Generating Revenue By Selling Advertising



Generating Revenue By Selling Advertising

Adapted from Rachele Kanigel’s “Student Newspaper Survival Guide”

The first step to selling ads is to recruit a salesperson or sales staff. If you’d like to look beyond your internal organization, consider putting ads in your publication or in the mainstream student newspaper. You can also announce the opportunity in marketing, business or communications classes, or send a message to your organization’s listserv.

Next, train your salesperson or staff – perhaps have them put together a mock sales presentation for you. You’ll want to look for professional behavior, a rate card with clear cost outlines, information on how to submit ads and what size they must be, an understanding of your readership, circulation data on your publication, and more.

Consider awarding sales reps commissions of 6-20% on all their ad sales to encourage them to excel.

Consider the different types of ads you can sell: Display ads (bordered or boxed in the publication), classified ads (sold by the word under headings like “Help Wanted” or “Apartments”), and pre-printed inserts (prepared and delivered to the printer to be inserted in the middle of the publication). You may offer one or two of these types of ads, or all three.

While you can sell print ads by fraction of the page, they can also be sold by number of “column-inches.” For example, a 3x5 ad is 3 columns wide and 5 inches tall, or 15 column inches total. You should offer discounts for advertisers who run an ad multiple times. On the web, you can sell banner ads, tower ads, tile or button ads, and text link ads.

Your organization should build a media kit to distribute to prospective advertisers. This should include:

• A detailed rate card featuring ad rates based on size and type of ad, discounts for frequency, and deadlines for purchase.

• A publication calendar or list of publication dates for the school year.

• (Optionally) Advertising policies, e.g., policy on errors, inflammatory/controversial ads, etc.

• Information about your readers and circulation numbers/web traffic

• Information about where you distribute (a map, perhaps, with locations)

• List of awards your publication has won

• Other key information about your school or the community

Think about whether you’re willing to design an ad for a local business without an in-house designer. Maybe you’d charge extra for this service. You’ll obviously want to have a graphic designer on hand to perform this service if you’re offering it.

When going out to stores and businesses, be sure to bring media kits, a pen, copies of the most recent issues, business cards, a calculator, contracts, and anything else that would be helpful. You may want to develop a contract template to outline your agreement with your advertisers outlining your agreements with them.

There are ten steps to selling newspaper advertising:

1. Prepare before you call or walk in. Rehearse what you want to say or jot down some questions.

2. Find the decision maker. In most business, only one person is responsible for deciding on advertising.

3. Collect information. Before starting your sales pitch you want to learn as much as you can about the business you are about to pitch, so ask questions of the “decision maker” you found in step 2. What are his/her most popular products or brands? What does she/he need? What business challenges does he/she face?

4. Form a proposal. Find a solution to the problem you uncovered in step 3. For example, if the restaurant isn’t getting enough customers on Sunday evenings, suggest offering a student discount that night and selling a supplementary ad in your publication.

5. Present the proposal. Offer facts and examples to bolster your case. If you can, show how your solution has helped other businesses.

6. Evaluate the client’s response. Listen carefully to concerns and questions. Try to determine if the person is open to persuasion.

7. Respond to any objections. The client might say it’s not the right time of year or it’s too expensive. These are better than a straight rejection, so offer polite but persuasive responses. Or suggest a different approach.

8. Close the deal. Stop talking once the client is ready to buy an ad. Pull out a contract and get a signature.

9. Wrap it up. Thank the client and confirm the agreement. Give your business card or phone number for follow up.

10. Follow up. If you designed the ad, get a final proof to the advertiser for approval or corrections. Hand-deliver the publication to the advertiser when it comes out. Later, ask how the ad worked out. The better service you provide, the more the client will want to buy another ad.

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