How to choose the right press advertising media

Press advertising is one effective way of promoting your business - but only if you go about it the right way. Otherwise, it is a very rapid way of throwing money down the drain! Here's how to choose where to advertise.

One essential part of any press advertising campaign is selecting the 'correct' publications. This means advertising only in those newspapers and magazines that your potential customers actually read. Note the word 'read'. With so many free give-away publications that depend purely on advertising for their income, many people simple put them in the bin. So you can't rely on a publication's quoted circulation or even readership profile to select good media.

In many cases, you can narrow down the choice of publications by the market sectors that they claim to serve. You can often find directories of media in your local Reference Library. In the UK, "Willings Press Guide" and "British Rates and Data" ('BRAD') are useful classified directories. You will, no doubt, have a list of target publications from your own knowledge of your industry.

So, armed with this short list, and assuming you are working on a tight budget (who isn't?), here are a few tips to try to select the most effective media:

• Where are your competitors advertising? Maybe some of them have already done their homework.
• Where are adverts from competitors appearing regularly? If they are advertising repeatedly in the same publication, the chances are that the adverts are working for them (or they've got bottomless pockets!)
• Ask your existing customers what they read. Note again, the word 'read'. If your existing customers actually read a publication, it is a good bet that your potential customers will also be reading it.

These three tips will help you to make some sensible decisions on where to advertise in newspapers and magazines

Further help on this topic...

You'll find further help on this topic, or closely related issues, in the side columns on this page..