h1>Newspaper Advertising Tips From America's Top Ad DesignerAuthor: Phil Autelitano

I get a ton of email asking about newspaper advertising. First and foremost, people want to know if the growth and popularity of the Internet and other forms of “new” media have rendered newspapers obsolete as an effective advertising medium. And to that I say, no way! Newspapers are alive and well, and as effective as ever! If they weren’t, advertisers (of all shapes and sizes) wouldn’t continue to throw billions of dollars at them every year! Newspapers – local and national – will always be there. They’re not going anywhere, no matter how big the Internet gets or how many forms of “new media” are introduced. They’ve stood the test of time – through radio, TV and the Internet -- and they’ll always be a great place to advertise, provided your target market is within the newspaper’s demographic.

Next, people are always asking for advice on newspaper advertising. They want to know the best newspapers to advertise in, the best times to advertise, the best size ads to use, what colors work best, what to say, how to say it, etc. For those people, I’ve put together this list of my best newspaper advertising “secrets.” (Fourteen to be exact.)

Of course, these aren’t really “secrets” – this advice has been around for years. Unlike the Internet and other forms of “new media” which seem to change every day (creating a constant need for bigger and better marketing strategies), newspaper advertising hasn’t changed much in the past 25 years, meaning the tips and techniques that follow have proven themselves to work over and over again. Time-tested and proven – the best kind of advice!

Here we go:

Tip #1: Consistency is key in newspaper advertising. Whether you’re interested in community, local or national newspaper advertising, always think in terms of using it consistently no less than once a week.

Tip #2: Certain days work better than others for certain types of advertising. Generally, the best day to run a newspaper ad is Sunday. That’s when most people spend the most time reading the paper. Let’s take a look at the other days:

• Monday is good if your audience is primarily men all weekend sports are usually summarized on Monday.
  
• Tuesday and Sunday are great days for classified ads, especially financial or business related classified ads.
  
• Wednesday and Thursday are good days if those are the food or health days in your paper, and yours is a food or health related offering.
  
• Friday is a good day if your business picks up on the weekends restaurants, bars, nightclubs, some retailers, concert venues, farmer’s markets.
  
• Saturday is good because fewer advertisers use the Saturday edition, thinking it’s a bad day for readership. This means less competition for your prospects attention and money
  
  

Tip #3: Positioning your ad. To gain maximum exposure, request that your ad run in the main news section of the paper, as far forward as possible. Traditionally, you were told to always ask for a right-hand page, but recent studies have shown it doesn’t really make a difference. Half the people read the newspaper front to back, the other half, back to front. You should, however, request that your ad be positioned above the fold.

Tip #4: Dominating a page, without paying for it. To dominate a page in the newspaper, which is usually 8 columns wide by twenty-two inches high, design an ad that is five columns wide and twelve or more inches high. This is proven to have the same affect as a full-page ad, at a much lower cost.

Tip #5: Use color. You should also inquire about adding one color. The use of just one color, any color, can dramatically increase your “net exposure” (what I call the number of people who actually read your ad) and nearly double your response rate.

Tip #6: Whatever you do, don t let the newspaper people design your ad for you. Have your ad professionally designed, otherwise it will look like every other ad in the paper. (I once worked in a newspaper ad department, believe me, I know!) Be sure the designer has experience in newspaper ads, too. You want your ad to reproduce properly, which means it may need a certain line-screen. Also, stay away from reverse-type white type against a black background. Keep your type clear; your headline bold.

Tip #7: Make your ad newsworthy. People read newspapers to get the news, so try to make your ad as newsworthy as possible. If your ad is small, give it a distinctive border so it creates a visual identity for your ads.

Tip #8: You’re paying for that space – use it! Be sure to give your prospects enough information to buy what you’re selling. And don’t fall into the trap of revering white space because it looks good. You’re paying for every square inch of that ad – use it. Your ads should win sales, not design awards.

Tip #9: Test, test, test! If you’re just getting started in newspaper advertising, don’t settle on just one newspaper. Test your ad in the various newspapers available to your market to figure out which one works best. Once you’ve figured out which newspapers are read (the most) by your prospects, stick with them.

Tip #10: Don’t expect it to work overnight. CARDINAL RULE: Don’t expect newspaper advertising to work instantly! (This takes us back to Tip #1: Consistency is key.) Unless you make a time-sensitive offer such as a free gift for stopping by before a certain date, or offer a discount coupon with an expiration date, don’t expect a stampede of customers through your door the day you run your ad. It won’t happen. Never does.

