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5 design mistakes that may be costing you thousands on your Websites and Craigslist Ads

Posted by stevehochman on Monday, August 3rd, 2009

 

lou

My brother David has been helping dozens of fitness professionals get hundreds of  boot camp members with his CraigsList Dominator.

But Im gonna let you on on a little secret…

He’s such a powerhouse because of his evil marketing design genius girlfriend.

Her name is Lou, and I talked her into spilling the beans on her marketing design secrets.

So without further ado…

Here is Lou and her killer marketing design tips.

Enjoy -

Unfortunately, design is often overlooked when it comes to CL ads and websites. You can have the best copy in the world, but if it isn’t designed for your target audience, they’re not going to spend a second reading it. Here are 5 simple design tips you can apply to your CL ads or website and dramatically increase your profit.


1. No Design001

Just like good sales copy, design is what makes people buy things. It’s what makes them decide, within seconds, whether or not they can trust you and your business. We’ve all looked through Google and came across a website that made us hit the back button before reading a single word, and never give it another thought again. Same goes for CL ads.

If you’ve looked through Craigslist at least once, there’s no way you haven’t seen them – “paragraph” ads with the same font/color/size. It takes SO much effort to read an ad like that – it’s almost like reading a book. That’s why most people don’t even bother. Let me put it this way: people appreciate when you make an effort to make things easy for them. They show their appreciation by reading your ad and giving you a chance.


2. No Visual Hierarchy

Which brings me to some practical things you can do to make sure someone clicking through CL ads becomes a potential client. One of those things is visual hierarchy. In the design world, Visual Hierarchy is a fancy way of saying that you should be able to see a difference between the more important things and less important things.

So, a headline, for example, should be the biggest thing on the ad. The sub-headline should be smaller, and the paragraph text should be even smaller. Along with size, color is another way to show your readers what is more and less important.


Here’s a simple example of good visual hierarchy:

002

The reason it’s so easy to read the text above is because the headline, subhead, and paragraph text don’t compete for your attention, so your eye can naturally flow through them.



Here’s an example of bad visual hierarchy:

003

There’s so much going on, you get a headache the second you open it. How is anyone supposed to have ANY idea where to look or what to read first???


3. Less is more

Which brings me to another sound piece of advice: if it doesn’t serve a purpose – don’t use it. Browsing through CL, I’ve seen so many fitness ads decorated with a variety of unnecessary and distracting symbols. Things like yellow stars, random colored shapes, etc. etc. etc.

Don’t be afraid of space. Space is your friend. Having enough spaces between blocks of text or pictures is what helps guide the reader’s eye through the ad. On the other hand, having tons of unnecessary graphics will not only turn off hundreds of potential clients, it will also make you seem really unprofessional.


4. Never put text over a background image

Unless, of course, the background image is abstract enough where it doesn’t make the text hard to read.  It surprises me how many people still do this:

004

PLEASE don’t write your testimonials on the client’s picture or on an enlarged version of your logo. It is impossible to read text on top of a clear image. Cut the Craigslist readers some slack and give their eyes a break.


5. Don’t design for yourself

This is one of the biggest design mistakes, since you’re not advertising to yourself. Let’s compare an ad or website to fishing. If you like cheesecake, and you go fishing, you’re not going to put cheesecake on the hook to catch fish. You’ll put what they like! Do the same with design. Think of your ideal customers and what appeals to them. What colors they like, what kind of pictures they’ll like…these things are crucial in getting them hooked!

If you’re a man advertising for a women’s boot camp, forget for a moment that you may like bright reds, blacks, and browns. Think of what women like – more gentle, less aggressive colors – and you’ll be shocked at how many more calls you’ll be getting, and how much more money you’ll be making.


As a woman, I would never call this place:

005


But I am a member of this place:

006


To summarize: n1125210054_30026091_9806

You may have the most amazing product in the world. You may be the most enthusiastic trainer with the most pimped out gym. But it comes down to this: when someone clicks on your ad or website it takes 3 seconds – that’s it! – 3 seconds for them to get a first impression. How you use those 3 seconds will determine your relationship with that person, so use them wisely!

You can learn more about Lou and my bro david’s kick but web design and CRAIGSLIST DOMINATOR by contacting them HERE

Be sure to let Lou know what you though of her KILLER tips.

