Newspaper advertising
has both advantages and limitations.
Newspaper advertising can be an effective option for a small business, but only if it actually leads to increased profits. For this reason, careful analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of newspaper advertising should be carried out before placing any ads. Otherwise there is a risk that the ad will reach the wrong viewers and have no real effect at all.
Audience
One of the biggest advantages of newspaper advertising is the size of the audience. If you put up a flyer in a coffee shop, for example, it can only be seen by the patrons of that coffee shop. As of 2011, the majority of homes in America get a newspaper every day, and newspapers are designed to cater to a wide range of interests, from politics to art to gardening. According to an article by Mike Brassil at Websitemarketingplan.com, people don't find advertising in the newspaper to be off-putting the way they might find it in other contexts, because ads in newspapers are taken for granted. (See References 3)
Customizability
Ads in newspapers can be customized in two different ways. You can place your ad in a certain section in order to target your audience better. For example, if you own a restaurant you can place an ad in the section that reviews restaurants, so that your ad gets seen by people who are already interested in going out to eat. The other way to customize your ad is through the size of the ad itself. Newspapers offer ads in a variety of sizes, from one-line classifieds up to full-page and full-color. You can select the ad size that best suits your needs, your business and your budget. Also, you can usually get the ad in front of your audience in 48 hours or less because many newspapers are daily.
Hit or Miss
The large audience and wide range of material in a newspaper are advantages for advertisers, but they can be disadvantages at the same time. You don't have any way to control the material that the newspaper puts on the same page as your ad. If the story is seen as being boring, readers will quickly skip over it. Also, any given reader may or may not read the section of the paper you put your ad in.
Competition
Another disadvantage to newspaper advertising is competition. Your ad has to compete for people's attention with other ads on the same page or in the same edition of the paper, and that can include ads from your direct competitors. There is also increasing competition from other sources of news, including the internet edition of the same newspaper you're considering advertising with. If you place an ad in the print edition of the paper but not the online version, many readers who would have read the print edition 20 years ago might be reading the paper exclusively online these days, in which case they would miss your ad.
Other Advantages
Another advantage of newspaper advertising is that the reader can go back to your ad more than once to take down information or just to give it more focus and attention, something that is not possible with a radio or television ad. The newspaper is also usually willing to help you write the ad at no additional cost.
Other Disadvantages
Newspaper advertising is often relatively expensive, especially for the larger ad sizes with the most visibility. In addition, a newspaper is something that many people read one time and then throw away, so your ad will be visible to most readers for only a very short time. This factor should be carefully weighed against the expense of the ad and the expected results before deciding whether or not to take the risk.
Tags: newspaper advertising, coffee shop, edition paper, Newspaper advertising, print edition