Visuals or creatives are the key to a successful advertising campaign, as they are the first thing that catches the eye of the customers and draws them into the sales funnel.
To craft a creative that converts, you need to master the art of consumer psychology, design and copywriting, as well as know your target audience inside out. You can make your life easier by tapping into the wealth of knowledge and services that marketers have to offer, which will enable you to produce high-quality creatives.
In this article, we will show you how to design creatives for affiliate marketing and introduce you to some powerful and useful tools that will streamline the process of turning your most daring ideas into reality. Ready to rock and roll?
Creative: What is It?
Creative is the term used for the content of an advertisement, which can include text, images, video or a combination of these elements, depending on the format.
The primary goal of creatives is to capture the attention of the audience and persuade them to perform a specific action, such as buying a product, clicking on a link, downloading an app, signing up for a newsletter, etc. This action depends on the objectives of the campaign.
Another crucial goal of creatives is to generate conversions for the advertiser, while the originality and aesthetics of the content are less important. However, creatives still need to follow the guidelines of affiliate networks. Otherwise, the ads might have illegible text or some other issues which will prevent potential leads from clicking them.
Different Kinds of Creatives
When it comes to affiliate marketing, creatives come in four types:
- Text creatives. These are simple and low-cost, but not very eye-catching. They are used for email newsletters, social media and messenger spam, and native and contextual ads.
- Static images. These are easy and quick to create and can be tested on various ad formats and platforms. They work well with pop-up banners, social media feeds, and native and contextual ads. However, they are less noticeable than moving images.
- Dynamic images. These are animations and videos that grab the attention of the viewers, who naturally respond to motion. They take more time to produce, but they can leverage powerful and free traffic sources like TikTok and YouTube. They are also suitable for in-app ads, Instagram and Facebook stories. Working with dynamic creatives is a key skill for webmasters.
- Audio ads. These are seldom used in affiliate marketing, as they are not very effective for conversion. They are more suited for building brand awareness, but they require the audience to do many extra steps.
Ways to Craft Effective Creatives for Ad Campaigns
Creatives can be based on a unique selling proposition, customer pain points, demonstration of opportunities or mention of current promotions.
AIDA
A useful model for creating creatives is AIDA, which stands for:
- Attention. Use bright colours, movement, catchy images or even shocking ones, to grab the attention of the audience. For example, you can use an attractive girl for dating offers, or images of parasites or diseased joints for health offers. You should tailor your approach to your target audience and your offer.
- Interest. Spark interest by creating intrigue, appealing to the customer’s pain, using a provocative headline or showing images and actions on the video.
- Desire. Stimulate desire by mentioning a solution to the customer’s pain, promising a benefit or simplification of life or showing the advantages of your offer. You can also resolve the intrigue you created earlier.
- Action. After the customer is warmed up and ready to get what they want, the only thing left to do is to push them to action. For example, you can use a call-to-action like “Read more!” or “Buy now!”.
By following the AIDA model, you can design effective creatives for your advertising campaigns. However, you should also consider other factors, such as making a profile of your ideal customer, maintaining a consistent style of your creative and speaking to your target audience in a language that they understand. Another important aspect of advertising is to make the user believe in your offer and trust your brand.
Target Audience Profiling
Before designing your creatives, you need to understand your product, its purpose and your target audience first. You should create your ideal customer profile, which includes their age, gender, social status, professional profile and pain points. You also need to think about how your offer can solve their problems or fulfill their needs.
When you craft your creatives, you need to consider what might motivate your target audience to take action. A handy mnemonic that affiliate marketers use is based on the deadly sins:
- Greed: “Get a 50% discount on your first order today only!”
- Laziness: “Shed up to 5kg a week while watching your favourite show!”
- Envy: “Don’t let the jocks have all the fun. Transform your body now!”
- Pride: “Be the center of attention. Enroll in our leadership course today!”
- Anger: “Fed up with borrowing money from friends? Sick of your low salary?!”
- Lust: “Make any girl yours after…”
- Gluttony: “Why deprive yourself when you can…”
- Despondency: “Feeling too depressed to clean the house? Our product will restore your zest for life…”
Don’t forget to include elements of engagement in your creatives, such as addressing a common pain or profession, or using familiar symbols like a flag or a popular payment system.
Image Sources
Images are a crucial part of your creatives, as they can attract or repel the attention of your audience. You should avoid using stock images or images from the first pages of Google search, as they are overused and boring. The best option is to create your own images using photo editing software like Photoshop. If you need a video, you should record it yourself. The more original and unique your images are, the more they will stand out and convey your message.
The only exception to this rule is when you use hype topics or viral memes, but only if they are fresh and relevant. However, these types of creatives have a short lifespan, as they quickly lose their appeal.
Colours
Colours are not just visual elements, they also convey meanings and emotions that can vary across cultures and contexts. Using colours wisely can enhance your creatives and marketing strategy, as they can influence how your audience perceives and responds to your offer.
Here are some common colours and their associations in marketing, as well as some examples of how to use them for different affiliate marketing niches:
- Red. It is a powerful colour that draws attention and evokes strong feelings, such as excitement, passion, urgency or even fear. It can be used to create a sense of action, danger or sexuality, depending on the tone and context. For example, you can use red for health offers that highlight pain or inflammation, or for dating offers that emphasise attraction or romance.
- White. This colour symbolises purity, simplicity and elegance. It can be used to create a minimalist and clean look, or to contrast with other colours and make them stand out. For example, you can use white for beauty offers that showcase the product or the results, or for luxury offers that convey sophistication and quality.
