The Dos and Don’ts of Yard Signs

In an increasingly digital world, people are often surprised by successful print marketing campaigns. They shouldn’t be, though. People in marketing, advertising, sales, real estate, home improvement, and even politics can attest to the usefulness of posters and signs, for example. How many places of business have you walked into, simply because they had a poster out front that grabbed your interest? How many yard sales have you spontaneously ended up at because the signs for them caught your attention? Now, we’re not going to claim that you can win an election based on how many yard signs you put out, but if you use yard signs to market yourself, your business, or your event appropriately, they can be quite effective.

Check out this list of yard sign dos and don’ts before sending your design off to the printer.

• DON’T use too much copy. Yard signs are mostly used to target people on the move, specifically people in vehicles traveling at 30 mph or less. If you’re really lucky, they’ll be stuck in traffic, but don’t count on it. Not only is your target audience moving, but the yard signs they’re supposed to be reading are pretty small. You may have to use five-inch font, for example, which means people probably won’t be able to read it from over 50 feet away. So, keep your message short and sweet, as people won’t have a lot of time to take it in. If you can’t say what you want to say in a few short lines, then yard signs are not the right format for this particular message.
• DO keep it simple, yet interesting. Just because you have to keep your message short, doesn’t mean your sign has to be boring. You don’t even have to stick to black and white, just make sure that you use one very dark color and one very light color. Maybe consider using colors that people already associate with your brand– such as your logo colors. You shouldn’t go crazy with fancy fonts and pictures. Instead, using blank space can make your sign easier to read, therefore making it as eye-catching and effective as the bolder choices you can make with some of your other printed collateral.
• DON’T push your brand. Now, this isn’t something that marketers will tell you very often, but yard signs are typically targeted towards people who aren’t brand loyal, yet. This is especially good advice if you’ve recently rebranded and hardly anybody recognizes your new logo yet. Stick to your simple, written message and a phone number, preferably without the area code and extensions, if possible.
• DO advertise a single service. For example, if you own a tire shop try, “free rotation with purchase” and your phone number. Once you get people interested enough to call in, you can then let them know about any other deals, what brands of tires you carry, and so on. Remember, you’re working with limited space and reading time here!
• DON’T print a full address. It’s true that a lot of yard signs are used specifically to advertise the location of something, like an open house or a garage sale, but there’s just not enough time for people to read and remember full addresses. You should worry more about the location of the signs in relation to the place, and less about the place itself.
• DO use arrows. Pointing people in the right direction is much more efficient in this situation than including a full address. If the place you’re trying to draw attention to is near a busy and popular area, then you could try using that as well, like “1^st & Elm,” for example.
• DON’T bother with double sided signs. Only the people traveling on the same side of the street that the sign is placed on will be able to read it. Instead, use the money you’ll save when skipping double-sided signs to buy more single-sided signs and put them in more places.
• DO feel free to place multiple signs at the same intersection. Since people can only read what’s on their side of the road, put a sign on every side of the intersection you’re targeting.
• DON’T break the rules. You have to figure out what your city allows because you could end up breaking an actual law and creating a strained relationship between you and the local government, other businesses, or residents. Plus, people will remove signs that are in places where they don’t belong, which would be a waste of your money.
• DO push the limits. Wherever you’re allowed to put up a sign, go ahead! Putting two of the same sign right next to each other probably doesn’t make much sense, but load up the popular intersections, put the same sign on both sides of the same road, fill up the town! You don’t want to be obnoxious, but you do want people to notice you. Pick the areas that are most relevant to your message and go for it. Post arrows all the way to your store if you have a big sale. Trust us, your customers who score a deal because they noticed your signs won’t find them annoying in the end.

Now that you’ve spent some time reading about yard signs, you’ve probably realized they really are everywhere still. Maybe they’ve lead you to a mattress store before or you’ve gotten a number for a contractor from one. Either way, large format printed collateral and outdoor signage are relevant and they work. Just tell people who you are and how to contact you, and they will come.