The SKINNY on Newspaper Advertising
Using the paper is considered gospel by many people in business.
Use it wisely and it can be a good tool.
Remember, newspapers are passive, non intrusive media. They tend
to reach only buyers who are looking for the product. They are
poor at reaching prospects before the need arises.
Think about it, there are few times you have been driven to go
to a store to buy a product you never heard of because you saw
an ad in the paper. You had to have an earlier impression about
the product for the newspaper ad to point you to the location to
buy it.
There are 4 ways to use the newspaper for advertising.
1) Display advertising from one column wide by 2 inches high to
a full two pages, display ads can be so numerous the news
stories have to be cut so both can live on the page.
There is usually no protection. Competiting store ads can be
next to each other (next time you see the paper look for tire
store ads on the same page).
When designing your ad, remember it's all about them. Use a
catchy headline and tell them what you will do for the. Forget
about your picture or your "Number One in the District Award".
Good advertising "feels their pain".
2) Classified advertising The effectiveness of classified ads
varies by paper and by who wrote the ad and by what the ad is
selling. Many classified sections have turned into giant car
dealer pages and huge homes for sale sections complete with four
color pictures.
The small, private, "gotta sell my Bow-Flex" ads can be lost in
a giant classified section. Many shoppers and Nickle Savers have
smaller, and cheaper, classified sections.
Some small business operators find success with a series of
small classified ads. Small blurps tend to build "top of mind
awareness". A cheap way to keep your name out there.
3) Tabs and special sections Tabs, the cash cow for newspapers,
are manufactured events designed to sell ads. Progress Editon.
Easter Shopping Special. Dollar Days. You name it, there is a
tab every idea.
Typically a tab is the regular paper page turned sideways
(landscape) and folded in half.
Tabs get ad-on advertising dollars from existing clients and
offer one time only exposure to those who don't normally use the
paper (i.e. the giant corporate ads in every Progress Edition).
Most papers have so many tabs, they print an advertising
calendar.
Understand them for what they are, vehicles to get extra bucks
from you. If you want to be in one, rearrange your budget, don't
ad to it.
4) Inserts and stuffers Some Sunday papers weight 4 to 5 pounds
each, mostly for the weight of stuffers and inserts. Usually
reserved for national advertisers and big box stores. They print
them and deliver them to the paper and pay a per piece fee to
have them stuffed and delivered. For smaller businesses they
become cost prohibitive. Better to stick with display ads.
Sunday papers have the biggest circulation, and ad rates are
more expensive. Regional and national papers can be expensive,
too. Local papers and shoppers are less expensive, but
nonetheless can be a major part of a small business ad budget.
Newspaper advertising is sold by the column inch. Different
categories of ads and section placement determine the rate and
rates vary throughout the paper. Rates also vary with
advertisers, depending on how many column inches they have
agreed to buy in a one year period. The more the cheaper.
Plan your advertising well in advance and stick to your budget.
Sell to needs, not ego and newspaper can be your buddy.
For more about advertising, get my article "What Does your
telephone say about you?" MailTo:TelephoneSay@BigIdeasGroup.com