A busy ad ruins response. It’s tempting to appeal to a wide range of readers with a variety of photos or images… But the ads that best attract and hold attention — have only one photo. The worst? Many competing images. And photos nearly always outscore illustrations or drawings.

Color makes a difference. If color is available try using high contrasting colors, and use colors that are in harmony — dark blue with golden yellow, for example.

No headline, no link. No matter how great an ad or image, don’t omit the headline. It’s the “bridge” that takes the reader into the copy. Without it, they drown and response falls.

Keep that bridge short. Because headlines sell, there’s often a temptation to make them longer. Like any bridge, interest falls off after a while. The best? Nine words or fewer and two lines long.

Make it easy to read

No blurry photos/images. Again, anything that makes an ad or photo hard to see or read cools response.

Watch the justification. Justifying the left margins helps the reader find the beginning of your copy. But copy that’s centered or justified on both sides is harder to read.

Be wary of funky fonts. Weird typeface, including stuff that looks like a ransom note, or copy at an angle, also deters readers.

Capitalize lightly. Try this: Read a paragraph of copy where every word’s been capitalized. It slows you down. The choice: Use capitals sparingly in your body copy or see response fall.

Negatives hurt response

Be kind to your models. Have you seen ads where the layout severs an arm or amputates the model’s head? Well, anything like this lowers response. The best response? Photos of smiling people looking squarely at the camera.

Avoid negative stimuli. Showing angry people or using copy that inflames can depress response. It’s human nature; people prefer pleasant images and ideas.

Follow the eyes. Before you hit the print button on your next ad or layout, watch a few people read it and follow their eyes. A photo of a soaring tower above the body copy may take the readers’ eyes up the page, away from the copy, where they may fly away to the next page.