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Ooh boy, strap yourselves in, this is going to be a long one.Pros:Learn a new skillset (sales, marketing, networking) that is very marketable and relevant in the real world, but not often taught in the fleet (at least, not for me as a nuke)Being able to positively affect the lives of your recruits. All the kids who joined under me, and shipped to boot camp, did it because they needed something more than they were able to get from being at home (Orange County, CA), and as best I can tell, they all benefited from their time in the Navy.No deployments.“Weekends and nights off” This is in quotes because I’ll talk about it more below.Cons:As a warning, I had a really, REALLY bad time on recruiting duty (my station’s Recruiter in Charge, and others in my chain of command above him ended up going to court martial, being sent to prison, being otherwise disciplined, etc):Hero to Zero Effect. No matter how much of a rock star you were the previous month, even if you’d written four contracts and carried your entire station’s goal, as soon as the first of the month rolled around, you were back to squared one, and unless you had somebody on deck and ready to go, you were the same average puke as the lowest-ranked person in the office.Lack of work-life separation. The first thing you’re issued when you check into your recruiting district is your laptop and phone, and you’d better have quick access to the former and ALWAYS carry the latter 24–7, because your recruits, applicants, or even worse their parents will call you at the worst possible times with the dumbest possible shit. I remember going on vacation to Mexico for a few days (on leave), and for obvious reasons didn’t take my cell phone. When I got back the following week and turned my phone on, I had dozens of text and voice messages waiting for me from my recruits and their parents over their half-imagined crises. Then I got back to the office and got chewed out (and written two separate counseling chits) for not being available when I was on leave. I’ll get more into this in a bit, but by the time I left recruiting duty, I was on the verge of an anxiety attack any time I heard that phone ring, and even after I got out, for about a year afterwards that happened any time I heard that model of phone ring.Working hours. In 2006, my ship was out to sea for about 300 days out of the year. However, when we were in port, we were working fairly normal hours. In recruiting, the office opened at 0800, but my RinC made sure we were all in by 0730 (by calling in as he was on his way usually), and it wasn’t unusual for us to be there until 2100 or 2200 doing “phone power” (cold calling) prospects. Again, he’d check in on this. In addition, I counted a total of 14 non-leave Saturdays off in that 36 months (I kept meticulous records- I’ll explain why in a bit), and those were working until anywhere from 1600 (if we “had something on the books”) to 2200 (if we didn’t). I was in Orange County, California, about 90 minutes from San Diego. This meant that if an applicant had to go to MEPS, there was another 3 hours in there. So, if I was taking an applicant day of, I was up at 0300 to pick them up, drive them down to MEPS, then hang out and wait for either an ASVAB, physical, or both. Then bringing them back. And you better believe that there was no leaving early after that, even if I already had my contracts written for the month. If we were taking a shipper or applicant down to the hotel the night before, that meant leaving OC in rush-hour traffic, driving them to San Diego to get there by about 6 or 7, then coming back to the office. And if the rest of the office was still there, that meant getting back to work as well. Los Angeles MEPS was closer, but my district and that district hated each other, and they’d usually fuck over our applicants out of spite, so we had to make the long drive 98% of the time.SDAP/ In-Rate Work. I was a nuke, and was collecting supervisory propay, which actually meant I took a pretty decent pay cut as a result of going on recruiting duty. Further, when I was up for the E-7 exam, I was supposed to be allowed to go study for 30 days attached to a nuclear command (since my study materials were classified). Yeah, my chit got ‘lost.’ Twice.You’re a Glorified Babysitter for Theoretical Adults. Before I went on recruiting duty, I assumed that people in their late teens and early twenties had a certain minimum level of competency, self-awareness, and personal responsibility. I know, joke’s on me. On average, any kids (and I called ALL of my applicants and recruits ‘kids’ regardless of age) that signed a contract to join the Navy were in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) for at least 2–3 months. I had some who were in for as long as 13 months, and most were around 5–7 months between joining and shipping to boot camp. During that time, it’s your job to keep track of them, check up on them, provide mentoring and guidance, and basically get them ready for life in the military. And most importantly, try as best you can to keep them from doing anything stupid. One of the other guys in my office had a recruit smoke weed at his going-away party, two days before he was due to ship, and didn’t think that anybody would notice when he went to MEPS to leave for Boot Camp. (spoiler: they did. They do a drug test on deck first thing when you get down there to ship) One of my recruits smoked weed while she was in DEP, but came clean and told me about it, and we were able to roll her ship date back a month, but it was still incredibly infuriating. And don’t even get me started on dealing with parents, especially those of the helicopter variety (and I had a LOT of those).Physical Health. Lots of long hours, late nights, and long times on the road mean not much time for healthy meals or PT. Even though the CNO had sent down an instruction that every sailor was to be given time to PT for 90 minutes, 3 times a week, that was conveniently “ignored” in the field. Yes, we had to write down PT in our weekly planners, but you better believe that if you actually went and DID PT during that time, you were going to get paid back for it, in spades.Mental Health. In the last year I was on the ship, I saw two of my best friends die aboard the ship, one in a horrific accident in the plant and one passed unexpectedly in his sleep underway due to a bad reaction to medication he was on. My department was responsible for breaking a part of the ship that wasn’t supposed to be possible to break, and we were laid up for months when we were supposed to be out operating. We spent an entire year under a microscope as a result of that, and went through a ridiculously abbreviated workup schedule before deployment as a result. Yet I was still in a much better place, mentally, than I was when I was on recruiting duty. By the last year I was in the station, I’d had a nervous breakdown and spent a day in the psych ward at Balboa Naval Hospital, one of my other recruiters had a similar incident happen a few weeks before me, and two others in the office were on prescribed anti-anxiety or antidepressants as a result of what we were experiencing. I myself suffered three panic attacks and was diagnosed as being depressed. None of that ever had happened to any of us when we were on the ship. What caused all this? My last point.Career Recruiting Force/ Senior Leadership Climate.Unbeknownst to most of the regular Navy, recruiting is run almost entirely by sailors who are career recruiters. These are folks who did their initial sea tour, then went on recruiting duty, decided they liked it, and converted to the rating of NC(R)- Navy Counselor, Recruiting. This means that after a 4 or 5 year sea tour, these folks have never experienced the fleet any further (aside from maybe a visit to a base every now and again as a tour). I’d spent time at toxic commands or in toxic divisions before I went recruiting, but those were walks in the park compared to the hell that the Career Recruiting Force (CRF) was able to unleash on us.I knew a few individual CRF-ers who were outstanding, caring, well-intentioned sailors, but overall, the vast majority were the most two-faced, backstabbing, self-serving, dishonest, petty, spiteful, and borderline criminal people I’ve ever met, before or since. There was very little to no oversight at all from officers during my time in, as the CO and XO had so many stations over such a broad area to manage, as well as officer recruiters, so the Chief Recruiter (CR), a Master Chief, was in charge of the enlisted day to day operations. Not long after I got out of the Navy, the CR I had worked under was kicked out for attempting to trade sexual favors for preferential orders or Career Recruiter conversion packages.Here’s the story of the worst one that I ever worked under.My Recruiter in Charge (RinC) came into my office about a year after I went on recruiting duty - I was the ranking First Class, so I was second in charge of the day to day operations of the office, and directly oversaw our entire pool of DEPpers.He implemented a new policy of “fines” in the “station fund” (marginally meant for DEP or station events, lunches, barbecues, etc) for errors in paperwork that he found, but it very quickly devolved into extortion. Want to leave before 2200 on a Saturday? Pay into the “station fund” and you could leave (since he was already home). Want to get the new walk-in who dropped by suddenly the last week of the month? Pay into the “station fund.” Do something to piss him off (and he was taking constant notes, maintained files with stacks of counseling chits on each of us, and I know for a fact had prewritten report chits for each person in the office)? Pay into the “station fund.”When I confronted him on this the first time, he made sure to