While there may be inhibitions for new businesses to advertise in newspapers, there really is a great case to be made for lead generation with Newspaper Advertising on ink and paper. The myth is that newspaper readership has been declining over the past decade but the truth is far more complex than that. It?s true that the internet has taken over the majority of the news being delivered to people around the world but a large percentage of the global population still reads newspapers. According to Nielsen Research, 70% of the people still read newspapers.
More than that, there are a lot of people who still look at the daily newspapers as their source for local news and as the best way to get in touch with their surroundings. For international news and events, they may turn toward the television or look to their phones. However, for the happenings of the town or the city, they still prefer to pick up their most beloved rag and give it a quick skim through.
Monetary Advantage
There is also a great monetary advantage to putting up an advertisement in a newspaper. It?s perhaps the greatest of the lead generation with Newspaper Advertising For instance, an advertisement in a local paper can get you readership of hundreds of thousands of people for about half a cent per person. That?s something which can?t be guaranteed for an online ad which matches keywords with random queries.
There are plenty of effective strategies when it comes to advertising on Newspapers but to effectively advertise over this platform, you need to adhere to a few rules.
Newspaper advertisement often appears very costly (as the cost of a single advertisement can be in hundreds of dollars) but once you consider the number of actual leads generated, its significantly low per lead.
What?s the Key to Newspaper Advertisement
Many prefer to advertise to predominantly metropolitan newspapers because it may be a cheaper and more effective thing to do. However, community papers which are more expensive per customer tend to be more effective because of the small set of people they cater to and who pay for the subscription.
Where in the Newspaper should you advertise?
The first quarter of the newspaper is the part that people most usually read. That is the best spot for your advertisement. Also, the right-hand side of the newspaper is where the gaze naturally falls so that?s the spot where the advertisement should be positioned. You will have to pay extra for this, but it?s worth it.
Also, note here, we are referring to the advertisements in the main section of the newspaper and not to the classified or small advertisement section.
Also, the newspaper advertisement serves well for the businesses those serve locally. For the global SAAS businesses of our kind this may not be a good option as there is no cost effective option to advertise in all worldwide newspapers.
Should you run a single ad or a campaign?
keep in mind that you will not see immediate returns because, generally, you may have to repeatedly advertise in order to get the attention of the readers. If you put a single advertisement only once and then expect hundreds of new leads generated then. that?s not going to happen. However, within the first 6-8 weeks of the campaign, you will begin to see results. For this, you should advertise in the newspaper of a specific day or two of the week for the first few weeks. Many people will initially see the advertisement, however as it becomes regular, the response will grow.
The cost
The cost of such a small advertisement (in the Main section) often exceeds a few hundred dollars and can go as high as five thousand dollars. The pricing will largely depend on the leadership of the newspaper, and the size of the insert.
Obviously, for some, this is going to be difficult to digest as the cost figures are high. In that case, you can look for a suitably priced advertising option and also fix the appropriate size.
Sales Process
Before beginning the ad design process you will have to decide whether your product or service will be sold through the paper or just advertised. If you?re selling the product right off the page, you will have to put in a coupon or a ticket that you can ask your users to cut out.
The first strategy is best employed for a simple product which is inexpensive and doesn?t require much persuasion on the part of the seller. Usually restaurants, food chains, and coffee shops will employ this strategy.
If you?re using a two-step sales process which requires the user to call or message in so that they can avail your services, you will have to adopt a different strategy altogether.
The two-step campaign for the latter requires that you sell the product through an ad with an information package. This can include a report or sample highlighting the best parts of the product and incentives to buy it. In addition to that, a way for the users to respond to your advertisement must be added. It can be anything from an email address or a phone number to a social media handle.
You can then follow up respondents and present the product through a direct email, over the telephone or through a face-to-face presentation.
Offers
If the offer isn?t perceived as valuable or worth their time, the audience will only generate a lukewarm response. Hence, you have to make the offer as valuable and exciting as you can. The two-step campaign is the best way to do that. The actual product or service isn?t that important here, it?s the offer.
For example, if you?re selling detergent or toothpaste, you will have to reel in customers with exciting offers like discounts and deals for multiple units instead of trying to woo them with the advantages of your products over trusted brands. That strategy simply won?t work because established trust in a universal brand isn?t broken or bent overnight.
Ad Design
This is one area where you need to get truly creative. Conventional wisdom may not work easily here; you need to really look at your target market and what they?re pining for in order to gauge their interest. Clever headlines, a lot of white space, and emotional bullet points can sell discounted sachets, but they won?t sell bigger products and services which require actual investment from the customer.
In many cases, editorial-style ads will outperform traditional display ads many times over. This can be attributed to the basic principle of salesmanship ? the more that you tell, the more you can sell! Therefore, the headline should show clear promise in bold and no-nonsense language.
You can get an online consultant on Fiverr or upwork to design an advertisement artwork for you.
Newspaper advertisement work better for the B2C market
In general, it is experienced that these advertisements work better for B2C, market than for B2B, for the simple reason that the reach of the newspaper is primarily to the customers. However, that should not deter you from advertising B2B products, as ultimately the readers are also part of some organization in their working life.
However, you may be better off avoiding very specific market segments and very specialized services for newspaper advertising.
Summary
Newspaper advertising, while costly can get your product or services in front of many potential customers. This is one of the best B2C marketing channels. Explore it today for increasing your sales.