Newspaper reps can estimate the number of impressions your ad received.
Advertising in newspapers is a time-tested method for reaching a wide audience, without spending an enormous chunk of your business advertising budget. With newspapers, you have the option of advertising in specific sections that cater to a particular audience, ensuring that your ad reaches the right eyes. Many newspapers now offer online services as well, so your ad will reach people reading both paper copies, and internet copies of the publication.
Instructions
1. Create the "copy" for your newspaper ad. Ad "copy" is a term used to describe the words and images within the advertisement. Before you can run your ad, you must decide what you want the copy to say. For example, if you're looking for employees to work for you, you'll create an ad that gives a brief description of your business, information about the position, eligibility requirements, and salary specifics. If your ad is meant to inform people about the opening of your new company, you may want to include information about the business, products or services offered, contact information, and possibly a coupon or discount voucher.
2. Contact the newspaper in which you intend to place an ad for your business. Usually, you'll need to contact the ad department to begin the process. The newspaper will assign an account representative to you, to ensure that the ad process runs smoothly.
3. Create an ad account with the newspaper. The account will allow you to quickly submit ads to the paper in the future, as well as identify you to account reps at the paper.
4. Choose the size and color you want for your business ad. Bigger ads, and color ads, cost more money -- so take that into consideration. If you don't need color for your ad, you may want to save money and stick to black and white.
5. Tell your account rep the date you want the ad to run, as well as the section of the paper you want it to appear in. Your newspaper may have discounts for running the ad over an entire weekend, or for consecutive days. Ask about the pricing structures for single, multiple, and grouped days. Specify whether you want the ad to run once, or periodically. The choice of section is important because it displays your ad to a particular audience. If you want to reach a wide audience, you would place your ad in the "A" section of the newspaper. If you have a car business, you might want to run the ad in the automotive section.
6. Request a receipt attached to an advertisement proof from the newspaper. An advertising proof allows you to see the ad before it runs in the paper. The proof is important, because you can examine the material for errors and adjust the ad as necessary.
7. Buy a paper on the day your ad is supposed to run. Ensure that the newspaper ran your ad, and that the ad does not contain any errors.
