The dotted line is a powerful thing. It is one of those secret weapons that marketers use to draw attention to a specific part of the communication. It is most commonly used to highlight an offer or a call-to-action.

What was once used as a directional vehicle, dotted lines were put in to signal to the customer that it was a coupon to cut out. In fact, in some cases where marketers  had zero confidence in customer intelligence, they would even throw in a little icon of a scissor.

Where production budgets allow, we also add a perforation around the coupon to make it even easier to tear out. In these cases, we still print the dotted line to call attention to the coupon.

But here’s the funny thing: studies have shown that even if you don’t have an offer or call-to-action, a dotted line will lift readership in that area by 40%. Apparently, the coupon device has been so ingrained in our brains to signal coupon that it does not matter what you say inside!

I have found tremendous success using this technique both in online and offline vehicles.

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