Good poster printing can be hard to find. Some businesses clutter their posters with so much info you cannot tell what the heck is going on.

Other posters are so bare that you wonder why anyone even bothered. Here are some tips on how to create a good balance between overkill and barely-there to make your poster stand out from the rest and catch prospects' attention.

Focus your message
A big mistake that I believe stems from people wanting to get their money's worth out of their poster printing budget is to put too much info, too many graphics, just too much stuff on their poster. These are the cluttered posters I talked about earlier. You only have a few seconds to catch someone's attention and if you have 89 ideas going on in one poster, no one is going to read any of them.

Before you even start designing your poster, ask yourself what you want the poster to accomplish. Are you promoting an event? Introducing a new product? Introducing your business to a new community? You need to make sure everything on your poster contributes to that one message.

Good graphic design is key
An eye-popping photo or some kind of awesome graphic element that catches people's attention works best for posters. A rule of design is that the graphics should not upstage the content. In the case of posters though, the graphic is the content.

With only a few seconds to catch someone's attention, it is best to use a big graphic to pull them in because our brains process objects and images quicker than text. Try to make your design the main element of your poster, rather than making text your main element. If you are bent on getting details of your event or new product on the poster, save that text for the bottom of the poster. Use the top half of the poster to pull people in with few words that are huge (your poster should be readable from 20 feet away) and an interesting photo or image.

Use posters as more than lead generators
In many cases, posters are used to only draw people in. Do not get me wrong - that is their main use and great way to use them. However, consider also using them as a follow up method in your store.

Hang posters in your store that are reminiscent of the ones out on the streets or in your store windows. Alternatively, start a graphical story on one poster hanging in your store window and finish the story inside, on posters scattered throughout your store. This will intrigue people to come in and finish the story!

As with any advertisement, be honest
You should promote your business with integrity - do not lie in your posters or in any of your advertisements. As soon as people find out, they will tell their friends and family, and you will lose what could have been long-time customers. When it comes to advertising, under-promise and over-deliver.