Newspaper Advertising

Nathan

What are some strategies for a good newspaper ad?

I'm looking into running a 1/4 page ad in some of our local papers and I'm trying to figure out what content to put in them. I know you need to insert a "Call to Action" for direct mail advertising but is that also needed in newspaper ads?

Whats better?
* A bold but ugly ad
* A "pretty" but not so bold ad?

Any advice? THX

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Nathan

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

Mike Finley

Do you want to build brand awareness of your company so that you eventually get jobs because people recognize your name or do you just want to attract work?

Branding would be: Big head lines " Pro Painters - painters who you can trust, we do this, this and this, call me..."

In this type of ad you want your company to be prominant. It will take much longer to get work with an ad like that, but if you are combining it with other forms of advertising, eventually through name recognition you will get more and more response, eventually your advertising will get better response rates once you have a recognized name in the community.

Pull in work would be: Big head lines "Need your house painted? We paint house, call me..."

In this type of ad your company name is secondary, the ad attempts to recognize and solve a potential customers problem, with you supplying the solution. This type of ad will generate more response, but it does nothing to build your company name over the long run.

This is an example of the latter - the company name is secondary to the message to attract a response.



Logic would say to create an ad that does both at the same time, but that is impossible. You can create an ad that does both only by consistantly running the same message over and over again. Coming up with a really good call to action that can become identified with your company and running it long term will eventually do both.

mikesewell

Good post Mike.

When I see someone's name in their ad over a long period of time, it tells me that they are proud of their work, proud of their name, and that they're not hiding from anyone.

Give this a try: Look in your local yellow pages under ADVERTISING. These guys are supposed to be the pros. Most of the time they run an ad that just gives their name and phone number. Why?

Try this one: Pick the largest construction company in your area. They usually run simple name and phone number ads too, but under a bzillion different headings. They get a lot of bang for their buck; no matter where you look in the book, you're looking at their ad.

Hope this helps.

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Commercial construction

Sewell Construction

cdac

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mikesewell

Chris,
I love your website. Nice job, it totally blows mine away. I'm glad that you're not my local competition.

__________________
Commercial construction

Sewell Construction

cdac

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Glasshousebltr

Yea, nice site Chris.

We need to talk, Your exterior decks look great and you could really cash in with my seat design.........no *****.

I developed a bench seat that I've seen nowhere else, no ones even gotten close.

Bob

cdac

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