A recent article in The Guardian points to the challenges newspapers face attracting advertisers and maintaining ad revenue. And yet millions of people are still picking up print editions. Though the article comments specifically on the UK market, the same could be said of the industry here in the US. But contrary to the sentiment the author suggests that “publishers must find new ways to convince advertisers that they have audiences worth targeting,” we would argue that publishers are tasked with finding alternative ways to monetize their product. Convincing advertisers of the value of their readership is not enough.
While many have looked to selling digital advertising as their saving grace, there is another option. A new revenue stream within the print property. Per-inquiry advertising. Yes, this involves publications taking on risk and shifting from their traditional model. But if they are boasting engaged readership, shouldn’t they have confidence in their ability to drive response?
Advertisers are paying per response in other mediums, so is it really that unrealistic that they expect to be able to do the same in print? They demand performance, measurability, and tracking. Advertisers need to justify spending, after all.
Here are MediaBids, we believe in the power and value of newspapers. Our President, Jedd Gould, has said “we at MediaBids feel very strongly that newspapers and magazines are a critical component to democracy in the United States…we really feel that without newspapers and magazines and the original content that they’re producing, we all would be worse off”. When is this truer than in an election year? Yet, we know the model is being threatened by economic pressures and changes in the advertising landscape.
Hundreds of publications have already adapted and teamed with MediaBids to run per inquiry ads. While response varies widely depending on many factors such as advertising campaign and publication size, its undeniable these campaigns are driving calls and sales, thus delivering revenue to publications. If you’d like to increase your advertising revenue and feature national advertisers in your publication, give us a call today at 860-379-9602 or learn more at https://www.mediabids.com/publication/print-advertising.jsp.
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