Thursday, June 27, 2013



Performance marketing involves the marketer getting paid for getting customers to perform certain actions. It is sometimes confused with affiliate marketing but affiliate marketing is just one form of performance marketing. Affiliate marketers get paid commissions from sales they or their affiliates make. On the other hand, performance marketers get paid for particular pre-determined actions taken by their clients. Such actions may include Pay per Click (PPC), lead generation (Cost per Lead), cost per download, and other payment models.

When designing a banner ad for performance marketing, you should focus on achieving what you are going to be paid for. Many marketers forget this and use the same design systems as for other banners. The following are 8 of the most common gaffes designers make when creating performance banner ads.

Corporate Looks

Most marketers and designers like producing a spectacular design once they get on a banner creator. They will spend so much time trying out different colors, many great images, and different types of text. The outcome is a great looking banner ad that will get appreciated. However, they will not be clicked on because they make the viewer feel they are being sold something expensive. It’s the same feeling we get when we come across some sleek salesman trying to sell you some overpriced item that you don’t even need.

Copy Length

To persuade a client, marketers have to explain a lot about their products and why the customer needs it. However, a banner ad has limited space and one has only about 5 seconds to persuade the client. You do not need to be too wordy or use complicated jargon. Be brief and concise with your wording.

Mixed Signals

Marketers find themselves striving to take advantage of every opportunity they get. This leads to designing banner ads that express too many ideas at the same time. This is a self-defeating approach since most viewers may find this both confusing and irritating.

No Urgency

Internet users have very brief memory spans and if you allow them to only briefly look at your ad and move on, they will never click on your ad. You need to create a sense of urgency to have instant action. You need to point out that an offer only lasts as long as the stocks or that there are limited positions. A banner ad without this strong sense of urgency is only good for brand building, not good for performance marketing.

Unclear Call to Action

Marketers are prone to using flowery language to persuade clients. At times though, a plain and simple instruction works best. A vague call to action will result in inaction by the viewer, and a loss of revenue for the marketer.

Vague Benefits

Clients want to know why clicking on your banner ad for whatever reason will add any value to their lives. When designing your banner ad, highlight how making the desired action will benefit them.

Wrong Color Scheme

A banner ad is made up of images, copy text, a call to action, and the headline. All these elements need to contrast against each other and against the background otherwise the viewer will strain to see your message.

No Features

Whatever you are selling, there are many other merchants selling similar products or services. Briefly tell your viewers what makes your product different in terms of new or innovative features. This should tie in with the benefits (discussed in point number 6) they will receive with your product rather than the competitions’.
Subscribe to RSS Feed Follow me on Twitter!