- Green. It represents nature, health and growth. It can be used to create a sense of freshness, harmony and sustainability, or to appeal to eco-conscious consumers. For example, you can use green for health offers that promote natural or organic products, or for finance offers that promise wealth or prosperity.
- Blue: It is a colour that expresses calmness, trust and professionalism. It can be used to create a sense of reliability, security and authority, or to appeal to rational and logical consumers. For example, you can use blue for education offers that emphasise knowledge or skills, or for technology offers that showcase innovation or performance.
- Pink. This colour expresses femininity, romance and sweetness. It can be used to create a sense of playfulness, gentleness or compassion, or to appeal to female consumers. For example, you can use pink for beauty offers that target women, or for charity offers that support a cause.
- Black. It conveys elegance, sophistication and power. It can be used to create a sense of luxury, exclusivity or mystery, or to appeal to consumers who seek prestige and status. For example, you can use black for fashion offers that feature high-end brands, or for technology offers that highlight cutting-edge features.
- Brown. It is associated with earthiness, stability and reliability. It can be used to create a sense of warmth, comfort or durability, or to appeal to consumers who value quality and tradition. For example, you can use brown for food offers that emphasise natural or organic ingredients, or for furniture offers that showcase craftsmanship and longevity.
- Yellow. It is a colour that stimulates mental processes, encourages communication and boosts energy. It can be used to create a sense of optimism, youthfulness and clarity, or to appeal to curious and adventurous consumers. For example, you can use yellow for education offers that spark interest or creativity, or for travel offers that showcase exciting destinations. However, yellow can also strain the eyes and cause anxiety if used too much, so you should balance it with other colours.
TOP Services for Creating Stunning Visuals
You don’t need to use professional tools like Photoshop, Adobe Premier or numerous stock images to create amazing visuals. There are also services that let you quickly edit images and videos with various embellishments, filters, fonts and other handy features. We’ve gathered five popular services that you can use for your campaigns.
Canva
Canva is one of the most well-known services that you can use on the web or via an app on your PC or mobile device. It allows you to edit images and videos with ease. It has more than 8,000 ready-made templates for different types of visuals – you just need to pick a template and customise it for your purpose. With a paid subscription, you can access more templates, stock photos, integrations with popular services and social media posting directly from Canva. It’s ideal for working with social media platforms. For the paid version, you will have to pay $9.99 per month or $119.99 per year.
Pixlr
Pixlr is a service that lets you replace Photoshop or a video editor to create advertising visuals. It has a PC and a mobile app version. It’s suitable for those who want to work professionally with images and videos anywhere. The tools allow you to remove or edit the background, add graphic elements and text, work with colour grading and effects, and edit videos. The free version has some limitations in the amount of usage and shows ads. A monthly subscription costs $7.99.
PicsArt
PicsArt is a competitor of Pixlr that has extensive photo editing capabilities. It allows you to create almost any visual from scratch. The interface is very simple and intuitive. The paid version gives you access to stock images and a lot of ready-made templates. The free version leaves watermarks, and the paid version costs $11.99 per month. An annual subscription costs $55.99.
Synthesia
Synthesia is a service that uses AI to animate a person’s head from a photo, create a speech for them and make a video out of it without recording it. It’s the only service of its kind, and it can be very useful for creating “testimonials”, “news releases” and similar visuals. There is no free version, and a paid plan costs $22 per month.
InShot
InShot is a basic service for video editing on smartphones and tablets. The functionality allows you to trim and splice videos, align, speed up and slow them down. You can also remove sound, add text and stickers. Adding text will help you apply subtitles, in case your audience is watching your visual without sound. It’s suitable for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms. The basic version is free and the paid version contains additional stickers and filters and costs $8 per month.
Where to Find Inspiration for Your Creatives
Visuals can make or break your campaign, so you need to come up with fresh and appealing ideas. If you are feeling stuck, here are some ways to spark your creativity:
- Use spy services to see what your competitors are doing. Don’t copy them, but learn from their strengths and weaknesses and adapt their creatives to your own offer.
- Study other niches and industries and pay attention to the ads that catch your eye in your daily life. Write down the techniques and strategies that they use and see how you can apply them to your own niche.
- Subscribe to blogs and newsletters of marketers and designers who share interesting and effective ideas that you can borrow or modify. It is important to know the differences between creatives for advertisers and affiliate marketers: advertisers usually focus on branding and awareness, while affiliate marketers aim for conversions and sales. Therefore, affiliate creatives need to be more persuasive, clear and relevant to the target audience.
- Ask your affiliate program manager for advice. They want you to succeed and they can suggest different approaches and examples that work well for your offer and niche.
- If you still don’t have any ideas, take a walk around the city and observe your surroundings. You can find inspiration in outdoor advertising, the architecture and design of buildings and infrastructure, the people and their appearance or anything else that draws your attention.
❗❗❗ Don’t miss: From Text to Texture: Generate Visuals from Descriptions with AI Tools
Conclusion
Creating visuals for your campaigns requires a lot of research and creativity. You need to understand your product and your target audience, be aware of the situation in your niche and keep up with the latest trends and best practices in marketing.
However, you don’t have to be an expert to create eye-catching visuals. There are many tools available that can help you get inspired, find ideas and produce visuals in any format quickly and easily. As your business grows, you may need to hire a designer or an editor who can create professional visuals in large quantities, but even without them, you can still succeed in affiliate marketing.