let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I “couldn’t win,” that he was holding all the cards, and who among the Career Recruiting Force was going to believe a sea returnee seven-year First Class with a documented history (by him) of disciplinary issues (none of which existed anywhere during my time in service before he got to the office), over the word of a fifteen year E-7 (he was NOT a Chief Petty Officer in any way, shape, or form) Career Recruiter? Shortly after that was when I started having panic attacks.Instead, I started keeping records of all the transactions, fines, changes to our planners, everything. Every payoff to ensure that we were able to pass the annual Physical Readiness Test (he was the Command Fitness Lead for our zone). Every time he told the BM2 to buy a piece of jewelry for his wife so he could leave at a decent hour to go home. The PS3 he made our AO1 help buy so he could actually spend time with his wife and baby son. The XBox 360 he told me I had to buy if I was going to be allowed to have the time off from the office in Orange County as I was doing my checkout physicals, appointments, and TAP classes in San Diego when I was getting out of the Navy. I was planning on holding onto all the information I’d gathered, and when I knew the last of the recruiters I’d worked alongside had left the recruiting command and returned to sea or gotten out of the Navy, I was going to contact the Inspector General or Navy Legal, and turn over all the information.Instead, fate intervened in a strange way.About two months after I got out of the Navy, I got a call from my old RinC, who told me that one of my recruits, an accomplished guitar player who’d done studio sessions with the likes of Rob Zombie, had told them in Boot Camp that I’d lied to him about being able to change his job when he got there (I hadn’t - I’d spent six solid months trying to get him an audition with the Navy Band, unsuccessfully, and that RinC had told him that lie, which I’d try to talk him out of. That was another report chit that he threatened to send up, until I told him to go ahead and do it), and that if I helped buy him a new laptop, he could make it go away. I told him no thanks, and hung up on him.Two days later, an officer from the recruiting command called me, asking to meet because they’d started an investigation. Apparently after I’d hung up, he’d called two of the other recruiters who had worked under him (he’d just transferred to another district), and tried the same ploy. They also told him to pound sand, and made a passing comment about it to their new RinC, who asked if that sort of thing happened. The stories came pouring out after that, and she apparently went straight to the new Command Master Chief at headquarters, who got the ball rolling.It all snowballed from there very quickly, but my old RinC ended up copping a plea deal that involved a Bad Conduct Discharge, prison time, and repaying some of the money he’d taken from us.I don’t know if it triggered any cultural changes in the greater Career Recruiting Force overall, but the JAG officers at Navy Legal were astounded that this sort of thing could happen, and that we all were saying the same thing about not having anybody in the chain of command whom we felt we could trust.Apparently other sailors have felt the same way- read some of the comments here:The Stupid Shall Be PunishedA few years ago, Patrick Hrabe, the brilliant mind behind the Hey Shipwreck Youtube series, started to make an animated film about his time on recruiting duty (we were on recruiting at the same time). Unfortunately, this apparently never came to fruition, but there were some truly horrific blog posts about his own experiences, as well cartoons that discussed his own views of the CRF.So, that’s my experience. Hope this answers your question.

2018 Newspaper Advertising Costs: Full, ¼ & ⅛ Page RatesNewspaper advertising is one of the oldest forms of print promotion and an affordable and flexible option for businesses that want to reach potential customers on a local, regional, or national scale. According to Nielsen, nearly 170 million American adults still read a newspaper, with 51% reading print exclusively, making newspaper advertising a relatively inexpensive way to market your business to a wide audience.If you’re not ready to jump into newspaper advertising, you can still promote your business by sending postcards to your target market. Opportunity Knocks offers affordable, targeted mailing lists based on the demographics, lifestyles, personal interests, and buying habits of your potential customers. You can then print custom postcards about your businesses and mail them the same day. Get $250 off when you sign up for 3 mailing campaigns.Visit Opportunity KnocksCost of Print Newspaper AdvertisingThe cost of a newspaper ad depends on the publication’s location and circulation size and the color, frequency, and day of week your ad is published. A