I am a newspaper publisher, but I am also a salesman.
Selling advertising space for a prominent newspaper or magazine is tough despite the fact that you work for a multi-million dollar corporation with thousands of advertisers. There is not an executive alive who really wants to spend money on advertising.
I have visited so many business owners and company executives hoping to sell them prime real estate in a publication only to hear of some horror story about the poor relationship they had with some publisher or worse, that they signed an annual contract only to get a very small return on a big investment.
Moving forward to the present, I am doing the same thing – going to businesses selling great spaces in a great publication. The only thing now is that the publication is small and it is local. While there is no promise of millions of readers, I can claim thousands and a great rate.
It does not seem to matter which platform, which publisher, or the extent of the readership, the objections are the same.
Some company decision-makers simply do not see the value in advertising their products or services. Others will never construct a line item in their budgets for advertising.
The reality of advertising is that many business owners do not understand the role of advertising.
While advertising will help to increase sales, this method alone may not be worth the investment if it is not part of a larger plan. That plan is called marketing. Without a complete strategy, you are indeed wasting your time and money.
I learned quickly that if I wanted companies to spend their money with me, I had to be more than an advertising salesman. It was necessary for me to be a marketing consultant.
When I talk to the advertising decision-maker, I construct a business profile and share my thoughts in regard to a host of areas that the business professional usually ignored.
What was the design of the failed campaign? How is your website constructed? Do you use retargeting? Do you have landing pages designed for conversions? Did you run one ad or several? Which advertisement worked the best? Did you make tweaks based on your discoveries? Did you advertise in the right places? Finally, did you vary your messages and vary your media types?
Buying advertising is not about getting sucked into contracts that go nowhere. Also, producing an ad is not about what you like. Ads get business owners traction in the marketplace. If you are not saturating your market, adjusting your message to resonate with your prospects, and finally taking every measure to capitalize on your marketing messages, then your drive will fall flat.
The other day, I received a request to run a press release about a carnival at a hardware store. The hardware company advertises on television, radio, and in print. Their name is known, but apparently the owner realized that advertising does not work in a vacuum.
The carnival is designed to promote a sense of community while simultaneously introducing the hardware store to potential shoppers.
While, the press release does not fit the format of my publication in terms of articles, it is perfect for the Community Calendar.
My readers know where the hardware store is located and they read the calendar. The calendar posting is free because the event, while benefiting the hardware store, it is also a community event.
In the advertising industry, we call this MARKETING.