My Guardianscifi website is listed on several banner exchange sites. I have been getting some visitors from them but compared to the number of exposures of my banner the clicks were disappointingly few, usually two or three a day.

The banner I was using had been copied from my book cover. I thought it looked good but obviously most people did not and so would not click on it.

One of the banner exchange webmasters happened to say to me “Why don’t you make up a banner from some of your pictures?” I though about it and decided to  have a go. While I was looking round for ideas I read that animated banners work better than static ones. As luck would have it the article included a link to free GIF animation software,  GIFfun. You drag in static Jpeg pictures then adjust the time they are displayed on the screen.  If each picture is in sequence and slightly different you get an animated effect. The resultant file is in GIF format so it can be displayed by most web browsers.

I chose the picture I was going to use, one that had dark areas on either side for good contrast for light text. I chose “Don’t Mess With Me” I cut it down to banner size (480 x 60) Then added the first text using photoshop.

First In Banner Sequence

I then produced the next one in the sequence and saved each one in turn.

Second In Banner Sequence

I then dragged the pictures into GIFfun and adjusted the timing until it looked right.

The resulting banner is displayed below. The click rate has increased to double figures!

Be Sociable, Share!

•