Anyone who’s ever put out a business sign knows that the instant you advertise, you become a competitor. Even if you’re not competing with other businesses directly, you’re always competing for the time and attention of anyone who might view your sign. The good news is, your competitors are likely making many mistakes that make them less noticeable. That means there’s plenty of opportunities for you to avoid those same mistakes when making your own sign. If you know what sign missteps to avoid, you can capture more attention for business.

Make Proper Use of Visual Space

Ever look at the advertisements on a local restaurant menu? What’s the first thing you notice? Easy: it takes a magnifying glass to see what every business is saying. Chances are, most businesses didn’t invest too much time into considering the context in which their advertisement will appear. The result is that their ad—designed for a much larger space—destroys any chance it had at making an impact. It gets glossed over in favor of more space-friendly signs.

Before making your own sign anything—whether it be a sign or an ad—make sure you understand the size and context in which your display will appear.

Don’t Choose Style Over Clarity

Let’s say an upscale restaurant is competing with yours. They want to portray an upscale, sophisticated sense of fine dining, so they use a “fancy font” in their ads. Should you do the same?

It depends. Ignoring the basic readability of a font is a common signage mistake, according to Forbes. If your competitor is focusing on style over clarity, you can win the war for attention by using clear, highly readable fonts in your displays.

Choose The Right Sign For Your Goals

Your competition is just as susceptible to rookie mistakes as anyone, especially when it comes to signage. And one of the “rookie mistakes” we see more frequently: choosing the wrong type of sign to match with your specific signage goals.

People often do this as an emotional decision, rather than a logical one. They might like the vintage look of a sandblasted sign so much that they completely ignore how a fundraising sign will be far more appropriate for their short-term needs. Although it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your signage journey, the selection of a proper sign usually isn’t given the time and attention it deserves.

Work With A Professional Signage Company

A professional signage company like Sign It Quick has seen all the classic signage mistakes over the years. If you are making your own sign, we can help guide you to the right one for your business goals. Sometimes, you don’t have to be great to get results—you just have to avoid the simplest mistakes. Browse our site to find the right signs for your need and contact us to request a quote. We’d be happy to walk you through your options to help you get best signs for your business.