local paper may charge $12 per inch for a black and white ad, so a 4-inch by 10-inch ad would cost $480. Major national papers may charge $10,000 or more for the same ad.Here are some estimated prices for Sunday advertising in black and white. The cost to advertise in color varies greatly between newspapers, but you can expect to pay up to 50% more for a full color ad.Newspaper Advertising Costs – ExamplesNewspaperCirculationPrice for full page adPrice for ¼ page adPrice for ⅛ page adWashington Post551,360$163,422$40,855$20,428Milwaukee Journal Sentinel153,207$23,688$5,922$2,961Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Bozeman, MT)14,069$2,772$693$347You will notice that there is a big cost jump in price between small town and big city papers. So what determines whether advertising in the newspaper will be within your small business marketing budget?How Newspaper Ads are PricedThere are a variety of different factors that determine how much newspaper advertising costs. A few of the main ones are:Circulation of the newspaper – The higher the circulation, the more you will pay for an ad. Note that some newspapers will list their readership instead of circulation on the rate card. These two terms are not the same, as the readership number assumes that multiple people in a household will read the same paper. While this may be true, advertisers pay based on circulation.Size/color of the ad – The bigger the ad the more it will cost. You will also pay more for your ad to run in color.Number of times your ad runs – If you run your ad multiple times, you will pay more overall but less for each individual ad.Day of the week/section of the paper – Expect to pay the most on Sunday. You will also pay more to have your ad in the main section than in the sports or travel section.You will find the cost to advertise on the newspaper’s rate card. Here’s an example of a rate card from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.Ad Sizing & CostAs mentioned above, the size of your ad is one of the primary factors affecting cost. There are two ways that ad sizes are priced:1. Price per column inchA column inch is a unit of space one column wide by one inch high. If a newspaper charges $12 per column inch, an ad measuring 4 columns wide by 10 inches deep would cost $480. This is calculated by 4 columns x 10 inches = 40 column inches x $12 per column inch = $480.Most full page ads are measured as 6 columns x 21 inches, or 126 column inches. In this example, the cost for a full page would be $1,512. This is calculated by 126 column inches x $12 per column inch = $1,512.This example from the Washington Post shows the typical size of a full page newspaper ad.2. Modular pricingWith this type of pricing, newspapers charge based on set modules, such as half page, full page, quarter page, etc.Modular specs taken from The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Print SpecsHow to Get a Discount on Newspaper AdsAs mentioned above, the cost of newspaper advertising will vary significantly based on which publication you choose and the type of audience you can reach. No matter which publication you chose, there are a few ways you can lower the cost of your newspaper ad:Advertise Multiple TimesThe number of times that you advertise in a newspaper–also known as frequency–will change how much you pay per column inch. These discounts should be listed in the newspaper’s rate card, and can be broken down by the amount you spend or the number of column inches advertised in the newspaper annually.Here is an example of newspaper discounting based on how much the advertiser agrees to spend on advertising during a one year period:Chart taken from Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s rate card.Ask for Special DiscountsMany times newspapers will offer introductory rates for new advertisers. You can also ask for your ad to be featured in a seasonal or special insert for lower than average rates. Sometimes, newspapers offer a remnant space rate that can be discounted up to 80% off of the list price. If you go this route, your ad will be placed in spaces that the paper was unable to fill. However, there are no guarantees that your ad will run.A small business owner’s advice on getting discounts:Rebecca Harnden, CEO of Humboldt Light Dep, LLC, offers this tip to get your business in front of pre-qualified leads cheaper than regular print runs.