CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES FOR ONLINE LEAD GENERATION

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1 CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES FOR ONLINE LEAD GENERATION OFFER COPY I DESIGN I CONTACT FORM I LEGAL GUIDELINES Prepared by Q Interactive QInteractive.com solutions@qinteractive.com

2 Introduction Developing an effective Online Lead Generation offer can be a daunting task. Unlike other forms of online marketing that only require the consumer to click on a banner or a search-generated ad, Online Lead Generation asks the consumer to provide detailed contact information as well as explicit permission for the advertiser to contact him or her. That means as an Online Lead Generation marketer, you must not only grab the consumer s attention with enticing graphics and text, you must also convey enough value in your offer and enough trust in your company to convince the consumer to fill out your contact form with personally identifiable information and provide affirmative consent for contact. To help you navigate these potentially difficult areas, Q Interactive has utilized our firsthand experience on thousands of successful Online Lead Generation campaigns to offer this simple best practices guide for creating Online Lead Generation copy, design and contact forms that get the right consumers to fill out and submit your offer. A Unique Vehicle Unlike other forms of online marketing, Online Lead Generation asks the consumer to provide detailed contact information and explicit permission to contact.

3 Offer Copy Keep It Short - Catch the consumer s eye with short, easy-to read copy; consumers typically scan rather than read Web pages. - Use of bullets is a good way to call attention to important details. Detail Headlines clearly state the offer Headlines - Headlines should contain the offer or savings message. - If you are a recognizable household brand, include your brand name and logo in the headline to capture consumer interest. Body Copy - Restate the offer from your headline at the top of the body copy. - Include 1-2 short paragraphs with details of the offer and a brief description of your company if necessary. - Convey consumer benefits; tell what the product or service will do for them. Call-to-Action - Include a strong call-to-action that tells the consumer what to do: Sign Up; Join; Try, etc. Body Copy bullets offer details and consumer benefits Call-to-Action tells consumers what to do Full Offer

4 Design/Creative Design for Quick Viewing - Keep your layout above the fold, i.e. inside your audience s browser window. - Design your offer as a half-page rather than a full-page ad; don t force the consumer to scroll to get your full message. Bold graphics and design Above the fold for quick viewing Design Flow & Emphasis - Direct the consumer s eye through your offer; make sure the consumer will flow through your offer from beginning to end. - Keep in mind a hierarchy of emphasis: make sure your most\ important element isn t upstaged by a lesser one; avoid including numerous elements of the same size and emphasis. Use of Graphics - Use bold graphics and design, but avoid creative that may remind consumer of SPAM - Outdated clip art, starbursts, scantily clad women and animated graphics and text are examples of creative to avoid. Optimize Creative - HTML and graphics must be under 30k in weight; the consumer won t get your message if it takes too long to download. - Save graphics containing detailed photographs and gradients as JPEGs. - Save graphics with large blocks of flat color or plain text as GIFs. - If layout is one large graphic, consider slicing it and optimizing different areas separately. - Consider including areas of text rather than all graphics; if the consumer is unable to view graphics or has them turned off, he or she will still get your message. Hierarchy of emphasis Directs consumer to most important information first.

5 Contact Form Be Brief and Simple - Keep the length of the form and the number of required questions you ask to a minimum. - Ask only the most important questions needed to qualify the consumer for your offer. - Keep questions simple. Consumers are less likely to respond to complicated, market research oriented questions. If more complicated questions are necessary, keep the number to a minimum. Keep Question Formats Consistent - Use 1 or 2 types of question format at most to ask the pertinent questions - Try to minimize the number of question formats in the same form (radio buttons, check boxes, drop downs and free form text boxes); too many question formats in the same form may confuse the consumer. Form length Kept to a minimum Only Qualified Questions Asked

6 Legal Guidelines Because of the unique nature of Online Lead Generation, it is strongly recommended that marketers also adhere to the following legal guidelines to ensure trust between consumers and your company. Maintain Compliance with the FTC Act - The FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising in any medium. - The act specifies that a representation, omission or practice is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers and/or effect consumers behavior or decisions about the product or service. - The offer must tell the truth and not mislead consumers. - A claim can be misleading if relevant information is left out or if claim implies something that is not true. Include Disclosures When Necessary - Disclosures should be used to prevent possible misunderstanding of your offer by consumers and avoid the appearance of deception, or to provide consumers material information about a transaction. - Disclosures should be clearly and conspicuously presented. Simply placing the disclosure in the advertising is not enough; advertisers should draw attention to the disclosure so that a reasonable consumer will find it. - Consider including a popup box with the terms and conditions of your offer. Language to Avoid - Avoid potentially misleading or deceptive language, including but not limited to the following examples: - Claim your free (product or service)... - Your acceptance requested. Merchandise standing by for delivery to you - Notice of shipment. Your reply is requested - Shipment acceptance requested: No charge for merchandise - 50% hotel discount notice # , please claim by Thursday May 2, Confirming your (order or purchase) - The offer and headline should not make unrealistic claims, such as Make Your Fortune on the Internet - The offer and headline should not falsely scare consumers into responding, such as WARNING, your computer has a virus, EMERGENCY 911, etc. Q Interactive For more information on Q Interactive s services, please contact us at or solutions@qinteractive.com. Or visit us at QInteractive.com