Where and how to advertise

Deciding where and how to advertise can be tricky but for a start there is a very simple little rhyme which should help you with this:

What will be read can be dictated
By where your reader is located

In other words you if you are going to advertise you need to do this in places your target audience will see.

So first of all does the publication you are considering actually reach your potential client base? Ask the Editor what the circulation and where it gets distributed.

Then consider: if this were to come through my door would I read it? Does it look inviting, informative, interesting? If not you may find that its circulation is great but its readership is very low indeed.

You see many of your peers are in it. Do not simply think “me too” - they may not have been as diligent as you are being about getting value for money and may in fact only be the publication because their competitors were in there…

Why not ring up one or two of the advertisers, tell them you are considering taking space and ask if they have had much business from it? Try to choose services that are likely to aim at the same type of people as you.

I am afraid placing one ad once is unlikely to get you in much business, it is important to place perhaps three consecutive ads. These should all look and feel the same but have slightly different marketing messages as you will not know which of those messages is most likely to best resonate.

Like many marketing activities this is about monitoring and measuring

Do ask to advertise on the right hand side of the publication, research has shown that readers tend to concentrate on that side and the conversion rate is therefore higher. Now that I have mentioned this fact you will probably find yourself doing just that!

If there is a peak time for you to advertise – perhaps at Christmas – make sure you book your advertising slot a long time in advance otherwise you may find there is no availability. This is particularly true of Parish Magazines - many of whom will put you on a waiting list rather than add pages.

The final piece to consider? How many purchases from the ad would you need to justify the cost of advertising in the first place? Sometimes this is about long term loyalty and lifetime spend rather than one off purchase so do take this all into consideration. This may also mean you choosing to place a slightly bigger ad than you initially considered.

Does anyone else have any advice they would like to share?






Photo via Flickr.com thanks to Miss Rains