“Contact your local newspaper and ask if they have anyupcoming special event features. Newspapers run special inserts during the weeks of special events. The cost for printing in one of these special inserts or handouts is usually much less expensive than running an ad in the regular newspaper, since less people will see it. However, the people who do see it will be interested in your product or service.”She offers this example, “if you are a wedding planner, run an ad in a seasonal industry specific newspaper insert or in a newspaper produced program distributed at a bridal fair. You know the people who see your ad will be brides or know a bride-to-be, making your campaign much more effective for much less money!”Go for Local PublicationsIf your business caters primarily to your local community, advertising in local or regional newspapers may actually yield better results for a smaller budget. Some local papers, especially neighborhood and town gazettes, charge very little for advertising space and you will be able to better target your audience since local customers will be reading them. Contact local publications in your area and compare prices to see which will provide the most impact per dollar. You can visit USNPL, which lists newspapers by state and city, to find some of the different local newspapers in your area.Another inexpensive way to target local traffic is by advertising on Yelp. Yelp is a user review site where site visitors can read reviews about others’ experiences at businesses, leave reviews about their own experiences, and find specific businesses located nearby. When you create or claim your free business profile, Yelp for Business Owners gives $300 in ad credits to spend on targeted ads for your business.Your business’s ads can appear at the top of pages of similar search results and on competitors’ profiles. You’ll even have access to relevant insights like profile visits, customer leads, and revenue generated from your Yelp business profile. Once you spend your credit, you can advertise for as little as $5/day. Claim your profile and ad credit.Visit YelpNewspapers Attach Premiums to Popular Ad SpacesPrime spots will carry a premium price tag and you can expect to pay extra if you want to a specific location for your ad. However, we recommend the added cost of specifying where your ad is placed to increase the likelihood of people seeing it.Position premium chart from the Washington Post’s rate card.Looking to advertise in your local newspaper for free? Bernice Mirrilees, PR Director at the marketing agency Red Caffeine, suggests you try to land press coverage/earned media.“Earned media – articles written about your company orby a company employee – can trump a paid ad by establishing credibility and authority as an expert in your given industry or field. It takes some leg work to identify the best writer at any given publication and then pitch them on an article idea that is newsworthy to their readers. But it can pay a great ROI by positioning you as a thought-leader.”For more on this strategy, check out our full guide on how to get local press for your business.Pros & Cons of Newspaper AdvertisingPros of Newspaper AdvertisingFor decades, big and small businesses alike have reaped the benefits of newspaper advertising. These include the following:Local audienceBy advertising in your local paper, you are able to reach people that are in close vicinity to your business. You are also integrating your business into the local community by placing your ad among local news and events.Reach new customersNewspaper advertising is another venue for your message, and therefore you will reach more people than if you are focused only on online marketing, email marketing, etc.People expect ads in the newspaperPeople are less likely to be annoyed by your ad in the paper than an ad on the TV or radio. Not only do they expect to see advertisements, but the ads also don’t interrupt them from reading an article.People can look at the ad for a long timeThis is a plus because you can put more information in a newspaper ad (i.e. pricing, phone number, website, etc.) and people will be able to get a good look at it. This differs from radio advertising, TV advertising, and billboard advertising, where the message flashes by quickly.Target based on interestsIf you own a business that correlates to a section of the newspaper, you can target your ad to people that read that section. For example, if you sell sports gear, you could advertise in the sports section of the paper. This is a win-win situation: it will actually cost you less than advertising in the main section, but you will get a more targeted audience.Can offer couponsNewspapers are the perfect medium for coupon advertising. The physical act of tearing out a coupon creates a strong level of engagement with your message, increasing the probability of people coming into your store.Cons of Newspaper AdvertisingThere are some challenges to print advertising as well, including:People don’t read the whole newspaperEven if a newspaper has a high circulation, it’s unlikely that everyone who receives the paper will see your ad. Over 91% of newspaper readers read about local news, but expect a significant drop in readership for the sports section. If you want maximum exposure, you will need to place your ad in a premium spot, which will cost more.Your ad is competing with other adsThere are likely to be other business ads surrounding yours. Ask your