Suggestions for full page computer repair ad

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n64man120

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Jan 11, 2004
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I'm going to try and startup a side job doing computer repair. I do it now but just through word of mouth for friends and friends of friends. Anyways, I'm going to design a full page verticle ad to hang up in a few places.

Any suggestions for how to lay it out attractivly and how much content wise? I'm going to design it in Photoshop, I know its not the best, but it's what I have and I'm very good with it. Any suggestions would be great, I'm going to try and toss something together now to start with.
 
Well here's something I put together in about half an hour. It seems a bit weak all around, but I'm no artist and I'm too tired to work on it more. It seems like your eye is pulled down the black on the left too much where the letters want to spell something out but they don't. Give me any suggestions you want, I'm going to attach the PSD as well if anyone would be so kind to work with it.
Computer-Repair.jpg

http://www.egaertner.com/images/Computer-Repair.psd

Edit: I noticed the "ru" in running got cut off, will fix
 
Here's another one I whipped up today, I think this looks a bit better. The curves of black at top don't seem too good though. Any suggestions?

Computer-Repair2.jpg
 
Do one of the things with the stick figure beating his head against the keyboard or computer, and then say, "don't be this guy, call me" or something like that.

Hey just a thought. :D
 
1st

scythe.jpg


2nd
computer repair service while descriptive is so pedestrian as to defy memorability
 
Not totally following you but, are you sayin to do something totally different that will attract alot more attention?
 
more like you have a large akward scythe symbol running up the side and across the top of the page,

and that a buisness name that people might actually remember
and associate with what your doing will help
 
Alright I'll try and re-do the black bars idea. Figured with the black at top atleast it made the white letters stand out. I was thinking about a more memorable name, but couldn't think of anything at the moment so I just left it generic. Still can't think of anything good but not uber cheesy :rolleyes:
 
Yea that's another thing I was toying with. I'm going to hang this outside some stores, lounge @ my mom's school, etc... didn't want to "over-flashy" it
 
What you really need.... BOOBS. It'll get you plenty of male customers. Put Chad Michael Murray on there, and teh ladies will dig it too....

Honestly, how about some interesting colors. You don't have to be boring to not be tacky.
 
I really can't think of a title, any suggestions? It's hard to get something reasonable and not cheesy. My town is East Brunswick, or just EB.. thought about possibly incorporating that but not necessarily.
 
Rent a Geek

your IT guy

East Brunswick while memorable to me, likely would also be so pedestrian there as to defy memorability, Id bet several dozen companies already employ it (not Computer companies, just in general)

your looking for something folks can not only remember after a very breif exposure, but something they will also associate with what your doing

99.9% of the people that see that flyer arent going to jot down your number
but when their computer bites it, they will go to the yellow pages and if they remember your name your likely to get a call, word of mouth and cards, getting passed out will make it into homes, and a portion of them found when they are needed

Id add little tearoffs to the bottom of that flyer, so people can walk away with both the number and name, flyers that are hung on doors sometimes get saved.

Think about the last time you reacted to a flyer
it was likely a band playing somewhere or other event, hey, that might be cool
but services? unless there is an immediate need its generally blocked out like the hundreds of other messages your exposed to daily. What was the last TV Commercial you saw, the last radio commercial you heard, the last billboard you saw, the last online ad? (not counting the one at the top of this forum :p )

so you need a name you can say to an aquaintence once
and then ask them what it was three day later and they will get close enough to getting it right that when looking at the yellow pages listings theyd be able to pick out the actual one.
 
Good suggestions, this isn't a super long term thing so no Yellowpages ad... but I'm thinking a memorable basic name, and make a website for it. They can just go to short&easytoremembername.com

Tearoff's is a good idea as well. Now to just think of a name, thanks for the advice. I was looking at flyers in store windows today, noticed bright colors on the title attracted my attention, perhaps I'll try something like that
 
Alright, what do you think of this one? Tear-off's are still in consideration, along with a name as seen here :) But design wise? I had a big black border around it all but seemed to take over too much of the page so I just ditched it all.

Computer-Repair3.jpg


Edit: One thing I notice already is the drop shadows and blending effects on text look much more severe and intrusive than on the .psd I'm looking at... odd
 
well a big black border that bleeds would also be hard to print

as far as your sales points, securing a computer or infection removal is both a leading concern and an immediate eason that someone might want to contact you
and I wouldnt lead with full reformats
might investigate optimized for performance instead of tune up

"the get your home computer running at its very best" is a call to action but you might be able to get a stronger motivation playing up the security issue

a logistical question, do you do on site?
do you pickup & deliver?
 
In the past I've usually went on site for small issues, and brought it to my place when major overhauls were needed. Probably will offer both options with a premium for on-site

Plan- chance tune-up to optimization, focus on spyware/virus removal

How you think the new layout is looking? Do you agree that the emboss and shadows look far too extreme? They looked much better on the .psd, don't know what happened. :rolleyes:
 
Personally, I think the drop shadows are way overdone. Also, while I'm glad you got rid of the word "cheap", "reasonable and local service" doesn't quite convey what I think you're getting at. How about "affordable prices" and "we make house calls!" as a tag line?

I doubt the average home user knows what "migration" means in terms of computers.

