Advertising in the paper works for many people inbusiness. The astute merchant understands thenewspaper's weaknesses and works to avoid themwhenever possible.

Here are 13 facts you should know.

1 Despite declining circulation figures andincreasing ad rates, newspapers still reach largeaudiences, daily.

2 Newspapers are considered the PRIMARYadvertising medium by 99.4% of all retailers.Newspapers have been there in every step of thetypical store owner's life from the verybeginning. Newspapers covered his birth, his highschool graduation, his engagement, his marriage,the death of his parents and everything else.

3 Many, if not most, retailers, lay out their ownads. It is said that over the years, merchantshave come to believe the only way to get it rightis to do it themselves. This thinking has givenrise to the new breed of newspaper salesperson. Notraining, just a list of customers and the dailyquestion "Gotchyur ad ready yet?"

4 There is no proof full page or double-truck adsare more effective than half page ads. The savingscan be spent on a concurrent radio campaign orbillboards.

5 The same with color. It looks great, but theincreased cost many times does not justify thesmall increase in readership. Forget the color andgo with more frequency.

6 The paper is delivered daily, but there is noneed for an ad every day as the paper reaches thesame readers. 3 times a week works just fine.Spend the difference in the shopper or on asupporting radio campaign.

7 Newspaper coupons will have a better rate ofredemption with a radio chaser. Especially if thecoupons are NOT in a Sunday paper competing with85% of all coupons weekly. Think about a couponson Tuesday with supporting radio to drive themto it.

8 Less than half of newspaper readers read theentire paper. Most are skimmers. How many timesthrough the paper does it take for you to findyour own ad?

9 Over half of every newspaper is advertising.Almost as bad as TV where commercial breaks nowlast more than three and a half minutes. Morethan two-thirds of the huge and heavy Sundaybrick is advertising and stuffers and lap cards(those pesky little cards that fall out when youpick it up).

10 Newspaper rates are climbing faster than anyother advertising media. The smallest of ads inthe smallest papers can cost over $100. One time,one shot and POW!, its at the bottom of the birdcage or spread out for an indoor dog's emergency.

11 Newsstand and subscriptions prices are rising,too. 75 cents an issue is rapidly losing to 4quarters.

12 Most papers offer no competitive protection.Your ad can be placed side-by-side with yourcompetition. Get the salesperson to guaranteeyou separation.

13 Daily newspaper numbers are dwindling. Thereare less than 1000 daily papers left in the US.Smaller communities must rely on weeklies orpapers from another area with a "local" section.In some markets one publisher controls severalsmall town papers, printing them at a centrallocation, changing only the front page for eachcommunity.

Newspapers are still a formidable advertisingforce. Find ways to continue to use the paper toincrease store traffic, but do it with otheradvertising too, so the media mix is efficient.Don't let anyone tell you NOT to advertise in thepaper. Just do it better.

For more about advertising, get my article"Do Your Radio Ads Work?"MailTo:RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved. BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and SmallBusiness Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

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