newspaper sales rep if your ad can stand alone or if they can make sure your competitors’ ads don’t appear next to yours. If budget permits, purchase a larger column to help your ad stand out among the masses.Legal action may be taken against youIn rare cases, readers may accuse you of false advertising, or ad companies may claim copyright infringement. This can be caused by the unauthorized use of brand names or representations of individuals without their permission. Be sure you have written permission to mention brands and use specifical individuals in your ads before they run. Also, protect yourself from legal action by investing in media liability insurance.Hard to measure resultsUnlike online advertising, such as Facebook advertising or Google advertising, where you can easily track who came to your website from an advertisement, measuring your exact ROI with a newspaper ad is trickier. We will go into more detail on the best way to measure results later in the article.Want Professional Designs For Your Newspaper Advertising? Take Our Quiz!We’ve done our homework and scoured the freelance website, Fiverr, for you. Answer just 2 questions below and we’ll show you someone that can complete your graphic design project.Question 1What do you need a graphic designer for?Logo DesignsBanner AdsFlyers and BrochuresIllustrationsBusiness CardsInfographicsPhotoshop EditingInvitationsPresentation DesignsQuestion 2Print vs Digital Newspaper AdvertisingWhile most people still associate newspaper advertising with print, you may have the option to advertise in your chosen newspaper’s digital counterpart. Major U.S. publications experienced a spike in digital subscriptions in 2016, with the Chicago Tribune adding about 100,000 subscribers, so putting an ad online is a viable option for your small business.Let’s see how print and digital newspaper advertising compare below:Print is Still King, But Digital Is Growing, Particularly Among Young PeopleA 2016 study by Nielsen found that 81% of monthly newspaper readers still read the printed version. However, only 51 % of those readers rely exclusively on the print version. The other 49 % read at least one digital newspaper. 32 % of digital news readers come from the coveted 21-34 age demographic, so if you’re trying to target Millennials, digitial may be a good option for you.Print is Less Complex, but Digital is More FlexibleAs mentioned above, ad space in a print newspaper is typically priced by column per inch or through modular pricing with some sections commanding a larger price tag than others. However, digital ads can be displayed in dozens of ways, making it more complex for the advertiser. For example, the Washington Post offers 63 different ways to show your ad to readers including banner ads and pop-up videos and options to show your ad on email newsletters or mobile optimized banners on the IOS devices, which can open up new and creative ways to advertise.Digital Can be Cheaper Than PrintThe cost of newspaper advertising both online and in print is largely dependent on the location and size of your ad. However, the cost of entry can be cheaper on the digital format. For example, you can run a 7 day online ad on the Washington Post for as low as $40. Unlike placing your ads on Facebook or Google, where you will be charged on a per-click basis, advertising on a newspaper’s website will require you to purchase space for your ad similar to the print counterpart.Digital Ads Blend Better With EditorialWith online newspapers, the line between editorial content and ad is more blurred, so your ads blend in better with regular content. For example, a video featuring your product or service may show up in the middle of an article or next to an image, or there may be links to your website in the middle of the article. This means that more readers will likely read your message rather than skip over it. Online media has another advantage: shareability. Someone who likes your ad can share it to their followers on social media, which means more eyes on your small business without added cost.Example of online ad for Citibank on Breaking News, World News & MultimediaWhere, When, & How Often To AdvertiseYou can visit USNPL, which lists newspapers by state and city, to find the different local newspapers in your area. To determine which local paper you should advertise in, ask for information on their circulation. Most newspapers will have details on the demographic of their audience.Decide which section is best for your businessYou will have several choices when you buy newspaper ads:Run of paperIf you choose this option, the position of your ad will be determined by the publisher. If your ad has a bad position in the newspaper, there’s a good chance that no one will see it, so make sure you understand exactly where your ad could show up if you go with this option.Main news sectionThis is the most read section, with 80% of readers looking at the