Top 5 Yard Sign Display Tips and Tricks

By Colton LaSota

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Are Yard Signs Still Effective?
3. Reasons to Use Yard Signs
4. Yard Sign Display Tips and Tricks
   1. Even Yard Signs need Strategy
   2. Location, Location, Location
   3. State Laws
   4. Public vs Private Property
   5. Relocate your Yard Signs Regularly
5. Conclusion & Sources

Introduction

Do you have a message you want to spread throughout your local area? If so, custom yard signs could be the perfect solution for you. But even if you do get a custom yard sign, where do you plan on placing it? How will it be displayed? What is your sign advertising strategy? If you’re looking for guidance in any of these areas, this article is for you.  

Are Yard Signs Still Effective?

YES! Yard signs are still very effective at advertising, fundraising, and campaigning. If you would like evidence of their effectiveness, look no further than the U.S. presidential election. During the United States presidential election, you would be hard-pressed to find a single street corner without yard signs for a political candidate. 

The key to success with your yard sign campaign is efficiency. They’re cheap to make, easy to store, and they’re quick and easy to place. The 4mm coroplast material makes the yard signs lightweight and easy to stack, making them perfect for storage. 

Top Reasons to Use Custom Yard Signs

There are a wide variety of people and businesses that could benefit from using custom yard signs for their projects. If you are running for any kind of political office, yard signs should be a first choice for spreading your influence and message across your voters’ area. Or, if you’re a business owner who has a new promotion, you could place yard signs all over town advertising your promotion and get your customers excited to come in. Perhaps you're dealing with a neighborhood dog-pooping nuisance. Some people walking their dogs just have no sense of courtesy, so some decide to act and place a “Don’t let your dog poop in my yard sign” right where they can see it.

5 Yard Sign Display Tips and Tricks

1. Yard Sign Strategy

You may be tempted, after you make or receive your custom yard signs, to spread them all around town as much as you can. This is commonly the yard-sign-placer’s first mistake. Yard signs may be simple, but a little advertising strategy can go a long way. Before you place your signs all around town, take the time to narrow down exactly WHO you are selling/sending a message to.

If you are a retail business advertising your new summer landscaping promotion, there are ways of narrowing down spots to place your custom yard signs. Outside upper-class shopping districts would be a good place to start. People who are looking to do some landscaping are likely middle to upper-class homeowners, so getting their attention shouldn’t be too hard outside of places they are already picking up landscaping equipment and materials.

Say you are hosting a local fundraising benefit for a local kid’s hospital payments. First, good on you for going out of your way to support your community. Secondly, a good place for you to display a message inviting people to come would be around public medians. Public medians are landscaped areas between roads and highways. These areas often contain walking paths for pedestrians or joggers. These are highly public areas, so if you’re trying to raise as many funds for the benefit as you can, public medians are perfect for this objective.

2. Location, Location, Location

You hear this phrase a lot in real estate. And that’s because it is so often the most important factor in just about anything. This is especially true for displaying yard signs. Where yard signs are placed is the most important factor for attracting the desired outcome. If you want to REALLY strategize on how to attract more desired outcomes with yard signs, consider the scenery around the spot where you place your sign. What in the environment would leave your intended audience’s eyes to your message?

One thing to keep in mind when displaying your custom yard sign is what people are doing in the location you place it. If you place your yard sign next to an electronic dance music venue, your yard sign might need to be illuminated to get past all the other lights going on at night.

3. State and Federal Laws

There are many situations where you should check your local regulations and statutes as to where you may place yard signs and what you may have displayed on them. Thankfully, there has already been a landmark case regarding possible sign placement. In the year of 2005, the town of Gilbert, AZ adopted a municipal sign ordinance which regulated ways that residents could display signs. The restrictions consisted of sizing ordinances, event signage, and political signage. Then, the city of Gilbert found itself in hot water after a local church pastor, Clyde Reed, sued for violating their right to the freedom of speech. 

Fast forward to ten years later in 2015. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Pastor Clyde Reed. The ruling was based largely on whether the signage was content-based or not. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his majority opinion that, “Innocent motives do not eliminate the danger of censorship presented by a facially content-based statute”.

This landmark case should be your starting guide to placing your yard signs legally. This should only be a starting point though. While this case lays out how yard signs should be placed federally, there are many MANY more laws depending on your state, county, or sometimes even local ordinances.

To avoid any fines or regulatory action, we recommend you go through your state and town’s laws and statutes regarding signage. Here is an example of what your state’s regulations regarding signage may look like. As you can see, there are many sections and categories that are covered. This includes your sign’s size, placement in relation to other buildings, proximity to the road, design standards, and signs that are outright prohibited. 

4. Private vs Public Property

There is a major distinction between public and private land. And regulators are eager to let you know the difference, personally, so be diligent and make absolutely certain that you know which kind of property your signs are being placed on.

When you place your signs on public land, the federal, state, and local laws that we talked about earlier are going to take effect. How, when, where, and why you place your signs in a particular public area are important because the state and local laws have laid out exactly what you may and may not do. Some states regulate the distance your sign can be within the road, and others regulate what and how many colors can be used.

When you place your signs on private land, that means you have one of three things: land you own to place the signs on, land you have received permission to place the signs on, or you have a fine in the mail. But because you own or know someone who owns the land doesn’t mean you can put just about any signage on it. There are laws and regulations that go over what people may post on their own land. This is to not infringe on the rights of your neighbors or those passing by on the road.

5. Relocate Your Yard Signs Regularly

In best practice, custom yard signs should be moved regularly. This is how to use them to their fullest capabilities. When you plan out your yard sign advertising strategy, you should have a plan as to where to bring the signs on a two-to-three-month basis.

If you planted your yard sign outside of a park in the summer, it may be a good idea to move it out of there after the fall. People won’t be going out to the park much when it isn’t as warm out. So, a good place to move it to would be to a public median. Even if people aren’t out as much during the winter months, people will still be driving their cars.

Conclusion