Advertising: the basics

Local advertising

Even the smallest business may want to consider the benefits of local advertising. For example:

• supermarket boards, postcards in shop windows or leaflet drops
• advertising space rented out at railway stations, bus stops or on buses, roundabout islands, leisure centres or doctors' surgeries
• local organisations' newsletters, fete programmes and parish magazines
• a sign outside your business premises, provided you conform to planning regulations - contact your local authority through our Contacts Directory  

Local and regional newspapers

Weekly, evening and morning, paid-for and free local papers provide a variety of ways to advertise:

• Classified advertising - usually containing only words and often the cheapest option.
• Display and semi-display - display advertisements are bigger and more sophisticated. They usually appear on editorial pages or in special supplements, eg motoring, recruitment, property, etc and can use pictures and design devices.
• Advertisement features - laid out like editorial pages but featuring you and your business (perhaps your new premises). You pay for them, and you may also be given advertisement space. Your suppliers might advertise as well and offset the cost.
• Loose inserts you supply that are placed inside the newspaper, ie buying the paper's circulation for your flyer.

Make sure any advert is targeted and stands out - readers could easily miss it amongst the editorial and other adverts. When deciding on the text, remember that readers may only spend a few seconds looking at each advert - unless you can keep them interested. You can get details of newspapers in your area and how to advertise in them on The Newspaper Society website - Opens in a new window.

Ask the advertisement department at the newspaper for a media pack with readership breakdown and rates for different types of advertisement. The quoted rate is only a starting point - always negotiate to try to pay less. Ideally, check circulation figures on the Joint Industry Committee for Regional Press Research (JICREG) website (login required) - Opens in a new window.

Local magazines and directories

Many areas have local lifestyle magazines - useful for certain types of upmarket consumer advertising. Always check when and where they are circulated.

Phone directories such as the Yellow Pages and Thomson Local offer free listings and paid-for display advertisements. However, as most of your competitors will also be listed in the same place, it may be hard to make your business stand out. Remember also that directories are usually consulted when there is already a need for a product or service, eg blocked drains, so they are unsuitable for generating general awareness of your business.

Local business directories produced by Chambers of Commerce and other organisations can assist if you sell to other businesses.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• How advertising can help your business
• Local advertising
• Advertising on the Internet and in online directories
• Advertising in the trade and technical press
• Radio, cinema, outdoor and national advertising
• Planning an advertising campaign
• Getting value for money from your advertising
• Managing responses and monitoring the campaign
• Tips on writing a print advertisement
• Here's how I increased my sales through advertising

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