Sometimes the idea of advertising just because you have to forces most of us to buy advertisement we otherwise wouldn’t even consider, or worse to cut corners just to meet certain deadlines. Having a clear plan and a strategy for your marketing and advertising is a necessity. Understanding your client or market is a must. Everything from gender, age group, language preference, habits and practices are all quintessential components in correctly positioning your advertisement for success.
When creating a plan there are a few questions to ask – inquire about our circulation numbers, distribution, pass along statistics, add versus content, views, etc. Think about meeting the staff and sales team. Are they knowledgeable about their product? Are they involved in the local community and out reach programs? All of these factors play a role in the success of your marketing and advertising efforts.
If you have a small budget inquire about add-ons. Sometimes advertisers will bundle products together or provide promotional discounts for multiple advertisements. So, imagine you’ve done your research and you are ready to sign up for a half page ad in your local publication and as a promotion the advertiser is also throwing in a banner ad on their web site for a week. Get your feet wet. Try it out. You can link your banner to a specific web page, landing page or promotion you are running while your print ad can display your primary URL. Review your web statistics prior, during and after your advertisement has run its course.
If planning your advertising is low on your list of priorities remember you can still accomplish a lot with a little. Keep an open mind, remain flexible and utilize social media to boost your efforts.