Print Advertising – The Lost Art
Today, the internet has gained so much ground that many businesses have stayed away from the traditional print media such as Newspapers, Phone Books, and Direct Mail, and put all their eggs in the internet basket. In some cases that may be right on and in some cases they are missing a good opportunity to reach potential customers. When was the last time you picked up a newspaper or phone book? If you have recently, we are sure you noticed the size difference from previous years.
Positive changes have happened as well. The price to advertise in these medias have come down drastically. With less people advertising it is not as necessary to have a full page ad to beat out your competition, further driving the cost down. These medias may be in the sweet spot for driving a businesses positive ROI.
There are many different types of print advertising, from magazines to newspapers, from direct mail to phone books. Each have their strengths and weaknesses and may or may not be right for your business. Let’s take a look at some of these.
Newspaper and Magazine Advertising
If your target market is reading newspapers and/or magazines, with less businesses advertising in these medias, this may be cost effective at delivering a positive ROI. Newspapers shelf life may be less than a day and your ad may or may not be seen. Magazines, similar to newspaper, are directed to a target audience with a targeted message to meet the readership of that magazine. They both tend to have a wider reach then other print medias, which may or may not be good for your business.
Direct Mail Advertising
This is and has always been about reaching the right audience at the right time with the right message. With today’s advances in technology, it is easier to identify your target market and improve the success of direct mail. People today are still looking for deals and they expect that when they are getting offers via direct mail.
Of course people may throw it out without even looking at your information. It’s a numbers game. If 1% of the offers are redeemed (bringing you new clients or encouraging existing clients to come in more often) and that drives a positive ROI, then Direct Mail may be a good thing. There are so many options today, the investment into direct mail has also gone down.
Phone Book Advertising
Pre-internet, this was the place to go if you were a consumer or business looking for a business. With multiple phone books in some areas this makes it even harder to decide if your business should be in the phone book. Like with all other print media the price has come down, the competition for the ad space is less, which in some cases, can drive a positive ROI. At a minimum, it is important that your business name can be found in the local phone book for someone who is looking for you by name (and not using the internet).
