Your Comprehensive Guide to Newspaper Advertising

12 min read

Marketing is a constantly changing landscape, making it hard to keep up. With so many marketing channels available, it can be tough for businesses to know which ones to invest their budget into.

These days, digital marketing has become quite dominant, but this doesn’t mean that more traditional mediums aren’t still effective as well. In fact, newspaper advertising is still an incredibly worthwhile investment in many cases.

This is one of the oldest forms of advertising, with the first newspaper ad appearing in 1704. And over 300 years later, it is still a regularly used and effective form of advertising.

Let’s take a look at newspaper advertising and why it may be an excellent addition to many businesses’ marketing strategies.

The Reach of a Newspaper Advertisement

One of the major benefits of a newspaper advertisement is the extensive reach it can have. The prominence of the digital space may make it seem like not many people read the newspaper anymore, but this is far from the truth.

Studies actually show that more than 169 million American adults still read the newspaper, which is nearly 70% of the country’s population. This is a significant audience that could be missed when not investing in a newspaper advertisement.

Newspaper Advertiser Benefits

With this massive level of reach, there are several newspaper advertiser benefits, including the following.

Affordability

Newspaper advertisements tend to be quite affordable when compared to many other marketing methods. They will typically have an advertising rate based on the size and placement of the ad in the paper. Of course, larger ads and more popular sections will typically cost more.

The size and circulation of the paper will play a role as well. For instance, local newspaper advertising will be less expensive than an ad in a nationally circulated paper. These smaller neighborhood or local papers typically don’t have a contract either. You can test out certain areas or placements for a single issue or multiple, depending on your budget.

Scheduling

Since newspapers have regular daily or weekly editions, it is easy to place a timely ad. Companies can promote a new product or service, a sale, and more in the days or weeks leading up to it to gain interest. Newspaper advertising departments can also assist in creating an ad quickly to get it out in time for the next release.

Flexibility

Newspapers offer many options for advertising. Some newspaper advertising examples include half or full pages, inserts, spreads, and more. This offers a high level of flexibility for the type of ad and reach a business is trying to achieve. An ad can also be run once or for several days or weeks, depending on the goal.

Reader trust

The longevity and consistency of newspaper publications make them a publicly trusted medium. This adds a significant level of credibility to any advertisements seen within the paper. Newspapers have already done the footwork to build a trusting relationship with their readers, and ads in the paper benefit from that trust.

Loyal and engaged readers

Most people who pay for newspaper subscriptions are dedicated readers. They look forward to the paper each week and read through all of their favorite sections. This means that you know your ad will get exposure to at least some portion of readers. Some people even search through the paper for the specific deals or coupons going on at the time. This also means they will be more likely to take action on those deals or ads.

Targeted reach

Many areas have their own local or regional newspaper that circulates and offers targeted reach. If a business is trying to bring in foot traffic from a particular area, that area’s newspaper can help reach that audience.

How Effective is Newspaper Advertising?

Of course, before jumping right to newspaper advertising, it helps to know the numbers.

marketing shera research on trust to different types of advertising channels

According to MarketingSherpa research, 82% of consumers trust print ads over any other type of ad, compared to 62% for search engine ads and 25% for online pop-up ads. The frequent bombardment of ads online can make it difficult to know which ones to trust or click on.

Meanwhile, with print, many publications have been running for decades, and this establishment can bring a level of trust and reliability. Furthermore, consumers cannot choose which ads they are exposed to online. Any website they visit could have various products and services thrown at them.

Tips for Newspaper Advertising Success

Before jumping right into taking out a newspaper ad, here are some tips to improve effectiveness.

Keep it brief: People only have so much time when they are reading through the newspaper. They are there for the stories and news, not the ads. This means the ad needs to convey its message quickly and effectively. Smaller ads should keep the copy to a few sentences and use active verbs to catch attention. Larger ads should be divided into subheadings or bullet points to make for an easy read. This allows consumers to see and understand the key points quickly. The advertising department of the paper can likely help with effective ad formatting as well.
Use print and digital: Newspapers these days typically have a print and digital version. According to research, 51% of newspaper audiences read the print version, and the other half read it on a mobile device or a combination of the two. Businesses should advertise in both places and format the ad for each side to catch the attention of the whole user base.
Consider starting small: If a large audience newspaper is too much for the budget, you can always start with weekly neighborhood publications. You could even place an ad in a few smaller publications rather than jumping to a regional or national paper. These smaller newspapers often have reasonable advertising rates, allowing you to test the waters before going bigger.
Choose a specific time of year: You don’t have to advertise in the newspaper at random times or throughout the year. Many papers have special sections that are only included during certain times of the year, such as home improvement in the warmer months or holiday promotions. These could be a great place to start and bring in some customers during your busy seasons.
Call to action: One of the most important parts of an ad is a call to action. This is a brief bit of copy, often at the end of an ad, that communicates what the reader should do after seeing the ad. This could include saying to head to the store for a discount, use a coupon by a certain date, etc.
Contact details: Every newspaper ad should include contact details so that customers know how to reach the business. This can include a phone number, website, email, or even a physical address. This makes it easier for the reader to take action after reading the ad. If they have to do the research or footwork themselves to figure out how to reach the business, they will be less likely to respond.
Include a promotion: To help inspire a response to the ad, you can include a promotion. At the bottom, include a discount code for online or tell them to mention the ad in the store. This incentivizes the customer to take action rather than reading and forgetting about it. You could put a deadline on the discount, but make it long enough for customers to have the time and budget for it. 2-3 weeks is often a good rule of thumb, but it could be longer if you plan on running the ad multiple times.
Measure performance: A disadvantage of newspaper advertising is that it is harder to track than purely digital campaigns. Ensure to identify and set up key performance indicator (KPI) metrics to measure the ad’s success, such as leads generated from the ad. This can be done by asking new customers how they learned about the business, tracking link clicks from digital ads, and more. The point above about including a promotion can help here, as anyone who comes in with the coupon or mentions the ad can be noted.

Newspaper Advertising is Another Tool in the Arsenal

Digital campaigns will continue to be effective in today’s market, but this does not mean that offline platforms should be cast aside. Newspaper advertising is not a replacement for online marketing, but it can be an excellent addition to any multi-pronged approach.

This method can be especially beneficial during your peak seasons, as they can get the word out about special promotions or deals that you have going.

Launch Your Ecommerce Store Today

If you’re going to advertise in a newspaper you will need a special place to send readers to. It should be safe, accessible and comprehensive about your offers. Your website or an online store is the best option.

If you are looking to launch an ecommerce store, Ecwid can help. Our selling platform is easily integrated with various online platforms, such as Instagram, Google, Pinterest, your own website, and more. This makes it easy to see all of your stores from a single dashboard.

Head over to our website to get started for free today. We look forward to helping you start or expand your e-commerce business.

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Aug 25, 2023

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.