Newspaper Advertising for Your Small Business
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill
Your Local Daily Paper - Still a Great Resource for Your Small Business
While the Internet is so often assumed to be the medium of choice when it comes to marketing your small business, don't forget your local daily newspaper. Not only do most newspapers now have an online option, they also offer something those other sites can't - a loyal following of folks who count on it, trust it and log on regularly for the daily news, sports and features. These folks see your small business advertising message when they're intent was to peruse local, regional and national news. What search engine or national site can say the same?
The Ins and Outs of Small Business Newspaper Advertising
The key to getting the best bang for your small business advertising buck is twofold: first, you need to know what you're talking about; second, you need to ask for an advertising sales rep that is familiar with your type of experience, has plenty of advertising experience and will be your one and only contact. This way she or he will become familiar with your advertising needs and your budget, saving you time and money.
A Jargon Lesson for Your Small Business Advertising
There are two types of newspaper styles: tabloid and broadsheet. Folks hear tabloid and they think sleaze - National Enquirer, Star. But that's not generally the case. Those publications are called tabloid because of their fold and size - they are approximately 5 or 6 column inches wide by 13 inches deep, with a left seam and open at the right. Broadsheet, on the other hand, is the size you typically see for your local newspaper. 13 x 21, with a middle fold.
When it comes to buying advertising you need to know some basic terminology. The first question you ask any newspaper is circulation. When papers quote circulation they are talking about paid delivery - the number of papers that have been paid for, either through subscription and delivery or through paid purchase at newsstands and racks. Free papers don't have circulation - they have distribution.
There's a terminology that newspapers may offer and while it sounds the same it isn't - they may talk about readership. We have 250, 000 readers the sales rep may say. That is not circulation. Papers use a standard conversion ratio when comparing readership to circulation. It may vary somewhat but is approximately 2.5 readers for every circulated paper. What does this mean? Well, think about a newspaper delivered to your doorstep. Are you the only reader?
Or does your spouse take the sports section while you read the local news, while your mother-in-law does the crossword puzzle and your kids read the comics. See what I mean? Newspapers have found that for every newspaper delivered or purchased from a rack approximately 2.5 people read it. But you want to know what the circulation is. If someone gives you readership you need to divide that figure by 2.5 - that's the circulation.
Circulation is the important factor in your small business advertising decision.
Penetration figures are important as well for your small business advertising decision. What this means is the percentage of folks in a given area that are reached by the publication. If, for instance, a city has 400, 000 residents and the paper is delivered to 200, 000 city subscribers the penetration figure is 50 percent.
When it comes to paying for your small business advertising you need to ask for the bargains - the contract rates. Oh no, not a contract you say. But honestly it's not scary at all. This is how it works:
Newspapers have what they refer to as the open rate - that's the rate everyone pays if they don't sign a contract. Don't pay the open rate if you can avoid it. It can be as much as 70 percent more than some contracts.
To offer you a contract newspapers will ask that you commit to either running a certain minimum number of lines or inches each and every day for a commitment period (3, 6 or 12 months) or that you just commit to running a total number of inches however and whenever you wish as long as they're completed within the given time period. usually a year.
What's great about these contracts is that should you not fulfill your only penalty is that you end up paying the same rate you would have paid had you not signed the contract. Sign the small business contract - you'll find it well worth your while.
