Sunday marketing top: cozy up to your local newspaper

Local newspapers, especially genuinely locally owned ones, are often small businesses too.  They have similar challenges to newsagencies – a limited marketing budget.  Here are some suggestions you could put to the local newspaper in return for their support of your business.

1. Prime positioning.  Offer the best newspaper location in-store for the local newspaper.
2. Co-location.  On the day of issue (if it’s not a daily) offer a second location right at the counter or the front of the store to maximise circulation for them.
3. A once (or twice) a year window display. Promise a feature window display at least once a year around a mutually agreed theme.
4. Co-branding certain competitions.  Offer to co-brand colouring competitions and adult art competitions with their masthead. Run the competitions with them. This ensures their coverage of the competition and the winners.
5. Co-branding of your noticeboard.  If you have a local events / news / activities noticeboard (and you should have), co-brand it with the newspaper to drive their support of it and your business.

In return for your support in-0store, ask the publisher to provide you with an agreed number of house ads for free, ads in a location of their choosing which promote your business.  Also ask for agreed coverage of key events beyond the dual branded events such as colouring competitions.  Finally, negotiate a significantly discounted ad rate for a set position in each issue. I am not talking a big ad here – business card size is fine – something which keeps your business in the minds of readers and promotes your unique selling proposition or some special deal you have at the time.

It is vitally important that you promote your newsagency outside your newsagency. A mutually beneficial relationship with a local newspaper could be the best way of achieving external advertising without breaking your marketing budget (which should be at least 2% of sales).

I have often had newsagents tell me that advertising in the local newspaper is expensive.  Yes, it is if you just enquire about casual advertising.  Develop a relationship along the lines of what I have suggested and you might find it well within your reach. There is nothing to lose and plenty to gain from trying.