Newspapers and traditional yellow pages may be losing advertisers, but they are still a viable way for many small businesses to get customers. To be effective, however, your ad must stand out in some way from all the others on the page.

How do you make your ad stand out? Here are several inexpensive design tips to consider.

• Add a border around the ad
• Include a coupon in the ad
• Use inexpensive clip art (pictures) in the ad that are related to your prospect's situation
• "Reverse out" the type - use white type on a black background. Note: If you use reverse type, use it sparingly and use it for headlines only since it's difficult to read if the type is small or extensive.
• Use color if available and in your budget
• Be sure the headline on your ad includes a benefit
• Put your phone number in bold or larger size type
• Use a lot of white space in your ad
• Increase the size of your ad, if possible
• Try to get placement on the right side of the page

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