Press advertising

Advertising in the press is an affordable and effective marketing tool for small businesses. Newspaper and magazine advertising offers a targeted way of spreading the word about your business to large numbers of people. 

There are thousands of different publications with advertising space. These include national daily newspapers and Sunday papers, regional dailies and weekly papers, free and paid-for local papers, general interest magazines, special interest magazines, trade, technical and professional magazines and in-house magazines. Many areas also have local lifestyle publications that are delivered free to targeted postcodes. 

The advantages of advertising in newspapers and magazines 

Rumours of the death of the printed word have been exaggerated. People still read newspapers and magazines. They buy them on news-stands, they subscribe to them and they welcome their arrival on the doormat. 

Magazine ads allow you to reach a targeted audience. Special interest and trade titles have specialist readerships. Ads in your local newspapers offer the chance to reach large numbers of people in your area. 

Press advertising is flexible and highly responsive. Producing and placing an advert can be done relatively quickly and you can expect a response soon after publication. Printed advertisements can attract attention and convey a lot of information. Readers spend time reading their favourite publications and often keep copies for reference. 

Even if your advertising budget is tight, it can go a long way. Advertising costs can be relatively inexpensive. And with a fast production turnaround, there's scope to try different approaches and find out what works. 

Choosing which publications to advertise in 

Media planning is a science, not an art. You should avoid publications whose readership data is not audited. You need to look beyond the top-line circulation figures and study the data in depth. The BRAD directory is an excellent source of data on publications. 

Get the media packs of all the publications you are considering. Check out the quality and relevance of the editorial content in those titles. See where your competitors are advertising. Ask your customers which publications they read regularly. 

Now look at the data. Newspaper and magazine circulation figures are not the same as readership figures. Free papers, for instance, are widely distributed, but are frequently discarded unread. Meanwhile, copies of well-respected paid-for publications can be read by more than one person. 

Getting a good deal when booking media space 

Strong negotiation with advertising sales people on newspapers and magazines will make your press advertising budget stretch further. Printed advertising rates are not set in stone. 

Expect to pay below the rate card. If you're a new advertiser, make sure you get a reasonable discount to test response. Once you've paid a relatively low price, it will be easier to negotiate favourable deals in the future. You can expect sizeable discounts for booking a series of ads. Hold your nerve and book close to the final print deadline to get the best deal. 

However, do not select a publication based purely on rates. Choose the best title for your needs and then try to get the best deal you can. 

The position of the ad is critical to its success. The best possible place for an advert is on a right-hand page, near the top. Ads next to editorial get more exposure. Other prime positions are any early right-hand page, especially next to news pages, as well as back and inside covers of magazines. These positions cost more but deliver a higher response.

Measuring response to press advertisements 

You need to gather your own intelligence about response rates. Make each of your advertisements unique, with special telephone hotlines, tailor-made email addresses, response coupons or reference numbers. Use these devices to track which advert is producing the most response. Assess the quality of the responses. How many enquiries lead to sales?