make some free or choose from a
higher end variety for cash.
http://www.QuckBanner.com
Click on a banner you like and add your text
http://Crecon.com/Banners.html
Use the online generator or download the free
templates to make your own.
http://www.Customotion.com/
Make Really cool Flash banners here. Choose a
template type in your text and download it.
If you're handy with PhotoShop or any other graphics
program you may want to download some free banners
and modify them to your liking. Try this:
http://katekreates.com/freebann.shtml
Remember, banners today are a dime a dozen so you
need to put forth that extra effort to get people
to click. You don't need to be a graphics designer
to create your own banners. By using the many free
resources that are available to you online you'll
have a storehouse of exciting banners next time
the need arises.
About the Author
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made"
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