Tip #11: Use “tracking devices” to measure ad performance. A “tracking device” is any element you can include in your advertising that makes it easier to measure that ad’s effectiveness. Adding a number code or color code to your coupons is a good example of a “tracking device.” This will make them easier to track if you’re using more than one newspaper or advertising on different days. You want to know which coupons came from where, when, and how many. That way, you’ll know which newspapers work the best for you, and on which days, and even which headlines work best for those papers on those days. Get it?

Tip #12: The “big” newspapers aren’t as expensive as you think. If you’re not happy with your local newspaper, or you’d like to hit a larger audience than just your town, look into advertising in the regional editions of USA Today, The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, if your prospects read them. These regional editions, while more expensive to advertise in that your local newspaper, are much less expensive to advertise in than the national editions. (If you’re a local or regional business, you should NEVER advertise in the national edition. I don’t care what the ad rep tells you, don’t waste your money.)

Tip #13: The first thing people will see in your ad is your headline. This should entice the reader into wanting to learn more. I always INSIST that a headline make a meaningful or fascinating statement of benefit – or an outright offer – to the reader. For instance, “Get Your Tax Refund Today!” or “Professional Tax Preparation Only $10” are much better headlines than “Bob Jones Tax Service.” That’s pretty obvious, I know, but I can’t tell you how many people put the name of their business or product or service or worse yet, some totally worthless copy, in place of a headline and then hide the meaningful, fascinating stuff in the copy. It’s the biggest mistake in advertising! Put your main benefit or offer in the headline (and/or subheading) so even those who don’t read the entire ad will get the main point.

Tip #14: Next, people will see the visual, any subheadings, and then your name. Adding a visual can TRIPLE the “net exposure” of your ad. More people will notice it if it has a photo or image, which means more, in turn, will RESPOND to it. A photo of yourself will add instant credibility. A product image is better than a logo. Even better is an image of your product or service being used. Let people see it in action. Let them see how good it looks, how good it fits or how good it works. Let them see the smile on the face of a person using it.

Even in this super-high-tech day and age, any businesses still rely on newspaper advertising as their primary marketing tool. The key to success with it is to know the “tricks of the trade” I just revealed to you and to stick with it long enough for it to work its magic. (Read: Consistency is key.) The advertising graveyard is full of failed businesses that gave up on newspaper advertising before it had a chance to prove it’s effectiveness. If you’ve made up your mind to do it, whatever you do, DO IT, and don’t give up on it until it works. It will!

About the Author:

Phil Autelitano is a professional ad designer and marketing consultant with over 15 years' experience. He has been called "America's Best Ad Designer" and "The Greatest Ad Man You've Never Heard Of." He is President of Action Ad Services, an ad design agency specializing in newspaper, magazine and web ads, offering nationwide service, 24/7. Visit: www.ActionAdServices.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Newspaper Advertising Tips From America's Top Ad Designer

Advertising in Newspapers

Author: Simon Fusco

Advertising in Newspapers

Newspaper advertisements are as old as advertisement itself. Although, it’s an age-old method of advertisement, it still receives the same response and is highly successful. Both small and large businesses still choose this method to promote their products and services. Ask them and nearly hundred percent advertisers would select newspapers as their primary advertise medium.

In spite of registered decline in newspaper circulation numbers and advertisements featured in a newspaper, they are read by millions of people at their breakfast table. The rate of increase in price to place advertisements in newspapers is climbing rapidly when compared to radio, television and billboards. The main aim should be to get the desired attention from the advertisement and out do the competitor. Various factors should be considered and measures should be taken to ensure success, while keeping the cost low.

Many advertisers, who advertise through newspapers, design their own advertisements without any prior training. This has lead to the rise of larger number of retailers who think that making an ad by them is the only way to get it right. This approach saves a lot of money and is good for small businesses, only if they reach to correct customers. The one time cost of placing a small advertisement is $150, so the measures should be taken to place them effectively. It isn’t necessary to have a full-page advertisement posted in the newspaper. If smartly designed, even half page advertisement can do wonders; the money saved can be used to advertise concurrently in other mediums like radio, websites, etc.

