10 Steps To Profitable Print Advertising

Follow these guidelines for picking your best day to advertise: Avoid the clutter days, when your ad will get lost in the shuffle. Wednesday is traditionally "food store day"; Friday is usually crowded with entertainment ads.

Thursday is the traditional "retail day," a good day to catch shoppers getting ready for weekend spending. Sunday is good because people take more time for a leisurely read of the paper and the ads.

Also consider advertising on days of the week your business is heaviest, payroll days of important local businesses, and just before holidays and local events, such as school proms or reunions, that might put consumers in the market for tanning services.

Experts say frequency is one of the most important elements of successful advertising. "Frequency" means the number of times your target audience has an opportunity to see your advertising message.

Experts agree that the average person sees 2,700 advertising messages a day, and they won’t make a decision based on one or two ads. However, most small businesses run an ad for two months and give up because nothing happens.

Generally, it will take three or four months of consistent advertising before you’ll see a significant change in sales. Why? Nine out of 10 people who see your ad this week might not be interested in buying tanning services this week. You’ll get that one customer in 10 with a good ad, but you need to advertise frequently enough so that when the other nine are in the market for your services, they think of you first.

You have to get a `share of mind’ and that will lead to a larger `share of market’. Advertise a minimum of once weekly to make an impact. The good news? Size is not nearly as important as frequency. Unless you want to announce a grand opening or other major event, you never have to buy a full-page ad. Run lots of quarter-page or smaller ads and you’ll make an impact without blowing your budget.

Since your ads will be small, page position is very important. When buying newspaper space you can either request "ROP" (run of the paper) or "preferred position." ROP means the newspaper places your ad wherever it fits; preferred position means you choose a specific section, page or even location on a page.

Again, the experts are unanimous: ask for a preferred position. Some papers charge a little extra; however, these rates are often negotiable, especially if you are a new account. Many papers will honor your request at no additional cost.