Great Ideas.
Greater Profits.
The
Great
AdVenture
How to Succeed in Newspaper Advertising Sales
Version 3.0
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Section One: Introduction to Newspaper Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Role of a Newspaper Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Criteria for Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Did You Know? That . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Why Newspaper Media? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Newspaper Value Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Ten Ways to Waste Your Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ten Top Reasons to Advertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Defining ROI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Whom Should You Call On? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ten Reasons to Advertise in a Newspaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Ten Reasons to Advertise on a Newspaper Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Section Readership Among Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
News Content of Your Newspaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Special Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Ten Facts About Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Ten Reasons to Advertise Frequently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Internet Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Competitive Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Keeping Sales Information Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section Two: Self-Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
Making the Most of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Ten Time Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The Great AdVenture How to Succeed in Newspaper Advertising Sales
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Section Three: The Advertising Budget .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Understanding Your Customer’s Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
How to Determine a Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The 4-Step Ad Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Where to Improve Current Ad Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Methods Used for Budgeting Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Co-op Advertising Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Why Retailers Don’t Use Co-op Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Tips to Maximize Co-op Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Prospecting for New Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Ring the Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Changes in Existing Businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Section Four: Creating the Ad .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Ten Components of a Good Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Standardized Layouts and Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Checklist for Spec Ad Idea Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tips for Creating Effective Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Writing Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Writing Body Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Branding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
iv
Type and Type Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Using Color in Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Ten Reasons to Color Your Ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Creating Online Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Ten Tips for Creating Online Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Ten Tips for Creating Search Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
How a Newspaper is Produced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
©2011 Newspaper Association of America
Section Five: The Customer-Driven Sales Approach .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Effectively Presenting Information and Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Things to Take With You on Customer Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Preparing for a Presentation Sales Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
24 Questions for Newspaper Reps to Ask Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
The Five-Step Sales Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Understanding Your Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Helping Your Client Develop a Marketing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
A View of Business Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Creative Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Merchandising and Creative Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Answering Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Answering Most Common Objections to Newspaper Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Most Common Objections to Newspaper Website Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Closing the Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Follow-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Selling With Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Selling Advertising on the Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Tracking Your Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Section Six: Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Newspaper Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Digital Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
The Great AdVenture How to Succeed in Newspaper Advertising Sales
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Section Three
The Advertising Budget
Where to Improve Current Ad Schedules
Help merchants see when they need to advertise by
doing a timing test with them. Graph advertising
expenditures for clients versus their sales figures as
shown in the 4-Step Ad Plan. This can be done as a
percentage of sales if they don’t want to give you exact
figures. The graphs can be done weekly or monthly,
depending on how much interest merchants show and
how much they trust you. Chances are fairly high that a
merchant’s ad expenditures and sales trends don’t look
much alike on the graph.
7. Newspaper discounts. What frequency discounts
does the newspaper offer? It might be advantageous
for the advertiser to run more linage to obtain the
extra discount.
When helping a merchant determine a monthly,
quarterly or annual budget, consider these steps:
Retailers are constantly seeking opportunities to bring
more people into their place of business, whether it’s
the primary mall in town or a single location. They
know that theirs is a numbers game and that the more
people who come through, the higher sales are likely to
be because shoppers tend to be buyers.
1. Start with frequency. People buy products
and services all year. Allocate week-to-week
expenditures because that’s the amount each week
that will vary.
2. Heavy payroll weeks. Look for particularly heavy
payroll weeks of major employers. You know that
the first week of the month Social Security and
welfare checks are in circulation.
3. Heavy store traffic and sales weeks. What are the
naturally heavy store traffic and sales weeks? What
are natural sales events such as the Fourth of July,
Labor Day, back-to-school, Mother’s Day, etc.? A
list of them is included on page 62.
4. Tie-ins. Are tie-ins possible with national and local
merchandising or promotional events? Are special
co-op funds available?
5. Competitive arena. What are competitors doing?
Are they advertising heavily? They can’t be ignored
in a merchant’s overall advertising strategy.
6. Creative strategy. What’s the creative strategy
(multi-item ads vs. individual merchandise ads)
favored by the merchant? Multi-item omnibus
ads expose more merchandise at a lower cost per
item because several items share the headline and
signature costs.
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8. Special sections. What targeted special sections are
appropriate for the advertiser?