main news. Expect to pay the most if you want to advertise in this section. One downfall of advertising here is that you risk your advertisement being next to an article about a horrible human catastrophe or other negative news.Local news sectionThis section sees a small decline from the main news at 75% readership. If your product has broad appeal, we suggest advertising in the local section. You are emphasizing that you’re part of the community, and you will pay less than if you advertised in the main news section.Other sections (travel, sports, health, etc.)Readership drops off by around 20% for these sections, but placing an advertisement here is a good idea for some business. For example, if you own a health food store, you can target people that are interested in health by only advertising in that section.If your products and services have broad appeal, we recommend choosing the main news section or local news section for maximum exposure. However, if your business fits a specific section of the newspaper, it’s ideal to publish an ad in that section for a more targeted audience. For example, if you own a travel agency, placing an ad in the travel section will expose you to readers who are most interested in your services.Where to Place Your Ad in a NewspaperWork with a sales representative to get your ad on upper right portion of the right-hand page of the newspaper. This will increase the chance of readers seeing your ad as they flip through the pages. Make sure your ad is placed next to an article instead of other ads. It might cost you more, but it will help keep the readers focused on your message.Best Day to Advertise in a NewspaperThe best day to run your ad in the paper depends on the type of products or services your business offers and the goal of your campaign:Monday & Tuesday: There are fewer ads during these days, so your ads may get more attention during these days. However, circulation (the number of people receiving the paper) is usually lower.Wednesday & Thursday: Grocery stores tend to like to advertise on these days, as this is when many people plan shopping trips.Friday & Saturday: A good day for restaurants and entertainment providers.Sunday: The day with the highest circulation and the most ads. The paper is full of coupons on Sundays. This is a good advertising day for retail stores.If you’re a restaurant owner, Friday and Saturday will be your best day to advertise on a newspaper. However, you may want to test the waters on Sundays when the circulation is highest or on Mondays when there is less competition.How Often You Should AdvertiseThe number of times you advertise in a newspaper will depend on your budget, but you should try to run your ads at least once a week for a month. A potential customer will need to see your ad a few times before they decide do business with you. In addition, you will be able to get a frequency discount if you advertise with a newspaper multiple times.If you determine that newspaper advertising is right for you, increase from one per week to two or three to see if it brings more business in.In addition to running an ad multiple times, you may want to consider putting your business message out there on multiple mediums. Look at our guides to advertising online, on the radio, and on TV to get started.Best Size for Your Newspaper AdvertisementThe cost of your newspaper advertisement is directly proportional to the size of your ad, meaning the bigger your ad, the more you will pay. Even though it’s been proven that the larger your newspaper advertisement, the more likely people will notice it, this doesn’t mean that you should go with a full page ad.Here is the percentage of people remembered a print advertisement from a study by Starch Research:Full Page 42%Three Quarter Page 38%Half Page 34%Quarter Page 26%One Eighth Page 23%As you can see, an eighth of a page is a big bargain compared to a full page ad. You get over half of the attention of a full page ad at an eighth of the cost. Plus, ⅛ of the page provides enough space for the ad to have a big headline, a couple sentences of text, and a coupon or photo. Going smaller than ⅛ of a page may impact your ability to communicate your message.For certain businesses, there is an argument for larger size ads. If your customers are not necessarily frequent shoppers and are buying big ticket items, having more potential customers notice your advertisement may be more important than the efficiency of the spend. This point of view is well articulated in this article “How big do you need to run?”