Advertising: the basics

Getting value for money from your advertising

Advertising often works most effectively when used in conjunction with other marketing and promotional techniques, such as press releases, special events and direct selling. Combining these factors might take more time, but will create the best circumstances for your advertising to really work.

Work out a maximum budget. Identify which options give the best possible return - it could be one or two adverts in a more expensive medium, or several adverts in cheaper outlets.

If it's your first campaign, reduce your risks by first seeking advice from other people in your industry and finding out what works for them.

Get information about the media you're considering - particularly figures for the audience or readership and how close they are to your target market. Don't be tempted to buy advertising space in a certain type of media just because you read, see or hear it yourself - it should always be focused on your potential customers.

You can produce an estimate of how much it costs to reach each potential customer. For example, if an advertisement costs £2,000 and you expect to reach 20,000 people - 50 per cent of whom are potential customers - it is costing 20 pence to get your message to each potential customer.

Negotiate for a better advertising deal

All advertising media companies produce rate cards - information on the rates they charge for advertising. But it is usual to negotiate on the final price, according to the type of campaign you want. Negotiating could get you a price reduction, a repeat that's free or discounted, or a better position in the publication. You should:

• Mention your budget, but appear undecided about who to spend it with.
• Mention rival media you're considering.
• If you don't need campaigns at specific times, ask media sales teams to alert you when they have one-off deals. This may be when they are seeking to achieve specific monthly or quarterly targets and are willing to consider lower prices.

Remember that most media sales teams will be paid commission so be prepared for them to be persistent. Use their desire to achieve a sale to push their prices down or increase the space you get for your money.

Advertising relies on repetition so be prepared to implement several campaigns throughout the year. You can get a discount for booking multiple advertisements - a series is generally more likely to be effective than a one-off advertisement anyway - but don't be persuaded to buy more than you need.

Ensure any print advertisement is in the best possible position. Remember that:

• it is widely believed that right-hand pages, especially early right hand pages (those in the early part of the publication), catch the reader's eye the most
• an advertisement selling greenhouses, for example, should be on a page devoted to gardening
• the most effective place for your newspaper advertisement is either page one or three - preferably in the bottom right-hand corner
• if your advertisement has a coupon - for readers to cut out and send in - make sure it is placed at the edge of the page

Remember that the design and content of your advertisement is critical to attracting your target market, regardless of its position in the newspaper.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• How advertising can help your business
• Local advertising
• Advertising on the internet and in online directories
• Advertising in the trade and technical press
• Radio, cinema, outdoor and national advertising
• Planning an advertising campaign
• Getting value for money from your advertising
• Managing responses and monitoring your campaign
• How to write an advertisement
• Here's how I increased my sales through advertising

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