Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 1)

Is it right for you?

If you decide to advertise your product or service then you must ask yourself - "Will potential customers read this publication and will they take action having read my ad?"

National newspapers - Read by a huge cross section of the population. If you're inserting a display ad then it would need to be professionally designed and you'd need to be in it for the long run. It would be expensive and I don't see any small to medium sized business justifying the cost. It may suit you better to use the classified advertising in the national newspapers - again, it depends on the type pf business you're in. Check out what your competitors are doing and if their in it, then perhaps you need to be.

Local newspapers - May be more appropriate for your business particularly if you only want business from the local area. Again, you must be prepared to consider an ad every day or at least once a week for several weeks. Classified ads may be more suitable for your business particularly if you have a product or service that people would look up the classifieds to find.

Business/Trade magazines - There's a magazine published for almost every business you could think of. They are often produced by Trade Associations. If, for example, your product or service is used by plumbers and heating engineers, then it makes sense to advertise in their magazine. Use the internet to find the magazine or association you want.

Consumer magazines - If your product or service is used by the consumer, then this is for you. These again can target specific markets. I know of an image consultant who also does wedding makeup. She advertises her makeup service in wedding magazines. She also, separately, advertises her image service to the mother of the bride in the same magazine. Think about the people who buy your product or service and there's bound to be a specialist magazine that they read.

Magazines last longer - You'll get more mileage out of a magazine as they tend to be read several times. They mostly come out once a month so people take more time to read and re-read them. You'll find a list of business and consumer magazines at: www.refdesk.com/mag.html

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