.Creating an Effective Print AdYou can have the best ad spot in the highest read newspaper, but if your ad is not attention grabbing, people’s eyes will glance right past it. We have included some tips to make sure you advertising dollars don’t go to waste.Writing the CopyWhen writing your ads you should do the following:Write an attention grabbing headline. The most important element of your ad is the headline. If those 3 to 8 words don’t interest the reader, the advertisement will fail.A clear call to action. Do you want them to visit your establishment or order from your website? Make sure the ad specifically states what you want the reader to do.Add your business information. Include your address (or proximity to a well known local landmark), website, and phone number, so the reader knows how find you.Add a sense of urgency. Consider including a limited time discount or coupon with an expiration date. This gives the reader motivation to act immediately after seeing your ad.Look at ads from competitors. Though you don’t want to copy their ads exactly, you want to have a feel for what’s out there, and their ad might spark an idea for your next ad.Get suggestions from your newspaper account executive. They will often come up with sample ads when trying to initially get your business.Test different ads to see which one is most effective. You always want to improve your ads, but make sure you have a system in place to track which sales are coming from which ads.Producing Your AdWork with a professional designer and the newspaper’s production department to create a quality print ad. Use the technical specification from the production team and work with your designer to create the best possible layout and design for your ad. Working with a professional designer will enable you to give feedback and make changes to the ad. A quality newspaper advertisement should cost around $150 to $500 to design. You can also find high-quality designers on freelance sites, just make sure you view their past work before hiring them to create your ad.Freelance Site Reviews - Have a Freelancer Design Your AdFiverr Average Rating 4.34.3 FROM 22 RATINGS22 RATINGS99designs Average Rating 55 FROM 2 RATINGS2 RATINGSUpwork Average Rating 4.54.5 FROM 17 RATINGS17 RATINGSRequesting and Approving the ProofYou should always request the proof for a newspaper or magazine advertisement. From photo placement to the size of the text, your ad may look entirely different from what you envisioned. A proof will show you exactly how the ad will look in the publication and will allow you to make adjustments before it goes to print.How to Measure SuccessYou will need to keep a pulse on how well your newspaper ads are performing if you want to run a successful print advertising campaign. If you are not measuring the results, you won’t know if a newspaper ad is worthwhile for your small business. Here are some ways to determine if sales are coming from your newspaper ad:Include a couponCoupons are great for newspaper advertising. Include a deal at the bottom of your ad for people to rip out and bring to the store. This is an easy way to track business that comes from your ad.Use a call tracking numberA great tactic is to use a phone number on your ad that you only use for newspaper advertisements. That way, if someone calls that number, you will know they called after seeing your newspaper ad. We have an article on how to set up call tracking that will walk you through the process of setting up this number.Use a vanity URLSimilarly to a call tracking number, a vanity URL can track which people went to your website after seeing your ad in the newspaper. An example of a vanity URL would be http://www.yourbusiness.com/NYT. You can purchase a vanity URL for your site here (use domain name search). The downside is that this only works to measure success of your ad if you are looking to drive traffic to your website.Ask your customersIf you are a small business owner that interacts with your customers on a one-on-one basis, simply ask them how they heard about your business. This works well for realtors and doctors, but not so well for restaurant owners and clothing stores (although such stores can ask for customer surveys).Calculate your salesIf you are running your newspaper advertisements in isolation, you may be able to determine if the ads are successful by looking at how well your business performs during the months that the ad is running. A positive fluctuation in sales is a good indicator that your newspaper ads are paying off. However, keep in mind that other external events, like a holiday, can also be responsible for driving up sales.Bottom Line on Newspaper Advertising CostsDespite the move to digital media, traditional newspaper advertising is still a great way for small businesses to promote products and services to a wide audience. It is flexible, covers a wide demographic, and it can be affordable, so incorporating newspaper advertising into your marketing strategy can help give your business a boost.Get the most out of your newspaper ads by researching local, regional, and national publications and work with a newspaper sales representative to get the best placement for your ads. Following the guidelines in this article should help bring more business in from advertising in a newspaper.