9. Color ads. Use of color has a striking effect on
readers’ noting of ads. Studies have shown that
color also increases sales of merchandise in the ad.
Holidays are often used as a theme for sales. Not
surprisingly, most months include holidays, so it’s very
common for a retailer to build a sale around one. A
few of the most popular holiday and seasonal events
include post-Christmas, New Year’s and Martin Luther
King Jr. Day (January); Presidents Day, Lincoln’s and
Washington’s birthdays and Valentine’s Day (February);
Easter and arrival of spring (March or April); Mother’s
Day and Memorial Day (May); Father’s Day (June);
Independence Day (July 4); summer (June-August);
back to school (August or September); Labor Day and
Grandparents Day (September); Columbus Day and
Halloween (October); Election Day, Veterans Day and
Thanksgiving (November); Hanukkah, Christmas and
New Year’s Eve (December).
Of course, local dates and events in most communities
also dot the calendar.
Ad themes are built around events such as those above,
and ad headlines and body copy flow naturally from
those themes. Who hasn’t seen a Sizzling Summer, New
Year’s Clearance or Christmas in July sale announced
in the paper? Retailers can use other themes and
approaches. (See section below on Creative Strategy).
©2011 Newspaper Association of America
Section fourCreating the Ad
Every ad has certain physical features.
Ad layout features are:
Headlines and subheads
The function of the headline is to attract attention and
stop readers, summarize the selling message, stimulate
interest in the ad proposal, draw readers into the copy
and pull prime prospects from among all readers.
Headlines usually get strong typographical treatment.
In layouts, they should be given about the same size
and weight they’ll have in the finished ad. Subheads
elaborate on the headline.
Illustrations
These are intended to work with the headline to make
the ad’s theme instantly recognizable, attract reader
attention and select prospects from among all readers.
In layouts, block out areas in roughly the same size and
shape that the illustration will occupy in the finished
ad. The heavier the illustration will look in the ad, the
darker the space should be on the rough layout.
Copy
This tells the sales story in detail for the reader.
Placement of copy blocks should help the ad achieve
balance and symmetry. On rough layouts, copy blocks
in bold type should be indicated as darker gray.
Signature
This is the standard logo of a store with other
pertinent information such as store hours, credit card
information, address, phone number, map, etc. These
are found at the bottom or top of ads, sometimes both.
Borders and ornaments
Plain or fancy, the intent of a border is to define
the space an ad occupies and enclose its contents.
Ornamental borders are often used when no other
art is available. Simple, straight lines usually do the
job without diverting attention from the ad’s most
important parts.
White space
Just as music isn’t music without space between the
notes, so copy and art is just black ink without the
contrast of white space around it. Without enough
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white space around the black ink, the message is
difficult to read. Use of white space to balance black ink
is important in making a visually appealing ad.
Ad writing tips
More than anything else, a good ad stops the reader.
Otherwise, all production work and expense are
wasted. An ad has five to 10 seconds to “jump off the
page” and grab the reader. That’s how long the average
reader looks at a newspaper page before settling on
something to read or turning to another page.
Advertising performs the same function as a salesperson,
telling potential customers what the product will do for
them. The difference is one of numbers. Ad copy speaks
to large numbers of people, while a salesperson usually
speaks to one or two at one time.
Some advertising works well, and some doesn’t. Good
ads are built on a concept or idea. If an ad is to be
effective, a reader should instantly recognize the concept
being communicated. If not, the message becomes
scrambled, and the power of a good layout, good copy or
illustration is at least partially lost. The concept should
be firm before any part of the ad is created.
A good ad sells a product’s benefits, not just its
features. Features are mentioned only to “hang” benefit
statements on, much like a skeleton allows muscles
and organs to be supported. People buy a product or
service because of what it will do for them, not because
of what it is.
Most good retail ads have a sense of urgency and tell
the reader to do something. A good ad promotes the
store name while visually creating an image for the
store. A good ad speaks to a specific group of people it’s
trying to reach. A good ad gives readers all facts they
need to make a purchase decision. It tells things such as
available sizes, colors and prints. It tells when the store
is open, where it’s located and its phone number.
Not everyone who lays out an ad knows all tricks of the
trade. Some are covered in this section. The more you
pay attention to ads you see, the more and faster you’ll
learn. Good layouts make an ad look better, grab more
attention and sell more for the merchant.
