The yard sign is the most effective marketing tool out there that costs little or no money to use. The yard sign can be placed anywhere that you have access to, including your yard, business yard, campaign yard, and any other location that would be beneficial to your message or business. Yard signs are often used in real estate sales, political campaigns, and disaster preparedness alerts such as missing pets and mass shootings. They can also catch return customers who didn’t see the sale last week but do notice the yard sign when they drive past it today.
Here is how to create a yard sign that will catch the eye of passersby:
- A yard sign should never go unattended for an extended period of time because it will become a target for vandals and thieves who want to cover it up with their own messages or steal it from you. It is also best to put the yard sign away during inclement weather, including rain and snowstorms. However, yard signs can stay up for months without being a problem as long as they remain visible and have traction on the ground to keep it from blowing over in strong winds.
- A yard sign that is staked into a yard with a four-inch-wide stake will cost approximately $1 per foot of length required, which would be a significant saving compared to traditional forms of advertising such as billboards and TV commercials which can often go well beyond several hundred dollars per day. The downside is that yard signs only work when placed at eye level on streets where drivers can see them as they drive by. Also, yard signs cannot be seen by pedestrians who walk nearby and yard signs cannot be placed on the lawns of businesses without trespassing.
- While yard signs are a good way to catch drivers’ attention, they can also work against you by reducing your credibility if you use them incorrectly or inappropriately. For example, an advertisement for yard clean-up services would not be effective with a yard sign that features twenty different fonts and colors in bold block text while using all upper case letters which is extremely difficult to read at high speeds for any length of time. A yard sign should always include one or two simple words or short phrases that stand out from the rest of the font on the yard sign and draw attention to it instantly by virtue of its simplicity. An ad for yard clean-up services would not be effective with yard sign that reads “yard clean up” because it is the same message that the next yard sign down the street says except for one word that changes everything. A yard sign that reads “YARD CLEAN UP” stands out from the rest of the yard signs on the street and drives home your point instantly.
- A yard sign can get people’s attention but it cannot deliver a full message like a business card or pamphlet can. Therefore, you need to prepare several variations of yard signs for many different situations where you might encounter drivers at different speeds and in varying amounts of time before they drive past your yard sign. For example, an advertisement for yard cleanup services would only work if every house on the street has yard signs up for yard clean-up services to maximize your exposure. However, yard signs are only effective if they attract attention quickly because drivers turn their focus back to the road ahead within five seconds according to a study by Purdue University For this reason, it is wise to use yard sign designs that include one or two fonts and colors combined in bold block letters that are easy to read at high speeds while driving past your yard sign.
Conclusion:
Yard signs are inexpensive and effective yard sign marketing tools that can attract attention from drivers who pass by your yard regularly. However, yard signs only work if every house on the street has yard signs up for yard clean-up services to maximize your exposure. You should also prepare several variations of yard signs to catch drivers at different speeds and in varying amounts of time before they drive past your yard sign. For this reason, use bright colors combined with one or two fonts and bold block text that stands out quickly so you do not waste money on yard sign designs that are not eye-catching enough for drivers to notice when they drive past it.
