Where Should You Advertise?
There are hundreds of places you could advertise. Obvious ones include newspapers and magazines but you should consider all the options. Some will be huge like the sides of a building - the largest advert I've seen in recent years was on the side of Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, no one traveling on the M6 could miss it; others might be small - there is still a place for a calendar or good quality pen printed with your contact details.
The following are some of the more usual places you might consider advertising.
Publications
There are a number of things to consider when thinking about advertising in newspapers, magazines and directories: -
Advertising Secret Number Eight
Page & Position
Our natural inclination is to look at the top right hand page when opening and reading a paper or magazine. Testing & Measuring has shown that the response rate to adverts on left hand pages, especially bottom left hand pages, is much lower than the same advert on a right hand page - especially a top right hand page. This is why you should never advertise on a left hand page. There is one exception here - it is OK to advertise on a left hand page if you pay a really low rate and get a better ROI.
The problem with buying advertising in a paper or magazine is that a lot of it is sold as "run of paper". That means that the publishers decide where your advert goes. Agencies fight for right hand pages and you will probably be left with what remains - usually a left hand page.
Early pages have the highest readership. People generally lose interest after page 8-12. The news is at the front of the paper and an advert on page 57 will be seen by far fewer people unless they are specifically looking in this part of the paper. So an advert on page 57 is worth a lot less as it will generally give a lower ROI. The exceptions to this rule are the classified pages where a totally different pricing strategy is used. If you are trying to sell a car then it makes sense to advertise it in the classifieds section where people will be looking for this type of advert. An advert selling spa pools is unlikely to sell in the car section so think carefully about where you want your advert to appear.
Another issue to think seriously about is that of buying specific spots like the back page or inside front cover of a magazine. Sales people will tell you it is worth more but where is the evidence that it will sell more product or create more leads. What you need is evidence. Ask them to show you some verified figures that prove that the position they are trying to sell you is worth more. I'll bet they will tell you how one of their customers swears by this page - but will not be able to provide proof of how many more sales/leads the page gives.
My strategy with advertising sales staff is to offer the same money as a "run of paper" advert and offer them a commission if we get a better response. This works occasionally - but usually they turn it down.
It is sometimes possible to get a prime spot and pay nothing at all. I'll tell you how to do that later.
Advertising Secret Number Nine
Check the circulation figures
How do you know how many people read the publication you are considering advertising in?
There are verified audits made of circulation figures. The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures provide a good guide to help you judge which paper you might advertise in. Don't be mislead by figures that sales people give you like the number of readers as these are usually estimates based on an in house survey of how many people read each copy - and are not very accurate!
Just because they have a good circulation doesn't mean a paper is ideal for you. Think about it; would you sell fishing tackle in a fashion magazine? You need to understand the profile of the reader as well as the total numbers.
Another tip is that ads in "paid for" publications generally give a better response than the free publications.
Some more about ABC - This provides an independent verification of circulation data to facilitate the buying and selling of advertising space within national newspapers. ABC has now developed into a bigger organisation and provides verification of data for a wide range of titles, exhibitions listings and databases, as well as online/electronic media.
Advertising Secret Number Ten
Price
ALWAYS negotiate; never pay the list price or first price offered.
It is helpful if you can find out when deadlines are for:
- Month end - the sales staff have targets to meet and want their commission. They will give better deals so ensure you know when their month ends - sometimes it is the 15th of the month.
Written by Stefan Drew of Stefan Drew Associates.
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