Using colorful font can multiply the cost to many times and is not worth the return. If the budget is low and the matter is confident enough, black font will be fine. Regular readers read the newspapers daily; therefore, there is no sense in placing the same ad in the same paper everyday. The advertisement can be placed in different papers everyday. The frequency can be three times a week for a particular newspaper. But there is an increase in the number of readers on weekends, so more money can be invested on placing advertisement in the weekend edition. Don’t be disappointed if all the advertisement space is sold on weekend. Insert fliers in between the pages of the newspaper.

As many advertisers will be posting their ads on weekends in the local newspaper and the chances of your ad getting lost in the muddle, the conventions can be twisted a little to beat the competition. Place an offer coupon in the mid-week editorial and pay the local station to advertise and talk about the offer on their famous program. Ask them to specifically mention about the coupon placed in the newspaper. Out of the daily readers, only few of them go through the entire newspapers. Most of them view the first and last page. So instead of posting an ad thrice weekly in the middle pages, invest on placing the ad on the first or last page of the newspaper, once a week. Majority of the newspapers don’t give competitive protection, that is, an advertisement of a firm can be placed next to the advertisement of its competitor. Specify about this condition to the sales person and take the guarantee from them.

There is a decrease in the number of local newspapers every year. In United States, only about a thousand newspapers function on a daily basis. Local people are now relying on weekly papers or newspapers with the local section. Sometimes only one publisher controls many of the local newspapers. Newspapers for all the localities are printed at one place with only the front page being changed. When advertising in such publications, care should be taken on recognizing the audience that is being reached. All the effort and money is wasted if the wrong customer is reached and the result can go in loss. Mixing different medias instead one for advertising is a smart approach. One can take care of the shortcomings of the other and work in tandem to make the overall advertising campaign a huge success.

About the Author:

Simon Fusco
Marketer and Publisher
http://www.newebaywealth.com
http://theebaysuccesspack.blogspot.com
http://ebayvideorevealed.blogspot.com
http://www.worldsummitinternet.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Advertising in Newspapers

Newspaper Advertising Costs - What You-Should-Know Guide!

Author: Nick P. Bentley

Newspaper advertising expense have obviously, like everything else, ranged, changed, and cycled from high to reasonable to absurd again. And with the latest realities for paper news the commensurate newspaper advertising costs might seem daunting: newspaper circulation has declined over the last half year, those involved speculating that readers are leaning toward online news sources and "other media outlets" (LBN and Michael Levine, star reporter).

But while, according to the above sources, such circulation rates have fallen for top newspapers like USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and THE NEW YORK TIMES, the form of advertising is still a leading form for branding and identity and exposure...so newspaper advertising costs, whether they rise or not in response to the circulation woes, should be accountably proactive in one's advertising endeavors.

Keep in mind that newspaper advertising costs are adjusted for cost of living, inflation, and subscription sales (circulation).

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and writer Elise Burroughs, newspaper productivity has also fallen. Or it had, between 1987 and 1997. Commensurate with these stats is the information also put forth by BLS and Burroughs that newspaper advertising costs, or the "newspapers' share of total ad dollars dropped from 26.8 percent in 1987 to 21.8 percent in 1998." This might or might not be some consolation. Most likely, it will negatively impact, as, for example, one index maintained by VP and director of forecasting Robert Coen reveals that advertising costs for national advertisers spiked by 6.8 percent in 1998, for instance, but for other years reveals much "slower increases."

But newspaper advertising costs, while reflecting the dips in doing and driving/selling, still might be justifiable expenditures for those in the market for making themselves known, reputed, or even household names. If small businesses, for instance, who usually do not profit but lose from news ads, follow some professional and experienced advice, that is. For example, at http://businesstown.com, they recommend the following:

Use a big product ad rather than a series of small recurring ads.

Use punchy (and therefore engaging) headlines and captions.

Use sharp and snappy photos/images.

Include sell copy and location information for the potential buyers.

Run service ads in the appropriate papers and sections-where your potential buyers will be likely to look.

And while the punchy headline is not as necessary to the service ad, clear and motivating information message is.

And, the sources remind, (despite newspaper advertising costs that might work against this) readers expect sales, deals, and specials in ads, so try to trump up a discounted deal, a coupon, or a an "I saw the ad" referral comment discount for the readers who are your potential customers.

About the Author:
Nick P. Bentley provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for advertising, marketing as well as other related information.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Newspaper Advertising Costs - What You-Should-Know Guide!