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Step 1
Determine the amount of money you can allow for cable TV advertising. Budget enough money to advertise to the target market effectively. If there is not enough money to spend focusing on the proper target audience, it is better not to waste your advertising dollars.
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Step 2
Define your target audience. Establish a set of characteristics that identify the basic demographics of your audience such as: age, gender, socio-economic status, geographic location and interests. This information helps you focus your efforts on the people that may be your potential customers.
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Step 3
Contact the local cable provider regarding airtime and commercial production costs. It is one thing to buy the airtime, but you need to consider the costs to produce the actual on-air commercial spot.
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Step 4
Identify the type of niche programming your target audience may be interested in viewing. Select the cable TV networks or channels your commercial spots should air on. If you are a home improvement supply store or design firm, you don't want to waste advertising dollars on the Music Television Network.
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Step 5
Clarify the geographic areas of your potential customers. Define how widespread your cable advertising needs to be to focus on your target market. Determine whether or not your efforts should be local, regional, national or all of these.
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Step 6
Buy the appropriate airtime slots for your commercials. Negotiate fixed-position spots that allow you to select exact airtimes, days and in what programs your spots run. The alternative run-of-station option costs less, but the spots can run any time, during any day and during any program. Your spot could run during a program after midnight that your target audience never watches.
