Dear Dan: We’ve had success advertising online, but for our particular target buyers, the best results still come from basic newspaper ads. Is there an easy way to place ads in multiple newspapers at the same time? – Print Guy
Dear Print Guy: Chalk this up to yet another small business application available at Google that you might not yet know about. A just-launched service called Google Print Ads is a simple way to place print ads in multiple newspapers across the country.
Kind of ironic, no? Google – online juggernaut and bane of ink-stained media – has invented a super easy Web-based way to buy and manage print ads across a network of 225 major-market newspapers nationwide. Just click a tab for access to an entire universe of print ads.
After a limited early stab at this, Google’s modest test program has just gone big-time, allowing advertisers of any size to easy reach 32 of the top 35 DMAs (designated market areas) in the United States.
Sure, the youth of our planet seldom read newspapers anymore. But at least half of educated and affluent adult faithful still do, and newspapers remain the No. 1 source of local news. What’s more, many consumers who bought something online say they did so only after seeing a print ad.
The Google service, available to anyone with a Google AdWords account, offers heretofore unheard of simplicity for creating, managing and tracking newspaper ads – especially for small and mid-sized businesses. If you don’t already have a Google AdWords account, signing up for one is easy.
A few key things to know about Google Print Ads:
1. Pricing is offer-based, not auction-based. In other words, you are free to propose a price that you are willing to pay, but publishers can accept or reject your offer as they see fit. Some may have established rate structures, or might counteroffer.
2. You can use a single online interface available at Google Print Ads to create multi-publication campaigns. It’s easy, whether you are buying space in one newspaper, or 100.
3. You only need to upload the “creative” for your ad once, even for multiple publications.
For small businesses (and ad agencies as well) seeking exposure in more than one market, this is huge. Buying newspaper space has always been time-consuming – all the more so when trying to orchestrate a multi-city buy. But the Google service brings buyers and sellers together, helping save time and money.
For full details on using the system, visit www.google.com/adwords/printads. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@business.com.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
