Advertisements in newspapers have been around almost as long as newspapers themselves, and the two have evolved together over time. But today, newspapers can have a tough time of it. Online advertising is starting to pull away a lot of the revenue newspapers had taken for granted, and today many icons stand dangerously close to collapse, after less than a decade.

This puts you, the advertising and marketing buyer, in a great position. Newspapers need your business, and are in no position to dictate prices. They also represent a critical link in a good marketing campaign, as they are the best medium through which you can reach closely-targeted markets in your area.

For your advertising campaign, select a paper that targets your audience. In a small town, this may be the single county weekly; in a larger community, there may be several to choose from. Look at circulation figures, and also at whether you have read that paper before. A high-circulation paper you read and like is more likely to hit your target market.

Look for a paper that has a strong advertising base. Newspapers devote a certain amount of space to advertisement. The front page has almost none, but you’ll see as you move further back that some pages have 50%, some 75%, and then on the back, again there is almost none. Advertise in papers that have this kind of a mix, even if the rates are higher.
They have the best circulation and the best results for advertising, or they’d lose their advertisers.

Papers will try to sell you the largest size and the most number of repeats advertising possible. No matter what the price break is, purchase a low to moderate number of repeats starting out. You can test different sizes and placements this way, without being locked into a long-term contract if things don’t work out.

Start with a smaller ad (a 1/16 or 1/8 page ad), working your way up, in a section of the paper that matches your business (so technology companies in the business or technology section, restaurants in the lifestyle or entertainment section, etc.). And push for a spot above the fold; these ads are on the top half of the page and are much more likely to be seen than those below the fold.

Try to get them to throw in online ads for free. This advertising space costs the newspaper nothing and may not be generating a lot of revenue for the paper yet, but has the potential for some traffic to your company website. If you’re signing a moderately large contract, your salesperson may be happy to throw this in.

While they’re throwing things in for free, ask them whether they’ll put your advertisement together for free. But don’t just take any free ad; if they’re not good, it will cost you more than the savings is worth in lost sales. Ask to see some ads they’ve done for other clients, and let them know that if they set you up with a good design, it could be a deal-maker.

All newspapers have rate sheets that quote specific prices. Get one, because it will help you understand what the salesperson is talking about. But don’t ever accept the quoted price. Rate sheets are a starting point for most papers, and you can generally talk it down or get promises for some of the bonuses mentioned above. Talk to the paper about an in-kind trade if you’re running on a shoestring budget. Smaller papers will often give you a price break or even free
advertising if you can offer them something they can use.

Remember, all but the largest and most powerful newspapers today are hungry for your business. This gives you a position of power. Use it to get the biggest bang for your buck, while still running a quality marketing campaign.

Take a look at other relevant resources from Andrew Long including sell advertising space on my website as well as web revenue and money from my website

[tags]newspaper advertising,sell advertising space on my website,web revenue[/tags]