Well-designed ads are organized for maximum clarity.
Orderly division of space is at the heart of all layouts,
©2011 Newspaper Association of America
Section fiveThe Customer-Driven Sales Approach
Things to Take With You on Customer Calls
1. A copy of the newspaper should go with you on
every sales call. It’s something new every day, and
many people you visit each business day may not
have read it. It’s something you can give a prospect
rather than just asking for something. You don’t call
every day, so don’t worry about the client expecting
a free subscription. But it makes good sense to have
one on hand everywhere you go. You make a lot
of people happy with the gift of today’s newspaper,
and you give them the chance to enjoy the product
you’re trying to sell.
2. Speculative layouts and tear sheets with new
ideas are among the simplest and most effective
sales tools for an outside sales representative.
They’re great for introducing an idea, making a
recommendation and involving the account in
decision making. They’re also helpful in discovering
what the account likes and doesn’t. Use them as
often as possible for established and new accounts.
Spec layouts are highly salable. Take two spec ads
of similar size but different ideas or orientations
for consideration. Sometimes, an ad from another
publication will greatly interest prospects, and they
respond when you urge them to run similar ads in
your paper under their own signatures.
3. Color overlays. With these, show clients what
color would do for an ad. Color adds to noting and
readership, and grows results.
4. Linage records. Linage figures are of great interest
to most accounts, so look them up before you
go. You can show linage gains to demonstrate
growth and strength. Showing linage figures of
competitors in the same business or industry can
be a forceful eye-opener as to how others use your
newspaper. You can show how one account has
grown dramatically in linage, relating this to sales
figures, if possible, and serving as a success story
for your newspaper. Linage records have many uses.
You can even use lack of lineage in a category as an
opportunity to “own” that category in the paper.
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5. Testimonial letters. In terms of success stories,
these are great. You’ll probably have to ask for them
because accounts often don’t like admitting great
successes in advertising. You may even have to
offer to write them for the accounts. When you can
get them, make sure you use them widely. Merely
mentioning an account or campaign doing well
through your newspaper will frequently have its
effect.
6. Co-op information. Most retailers have accrued
a certain amount of cooperative ad dollars. Using
them can stretch an account’s total advertising
expenditures by 50 percent or more. Information
about manufacturers’ co-op plans are readily
available, usually from the advertising department.
The retailer often has this information, too, but
it may not be high on the priority list. More
information on co-op is in Section Three.
7.Research. Market research information is
excellent to show an account. Anything that gives
customers knowledge about the market in which
they’re competing is helpful. Many resources for
information are listed elsewhere in this book. Your
newspaper may have market-specific information
based on surveys in the primary market or other
commonly accepted sources. Become very familiar
with research the newspaper has on hand. It can
be used to support logical sales points as long as
it’s interpreted relative to your newspaper and
importance to the buyer.
8. Layout and copy advice. Most independent local
merchants aren’t great copywriters or layout people.
Assistance or material you provide will make their
advertising work better. Occasionally, show them
information that could be of value in improving
their ads.
9. Helpfulness pays. At the very least, your efforts to
take something with you in the decision-making
process or help your prospect will show that you’re
conscientious and accommodating. Sales material
provides a starting point for you and the prospect
to begin discussing an advertising program that will
benefit the account’s business.
©2011 Newspaper Association of America
Section five
The Customer-Driven Sales Approach
Understanding Your Customer
The first step in virtually any selling situation is getting
to know something about the business you’re interested
in selling. After that, what we usually think of as the act
of selling begins. Unless we know something about the
client’s business, we’re no better off than a flea-market
peddler who stands around hoping that someone will
show up and buy.
There are many ways of finding out about a customer’s
business. The best is asking about it, and the best way
to ask people about their business, especially for the
inexperienced, is a series of questions such as those
that follow. Don’t be afraid to carry the questions into
a place of business in written form. Having them on
a form brings an air of credibility to the procedure
and makes you look more professional. In addition,
the answers are written down, so you don’t have to try
to remember everything. You can concentrate on the
questions and learn as much as you can during the
fact-finding process.
