You probably know by now, even if you are very new to the Internet, that banners can make an excellent promotional tool when used properly. There are a number of very good tutorials out there on the net for designing banners, but I've seen very few that specifically mention designing ADULT banners. So I'm writing this tutorial to give you a few tips on designing effective ads for adult sites.

First of all, you WILL need some skills in graphics design. You must be able to at least perform basic functions such as cropping, adding text, filling areas with color, resizing, etc. And you will also need to know the basics of using some sort of animation software.

This article will not teach you how to design graphics. There are already many EXCELLENT tutorials on the net that will teach you step-by-step how to use the major graphics programs to create graphics. This article assumes that you already know how to use some sort of graphics program.

Now, the first tip I have for you is colors. You should use colors that work well together, nothing that will clash. You should be careful not to use colors that may be hard on the eyes such as lime green or bright neon yellow. You should be sure that your text sharply contrasts with the background colors of your banner. And you should try to use colors that will promote clicks and sales.

Dark colors are usually best for adult banners. Red is a very good color that commands attention and tends to invoke sexual excitement. Green is another good color, as it signals "money" to the brain and tends to give people the feeling of security and that they are getting their money's worth. It also signals them that they are about to have the opportunity to spend money, and that they should. Other good colors for adult banners are pinks and purples, which both signal sensuality and femininity. These are good colors for sites featuring amateurs, or beautiful women. Try to avoid blue, as it has been shown to make people sad and bored. Consider these banner color choices. The following are not actual banner, but tables, just to give you an idea.

 

THIS COLOR CLASHES WITH BLUE BLUE MAKES YOU FEEL A BIT SAD

THIS COLOR CONTRASTS WITH RED RED MAKES YOU FEEL SENSUAL

Do you see the difference? Which banner grabs your attention? Which banner is easier to read? Consider also the fonts in these two examples. The Serif font, above at top, is a little harder to read because of the extensions on the letters, however the font in the bottom banner is Sans Serif, which does not have the extra letter extensions and is much easier to read. Try to use very plain fonts when designing banners to improve readability.

Adult banners should almost always have an image on them. The image should be on the LEFT side of the banner, and should not be an entire image. You don't want to thumbnail a picture and put it on the banner. You want to show specific details close up. If you're opening a nipple site, show a close-up of a nice set of breasts with hard nipples. If you're doing a model site, try a close-up of her lovely eyes. Or maybe a great set of lips. Something that will excite and peak interest. 

Your text should ALWAYS start at the left and read towards the right. You want the readers eyes to move gracefully from left to right, without having to stop and look around for more text. Consider this example:

 

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE.... OF READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT!

This is really obviously.... not an informed or intelligent decision... for writing effective banner text....

See what I mean? You'd be surprised some of the banners that I've seen that the designer actually seemed to believe people would read and click. The banners have so much text on them that the fonts are tiny and hard to read, they take so long to read that the surfer would get bored before deciding to click, and they text runs together and just pisses the surfer off more than anything else.

Think of what you're going for. You want the surfer to see an ULTRA high quality image on your banners. Something that will make him think that clicking your banner will lead him to more high quality and that's what we want him to think. You also want to make sure that he is able to read the text easily and quickly, and make sure the text is compelling enough to make him want to click with just a few words. You should make sure that the banner gives the person a reason to click within 3 seconds. And you want to be sure that the banner loads quickly, so is should be 30k or less.

How can you attract attention to your banner and make someone want to click within 3 seconds? Animation! Adding a small amount of animation to your images will attract the eye to your banner long enough to get your message across to the surfer, as long as that message isn't too long! The animation must be something that will attract attention without becoming annoying if the surfer stays on the same page for a long time. Imagine these examples:

Yuck! This banner has WAY too much blinking going on. It's just plain annoying to try and read this text and after a while you'll want to leave this page. Luckily this article is almost done. :)

Here is a good example:

In this above example, only one word is blinking. It attracts attention without being overwhelming and it demands attention. The text also gives the user a reason to click. (Hehe.)

Anyway, you see the point. I can't understand some banner designers. They KNOW what looks good, they KNOW what surfers want, yet they still try to pack in whole images, paragraphs of boring text, and enormous animations. Now that you know the basics, I hope you won't make these same mistakes! This article should give you a good base to work with. Now, take these skills and get some practice. Take some graphics tutorials, study some banners that YOU find attractive, and find your own style! Good luck!