If you’ve ventured into the print advertising scene in the past, or you are a current advertiser. You’ve no doubt found out how easy it is to waste your budget and lose money quickly. However, at the same time, print advertising can be a very profitable method of promotion, with a quick turnaround on investment. Many people are making small fortunes through their print advertising operations.
Below are some of the main points to consider when using print advertising as a method of promotion:
Effective tracking of campaigns – using multiple numbers of the same service to track variations in ad design and places of publication. Sometimes something as simple as a change of headline text can switch an ad campaign from a loss to a profit. We are happy to provide multiple numbers for use in different campaigns.
Negotiation with the publishers – advertising salesmen will generally offer you their book price from the start, which they will expect you to negotiate downwards. I would half the initial cost straight away. Once you build a rapport and they know you are a serious advertiser, they will generally be accommodating. Ask them for “late space” deals, which all publications have available when their deadline is approaching.
Making use of residual effect – basically, most publications have a long tail effect. This is especially apparent with adult magazines, which can produce income for up to 2 years from date of publication. The more adverts you have out there, the larger the base level of residual income, you are creating. Over time, this makes your advertising efforts more likely to turn a profit when taking into account your overall portfolio.
Thinking outside the box – there is clearly a lot of competition in the print industry from very established players. You may find that publications such as FHM actually have exclusivity deals with other providers and will not allow the advertising of adult services. It’s important to look at how you can do things differently. Most people will follow the crowd. All you need to do is get a copy of the daily sport and you will see thousands of similar ads. What is going to make your advert or proposition different and unique? Sometimes it is possible to “spin” an existing idea or service to appeal to a different audience, for example.
Economies of scale – let’s take the daily sport, for example. In terms of £ per column inch cost, we found that this figure could be drastically slashed by buying a half page and then splitting it up into smaller advert units. This space could even be resold (as an agency would do) to recover the cost. You could resell a quarter page, probably cheaper than from the sport direct, and recoup enough money to effectively make the other quarter page “free” for you. This is obviously easier said than done but you get the idea.
Advertisement Size – In terms of visibility, we normally recommend quarter pages or larger in publications. The smaller ads tend to get lost in the competition. We found the better % returns on investment came from the larger sized adverts. They are also normally discounted in terms of £ per column inch, and therefore obviously better value.
Run length – most publications offer further heavy discounts for booking space in advance. If you book space for the next 12 months, you can expect a much better deal. You can also then normally negotiate the better positions. i.e. inside covers, top right pages, etc etc
Payout rates of services – This one goes without saying. Getting the best possible payout rates for your services can actually be the difference between making and losing money for some people. Across the industry, payout rates vary wildly. Bluewave Media offers competitive payout rates and can almost always match or exceed your current supplier rates. If you are considering allocating a budget to print advertising, please feel free to contact us to see if we can improve your payouts for you.
The main point you should take away from this article is that print advertising is not necessarily the “get rich quick” solution that many people think it is. It can however, produce extremely impressive results, if you can get the various factors correct and working for you.
We have strong links with several agencies who specialise in premium rate advertising. Please contact your account manager or call 01637 879100 for details.
Matt | 
10 21st, 2008| 
It’s really easy to get started in the premium rate industry. There are now loads of readymade services out there for you to get started with. These are the best option for people who are new to the business as they are low risk, low maintenance and easy to get started.