Instead of the list you have, I think I would take another approach... instead maybe asking questions like "Is your computer running too slow?" then mention spyware and viruses, or "Thinking you need a new computer? A few upgrades may make your computer like new again at a fraction of the cost of a new PC." And how about "Need help setting up a home network?"

Grammar nazi here: The word "running" has two Ns, and "it's" is a contraction meaning "it is", use "its" as the possessive form.
 
running was a typo thanks for pointing it out. I'm 95% sure it's with an " ` " means possesive
 
n64man120 said:
I'm 95% sure it's with an " ` " means possesive
Click to expand...
And I'm 100% sure you are wrong. Merriam-Webster Online is your friend. ;)

And it's "possessive" not "possesive".

I'm not trying to bust your chops here, really I'm not. But in the real world there are people (like me) who see a typo or grammatical error in an ad and will assume that if you can't take the care to have it properly proofread in the first place, then your services must also be of poor/sloppy quality and will automatically decide not to hire you.
 
Yea I get what your saying on the typos totally. As for the it's vr its ... either your wrong or teachers the past few years have brainwashed me to believe something false :rolleyes:
 
ya get rid of those drop shadows on the bottom portion


It's, is a contraction of It is
Its is possessive as in Its my chicken not your chicken


and when you do come up with a name don't forget that a simple 1,2,or,3 color logo will help make it more professional looking, as long as it's not one of these gawdy full color bevel fest logos I see a lot of lately
 
another "tool" that aids memorability is a concept

lets say for instance the driving concept is security
a name that supports that core concept would have an advantage
like Rottweiler Computer Repair
with a positioning statement or tag line
"always on guard"
tied into a service, say remote administration with weekly security scanning, comparative checksums and log audits.
and of course supporting graphics

I really didnt put much thought into that its just an example :p

It just as easily could be based on setting up wireless networks

and like Lethal said networking is a big deal where the average user needs help
id say either the first or second "motivation" to the end user
 
Well I figured out why all the text effects looked so hideous, I dropped image size to 800px temporarily to save as JPG, which made all the effects be over-emphasized.
Here's the logo as I intendid it to look, going to work on more changes now though.

Computer-Repair4.jpg
 
And here's one final design. I took alot of the suggestions into account, now I'm struggling for the name. I liked the Rottweiler idea so I'm trying to use that same thought process but no luck let. Comments/suggestions appreciated as always

Computer-Repair5.jpg
 
Well this design is shaping up real well, but I'm totally at a loss for a name. Anyone want to toss out some ideas off the top of their head to help me out?
 
here are some
ComLock
Gatewell Computer
Hornet
Ironside
Blastdoor
FireCom

add systems or services, etc... to the end if you like, if I think of any others I'll let ya know.
 
I don't get the significance of the 64th, 64-bit comes to mind but that doesnt seem to make sense.

Ezteh - thanks for all the suggestions, none of them stuck me well but its alot better than what I've come up with so maybe I'll eventually fall back on them
 
n64man120 said:
I don't get the significance of the 64th, 64-bit comes to mind but that doesnt seem to make sense.

Ezteh - thanks for all the suggestions, none of them stuck me well but its alot better than what I've come up with so maybe I'll eventually fall back on them
Click to expand...

Your name.. duuh! :)
 
Well I'm taking a break from the name for a bit to try and design a basic homepage. This is my first attempt so revisions will be made, but any suggestions to get me goin in the right direction would be great.

http://www.egaertner.com/test.htm

I know the greys on sides dont match, easy fix
 
Gotta run, so I can't type any constructive critisizm..

but.. the website looks very unprofessional, imho, and if I saw that -- I would go somewhere else. Sorry.
 
I unfortunatly agree, always hope I'm just being too hard on myself.

Needs alot of work, but one thing I was thinking is perhaps the average home user won't be as able to notice what we do. For instance, people who end up at total shady sites trying to search for something thinking there somewhree legit when its just ad kingdom. :p
 
n64man120 said:
Well I'm taking a break from the name for a bit to try and design a basic homepage. This is my first attempt so revisions will be made, but any suggestions to get me goin in the right direction would be great.

http://www.egaertner.com/test.htm

I know the greys on sides dont match, easy fix
Click to expand...

I like the page, it really is a good general idea, just a few things I don't like...

I like the faint background image on the "main" part of the page, however, I don't like the background behind "Computer Repair Business". There's just something off about it, too blury and low-quality looking. I also don't like the font used for "Computer Repair Business", nor do I like the font used for the body of the page. The title at the top really needs to be some awesome looking logo instead of a generic font, but I'm sure you know that...

I also don't like how the angles on the rounded corners by "services" are shaped different than the one used on "information". Pretty easy fix though.

I think besides that, and of course the 2 shades of grey, it's a petty nice looking site. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions, the blurred section on top was just from top part of body's pic but I know what you mean with it being too blurry. Plain white seemed too white, I'll play with that.

I'm pretty bad with fonts but I'll play around with it more, thats the default Adobe font acutaly. I was toying with a custom logo next to the title, but I'm far from an artist.

Good job noticing the angles, that's me being too lazy to go and make another box and jsut copy/transformed the big one. I'll fix that up as well. G2 use webcolors for the photoshop grey and that should be fixed.

I'll get on that ;)
 
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