 



12 Comments »

  1. I never even thought about using Craig’s List until I talked with Steve-O… The CL’s ads in my area were just a joke. Dave and Lou were great to work with. Dave answered every email and phone call.. even after my ads were completed. Not only are my CL’s ads the best (by far), I have been able to re-use the ads as flyers and posters. I blew them up a bit (8.5×14), laminated and have them at a Chiropractors office, a gym where I host the Boot Camp (which is a gymnastics studio), and I created other ads from the headlines, Subheadlines, text, testimonials, etc. So you get much more than just Craig’s List ads for them. I’m in Pittsburgh, so you can Craig’s List and see if you can find me!

    TrainerJJ

    Comment by JJ — August 3, 2009 @ 4:25 am

  2. These guys are doing amazing stuff. I hired them even before I became a Fit Body Boot Camp memberr and they’ve both been nothing but amazing with all their technical support.
    You’re crazy if you don’t contact them and check out what they can offer you!

    Comment by Billy Carney — August 3, 2009 @ 4:33 am

  3. Good morning Lou,
    Really valuable input on effective ad making and marketing. Question: Do you think participants (male or female) are more likely to join a boot camp if it has the “boot camp” font typically used?
    Those 5 key items you discussed will be implemented in my Human Billboard ad for Craigslist. Thanks so much.
    -S

    Comment by Sara Hutniak — August 3, 2009 @ 6:35 am

  4. No Visual Hierarchy – That is something I will have to change. I know, well from you, that you need it in your website but I did not know you needed it in your craigslist ad too.
    Thanks

    Comment by jason — August 3, 2009 @ 6:48 am

  5. nice post. i just erased every ad i ever made! lol great advice boss :)

    Comment by andrew hamill — August 3, 2009 @ 9:36 am

  6. Great tips! CL is a place I am trying to bust into right now so this helped out a lot. Thanks guys!

    Comment by Cameron Makarchuk — August 3, 2009 @ 10:35 am

  7. Wow!!! Great information. Simple strategies but I violated a few of them because I didn’t think about them.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Comment by Kevin Yates — August 3, 2009 @ 11:32 am

  8. Excellent tips! Thank you!

    Comment by Steve Auxier — August 3, 2009 @ 11:57 am

  9. I’d say 90% of my business over the last 2 years comes from craigslist.

    Yes, you have to deal with tire kickers and crazies, but you can get a ton of quality, good people.

    I’ve found using a picture of myself in the ad, along with many of the things Steve talks about helped 100%.

    And, of course, good copy. There are a few guys who I see post consistently and are just awful.

    Comment by Steve Morris — August 3, 2009 @ 1:38 pm

  10. Hey everyone!
    Thanks for the great comments,
    I greatly appreciate your feedback!

    Comment by Lou Levit — August 3, 2009 @ 9:37 pm

  11. Sara -
    That’s a great question. Fonts, just like colors and graphics, have an amazing ability of attracting or repelling people. Specific fonts attract specific audiences, so your font choice should always be based on your target market.

    So let’s take the traditional boot camp military-style font. It’s very dominant and aggressive, and people have learned to associate with strict military-style boot camps that are run by drill-sergeant-like trainers. So if your target market is women, this font is more likely to intimidate them than bring conversions.

    Another thing to think about is that the traditional boot camp font has been used, reused and overused, so spending some time on choosing a font that is really perfect for your target market will really set you apart.

    Comment by Lou Levit — August 3, 2009 @ 9:46 pm

  12. Great post Lou,

    It’s all high quality info and I’m sure everyone wants CRAIGSLIST DOMINATOR now. :)

    Having been a faculty instructor and fitness director (in a previous lifetime), I often see new trainers focused on program design.

    As they gain some confidence in that arena, they start to focus on selling.

    And, after that, then they seem to focus on marketing.

    Without having seen your work in action, I’d still say it should definitely be a part of any fitness professional’s roadmap to success.

    Again, thanks for all the great info!

    In health,
    Boh

    David Bohmiller, BS, NSCA-CSCS

    Comment by David Bohmiller — August 4, 2009 @ 2:41 am

  13. [...] excellent articles on getting loads of clients and making serious money check out this post from Steve Hochman’s Bootcamp Marketing blog, and this guest post by Zach Hunt on Chris McCombs’s blog about how to get clients for [...]

    Pingback by How To Get Personal Training Clients Online — September 6, 2009 @ 12:14 am

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