How to Get Advertisers for a Print Newspaper

Getting advertisers for a print newspaper is becoming more and more difficult as online classified advertising begins to overtake its print counterpart. Still, the print classified advertising industry still generates $15 billion annually in the United States. It is a cultural mainstay that most people still refer to when looking for the things that they need. In today's fast-changing market, you need to pull out all the stops to get and keep advertisers for your print newspaper classified ad section.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Well designed classified section
• Competitors' newspapers
• Yellow Pages
• Computers
• Telephones
• Sales team
• Management skills
• Accounting skills
• Sales skills
• A knack for writing effective ads

1. Canvass the competition. Gather competing newspapers' classified advertising section. Pour over their classifieds in search of phone numbers you can call to try and get their advertisers over to your side. This is known as "raiding the competition". It is perfectly legal, considered fair game, and has come to be standard operating procedure in the newspaper advertising industry.
2. Use the Yellow Pages to generate leads. This is a neverending source of print newspaper classified advertising sales leads. Many businesses to be found in the Yellow Pages already advertise in the Yellow Pages and elsewhere. You just need to call them. Go down the entire list one at a time, checking them off as you go. When finished with every conceivable section, go back and start again.
3. Make your rate structure extremely clear for all potential advertisers to see. For example, spell out how much you charge; whether you charge by the character, word or line; what kinds of discounts exist for bulk placements (i.e., ad bought in a series, or multiple differing insertions in the same issue); how advertisers can pay (credit card is best); and so on. Include testimonials in your rate sheet, as the rate sheet acts as a sort of advertisement for advertising. Place readership and potential return-on-income statistics in the rate sheet as well.
4. Do not over-contact your leads. Once every three months is best.
5. Always replenish your sales leads on a continual basis. Be creative about where you find potential advertisers for your print newspaper classified advertising section.
6. See to it that your sales team is making about 120 dials a day. This number can be lowered if a lot of leads are answering their phones. Create a quota system for dials, contacts, and sales by which your sales team can measure their own performance. Just don't stick to it religiously, as attenuating factors will always come into play. Use your best judgment.
7. Develop a sales letter to get advertisers for your print newspaper classified advertising section. Gather email addresses of leads and past clients. Email them updated rate sheets, sales promotions on ad space, and so on. A well written letter sent to hundreds of leads can generate lots easy sales.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't immediately blame your sales team if you are seeing sluggish sales. Know thyself first. If your system is flawed, there will be nothing your sales team can do to save it. Constantly look to improve the effectiveness of your print newspaper advertising classified section.
• Print newspaper classified advertising is starting to be overtaken by online classifieds. Develop an online counterpart to your print edition.