Right now, I can hear a lot of die-hard English Teachers screaming, "What are you saying? Your thesis has to come at BEGINNING of your argument, NOT at end!" Well, if you feel a little uncomfortable leaving your claim until end, or if you are afraid that your audience is not going to be able to understand what your argument is about, then you can use a technique perfected by politicians through ages: Be vague in beginning.

By "vague," I mean that you can choose to tell your audience what you are arguing ABOUT at beginning of your message, rather than what you are arguing FOR. For example, let's say that you are speaking to a group of gun owners about gun control -- if you say, "I think we should ban all handguns," you probably will not be able to get another word out, and even if you did, audience would probably not be listening.

However, if you started by saying, "I think something needs to be done about gun control" or "Let's talk about gun control issue," you have let your audience know what your topic is (so they won't be confused) but you have not stated your controversial claim yet (so they won't be upset). By being a little vague at beginning, you will find you have more of a chance of passing along your information without any "emotional roadblocks" getting in way.

Remember here that thinking behind this advice is to encourage communication, NOT trick your audience! The point is that you should structure your message, whether it is a sales letter, web page, or campaign speech, so that your listeners get information they need to make an informed decision. By holding your controversial material for end, you are ensuring that audience gets this information before they have a chance to talk themselves out of it!

If you use photos in your banner, keep them low resolution so they load quickly. In many cases you can reduce standard 256 web-safe colors to just 16 for an even "lighter" banner.

Animated banners step readers through two or three successive panels. Put your most important message on first panel so those with slow connections don't miss out if second panel doesn't pop up before they click away. I like to put main offer on first panel with a few delicious details on second.

If you banner is light and loads fast, feel free to have most important part of your message on third panel. For example: (1) Tired? (2) Feel better fast (3) Get Energizomine...Click here!

Before you commit big money to your banner ad campaign, test your ad or ads with a 30 day trial run. Most banner networks provide reliable statistics on how many people have seen your ad (impressions) and how many clicked on it to go to your site (click-throughs). You can also check server logs your web host provides to see where hits are coming from.

Pay close attention to web page visitors are taken to after they click on your banner. One of biggest complaints is users can't find information about offer they saw on banner. Tailor a special page to correspond with your banner. Make sure you give plenty of information, ways for prospects to contact you, how to buy, and what your product or service costs. Too many sites are leaving these points out of their sales page, making this one of chief causes of lagging banner response.

Banner ads are Internet's main advertising vehicle. Over next few years, as more and more people get fast broadband Internet connections, we will see "rich media" banners that look more like television.

Low ad prices and less competition makes this a great time to promote your offer or name online. By following these simple tips you can make banners a reliable part of your marketing arsenal.