When you spend money on an advertisement you want to get the best return possible. To do that you need to get people to STOP and LOOK at your ad.

Remember, people are busy and they're bombarded with thousands of commercial messages every day. So the odds of them giving your ad much attention are very small unless you give them a good reason to look.

The tool you can use to get people to look is called a disruptor. It disrupts what the reader is doing so they stop and look at your ad. It's not complicated but it is critical if you want the best results from your ads.

What can you use as a disruptor?

In print advertising the ad headline and graphic are the primary disruptors.

The key is to put something in your ad that stands out, either visually or because of the meaning the words convey.

For example, graphics that have people in them or that show activity are good for this. People's eyes are drawn to people and activity.

To make your headline stand out you might make it clever, funny or shocking. Or you might make an offer that people find attractive. Offer something better than the competition does and you'll get people to stop and look at your ad.

As you plan your marketing material remember this idea. Put a disruptor in your visual marketing pieces and you'll get better results without spending more money.

Kevin Stirtz is a successful entrepreneur, writer, trainer, speaker and mentor. He is a published author of over 150 business articles and he has been featured in local, regional, national and international business publications. He currently writes a marketing column for AllBusiness.com and he is writing his first book, which is due to be published in March of 2006.