Newspaper Advertising - Avoid These Common Mistakes
By: Kate Schlentz
Submitted: 2010-05-12 13:17:15 | Word Count: 667
Anyone can compose a successful classified or display newspaper marketing campaign with a small amount training and sound advice. While there is no catch-all technique for crafting successful newspaper advertisements, our archive of marketing advice can be a effective resource to assist you shorten the learning curve. Take advantage of our archive of past advertising tips and compose powerful, winning ads. They propose simple, practical ways to increase your results with most any style of print advertising. When designing your next newspaper ad, be sure to reflect on the following common mistakes:
1) Abstract Headlines… ie “Answers to Your Questions”. Does this headline call you in? Most likely not. What questions are they providing solutions to? Religious? Medical? Interior designing? Readers generally do not read each individual advertisement in its entirety; they have a propensity to scan headlines, if anything. An ambiguous headline that needs further analysis may not grab their attention. That is why it is so important to get to your point right away. Sparking curiosity and witty statements mean nothing if you cannot entice someone to read on, so above all else make sure that you start with your point.
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2) Too much text. On a big piece of newsprint, it is easy for your ad to go unnoticed. When a display ad is all black and white text it can tend to blend in with the rest of the paper. How can your expect consumers to reply to your ad when they don’t even know it is there? Photos work great to draw interest to even small space advertisements. The addition of spot color can also call out to readers. If you are set on using an all text, black and white advertisement (i.e. an advertorial type ad) make sure that the advertisement is large enough to make an impact (usually 1/4pg or bigger).
3) Running too infrequently. A profitable newspaper advertising campaign requires time. Do not expect to run 1 advertisement and receive 1000's of responses (unless you are offering free televisions!) Too many advertisers will run an ad once and get discouraged with the response and resolve that newspaper advertising doesn’t work. Not so fast!! We are not able to say it enough… success is all about repetition, repetition, repetition. In today’s fast-paced, chaotic society, advertisements get ignored two out of 3 times you communicate them. Run ads frequently to make out their true ability.
4) Testing only one advertisement. You ran one ad for a few weeks and had limited responses. You decided newspaper advertising doesn’t work. Don't give up! Minor adjustments in ad copy can deliver huge changes in results. For instance, try altering your headline to something more direct. Try a new photograph. Offer a phone number instead of an email address. Any or several of these tiny adjustments could prove to be just what your ad required to be profitable. Consider every campaign as an opportunity to improve your responses… continue with what works and get rid of what does not.
5) Omitting contact information. A good number of marketers decide what kind of communication works best for them without taking into consideration what works best for customers. Marketers ought to include as much contact information as feasible. That means phone numbers for readers without online access, email addresses and web addresses for the internet savvy, and even a physical address if you are targeting local consumers. This allows people to contact you in a variety of ways, enabling them to select the way that is most fitting for them.
Author Resource:-
US Newspapers is a newspaper advertising agency representing more than 6,000 neighborhood newspapers in the United States. Since their beginning in 1998, US Newspapers has offered clients tremendously valuable classified advertising and display advertising products at highly discounted prices. Their Community Target Program™ makes print advertising simple, at a price that makes sense. For more information, visit www.usnewspapers.com.