Some retailers, however, are too busy or uncomfortable
with such questions and might balk at answering. If
that’s the case, start with a few questions at a time.
After each visit, record the answers when you leave.
You’ll quickly have all the information you need to
devise an advertising plan that will help. Don’t forget
that magazines about the industry could give you
valuable insight to your customer’s problems.
The kind of information you need to
know:
 What kinds of promotions have you used?
 What kinds have worked well?
 What didn’t work?
 W
hat areas of the business developed better
than you thought in the last two years? How did
you do it?
 W
hat has disappointed you in the way it
developed? Why didn’t it work the way you
expected?
Account survey
Account____________________________________
Income
Contract___________________________________
Approximate percentage of customers who are:
Low income
_________%
Sex
Lower middle income
_________%
Approximate percentage of customers who are:
Middle income
_________%
Male
Upper middle income
_________%
Upper income
_________%
________ %Female
________%
Marital status
Approximate percentage of customers who are:
Education
Single ________ %Married
________%
Approximate percentage of customers who have:
Home ownership
Approximate percentage of customers who are:
Renters ________ %Homeowners
________%
No high school degree
_________%
High school degree
_________%
Some college
_________%
College grad or more
_________%
The Great AdVenture How to Succeed in Newspaper Advertising Sales
123
Section fiveThe Customer-Driven Sales Approach
33.I don’t have a website, so why do I need web
advertising?
The answer is simple: We’re selling eyeballs, not
technology. Regardless of where the message is
placed, the advertiser should clearly communicate
a call to action. Whether that’s by phone call, a visit
to the storefront or email, online advertising can
have positive effects.
34.My clients are older and don’t read online.
Research shows that people 65 and older compose
about one-fourth fifth of the average weekday
audience and one of the fastest growing age groups.
The average age of a newspaper website reader is
about 40. These individuals often assist in making
purchase decisions for parents and relatives who are
in the older age group.
Orienting Questions
1. Why is it important to look at customer needs
before attempting to sell something?
2. Why is it important to give something back to
the customer?
3. What are things you should always bring on
customer calls?
4. What are basic steps involved in the sales
process?
5. What arise the difference between openended and closed-ended questions?
6. What are the Four P’s of marketing strategy?
Closing the Sale
Closing a sale in its most basic form is an invitation
to the customer to take action of some kind. It’s the
most delicate and, for some, most difficult part of
the selling process. This is true for salesperson and
buyer. Here’s the moment of truth, the point in time
at which salespeople discover how well they have
performed. Sales reps aim to get through the close
as painlessly as possible. Customers try to hold on to
their money until they see how they’ll benefit from
exchanging it for what’s being sold. Sometimes, slight
tension arises as a sales call comes to an end.
Inexperienced salespeople often find asking for
the order more difficult than it needs to be because
they don’t know how to ask. One help is an attitude
of sincerely wanting to help the customer. If you’re
proposing something good for the customer and you
believe it, the close is automatically easier. You can
look into the customer’s eye and be sincere in your
recommendations. The more you know, the easier
the close. Consciously asking for the order repeatedly
is something that no longer makes you hesitate.
A close should flow easily out of a presentation or
discussion. It shouldn’t be forced, and you should
never appear to be attempting to take advantage.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t nudge, suggest,
initiate or control the direction of the conversation.
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It doesn’t mean waiting indefinitely for the prospect
to take action. It does mean that attempting to
outsmart the buyer is a good way to create shortterm relationships.
The close is only part of the effective salesperson’s
overall effort. Closing is interlaced into all steps
of selling. So it might be said that if salespeople
aren’t thinking about the close from the beginning,
they’ll probably have a harder time with the
opening, qualifying, presenting, demonstrating and
negotiating, too.
Practicing closing techniques in role-playing
situations is helpful. Practice helps the real situations
go more smoothly. But don’t hesitate to use them in
real situations. Nothing will help you improve more
than “game situations.”
Luckily, some very good salespeople have worked
out a few good closing techniques that still work.
All you must do is learn and become comfortable
with them. Two simple practices make closing
easier: Make it easy to say yes, and learn when to
quit talking and start listening. One very successful
salesperson told an audience, “Make your closing
statement and then be quiet. The first one who talks
loses.”
©2011 Newspaper Association of America