There must be a reason for text link ads to work better than image ads – statistically speaking. However, there are image ads that work, particularly on blogs, and the art of creating them… well that’s what this entry is all about.

In our daily browsing habits I am sure all of us encounter both ads that suck and ads that trigger the emotion that makes us move the cursor over the banner and click. This is the type of ads that generate ROI. When a visitor clicks on an ad the sale is half done. The rest is up to the landing page and its power to persuade.

So the main purpose of an ad is to make the visitors click on it. If the ad pretty but doesn’t generate any response from the viewers it is pointless. ROI is what the advertisers should be looking after and not just a shiny display of something no one really wants to see.

How do you make people click on your ads?

Whether you ask a designer to create banners for your campaign or you choose the DIY road, remember that the role of an ad is not necessarily to tell a story, but to say “Follow me! I have something really awesome to show you!”

An ad needs to be intriguing, sticky, interesting and fun. It needs to make people wonder “what’s that?” or say “I need that!”

A good ad will increase traffic to a site and boost up ROI. But when the ad is there for the sole purpose of telling us how great a company is, its purpose might fail. Remember that people don’t care about your glory. What they need to know is what you can do for them.

What happens in the visitors’ minds when they see an ad?

• Who cares?! (absolutely no click)
• Common, don’t waste my time! (no click)
• Oh! This looks kinda cool! (maybe a click)
• WTF is this? (click)
• Wow! I need this! (click click)

It is not really easy to trigger a “wow” type of response. Even the most skilled designers fail if they don’t understand the market, and the blogosphere is a rather complex place. Bloggers are a very interesting group, but when you look at the social media sites like StumbleUpon and digg it is easy to figure that what people want to see has to be sensational, new, entertaining and fun. Try to create an ad with the same attributes. You will get a response.

Understand your market, understand the people and their needs.

This kind of advice is given in any industry. PR deals often with situations when advertising campaigns fail because the advertiser underestimates what I call “the marketing intelligence” of the groups they are targeting. If you want people to be interested in your products you have to awaken their interest. Be creative, show sense of humor and be clever.

Last but not least: believe in your product. Don’t try to sell something you wouldn’t use. If you don’t like your own product no one will.

Don’t cut your chances by advertising for low quality products and services. It is the Internet, yes, but there’s nothing stronger than the word of mouth, and online this is spreading at unimaginable speeds. Smart ads are created by smart people for smart people.

Your client is your equal. Never forget that!