Outdoor poster printing is important for all businesses, no matter what the industry. Outdoor posters include signs that hang in your business's windows, signs that hang on the outside of your building, posters that are set on easels on the sidewalk and billboards along the highway.
Poster printing can be a great deal, but it's not that cheap so you don't want to waste your money by designing ineffective posters. Here are some ways to not design your posters and the ways you can create an eye-catching poster that will get people to slow down and stop in your store.
1. Make your poster hard to read. This is one of the most crucial mistakes marketers make when designing posters. Even though you might want to use a fancy poster font that is elegant and in curly cursive writing, that's not the best choice for posters that will be viewed from more than 20 feet away. If your font isn't clear, people won't take the time to try to figure out your message. Make sure your sign is legible from the viewpoint of driving cars or on a sidewalk full of people.
2. Clutter your poster. By cluttering your poster with lots of words and images, people driving by won't know what to look at first. They might only get part of your message and will therefore be confused. Instead, have one or two main images and a few words or have no images with a short phrase or tag line of no more than 8-10 words. The 8-word limit applies mostly to billboards, but it's a good rule to follow for all other outdoor posters too. Be sure to use plenty of white space so your poster is easy to read. About 30 percent of your poster space should be filled with white space.
3. Don't appeal to impulse buyers. Studies show that at least 55 percent of all retail sales are due to impulse buys. By using your sign to only identify your business, you're missing out on all those impulse sales. Use your sign to relay a tempting call to action, like "Stop in now for 25 percent off." If you have a popular product that sells out quickly, let people know you have that product in stock for a limited time.
4. Hide the poster. This might be an obvious mistake, but it's an easy mistake to commit. Drive down the road in front of your store from all angles and make sure there's no tree or neighboring sign hiding yours. Put your sign as close to the street as your city ordinances allow. Make sure your sign can be seen from all angles.
Also be sure you use colors that don't blend in with your poster's surroundings. If your poster will be hanging on a green light pole, don't print a poster on green poster board. If your poster will be on a red brick building, choose colors that will help your poster stand out from the brick.
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