Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Tips: Getting An Agency To Work With A Publication

Posted by Anonymous on 12/15/2012 at 12:42 PM ET 250 Points
We are a small publication that direct mails our Local Dine Guide to all residents within selected zones. We have been going from local business to local business selling advertising in the publication but it is going rather slow, so I am considering trying to work with an agency to see if they could help us fill some pages.

Do you guys have any tips or advise for someone thinking about working with agencies to sell some of our available pages?

*local publication
*35,000 pieces distributed per zone
*full page rate is .03 per piece
*published and distributed quarterly
*direct mailed to residents by USPS


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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 12/15/2012 at 1:52 PM Accepted
    It's not clear what kind of agency would be interested in something like this. Advertising agencies work for their clients, the advertisers, not for media companies (which is what you are). You probably need a sales rep more than an agency. If you are having trouble selling the space, why do you think a sales rep would be any better?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/15/2012 at 2:43 PM Accepted
    I doubt working with an agency will help you.

    In terms of your publication's options for space, number and frequency of insertions, payment options, available formats, design help, marketing advice, distribution scope, number of subscribers, ad placement, number of potential readers, and rates of responses for offers, what are you offering prospective advertisers?

    How are you advising ad buyers to structure their material in your publication so that their ads work to the best possible effect?

    If you come to me and all you want to do (or if all you're prepared to do) is to sell me ad space when really, you could be advising me on how to create my ads, what to put in them, and telling me what you know appeals to readers, you're not meeting my needs as an advertiser.
  • Posted by Moriarty on 12/15/2012 at 4:49 PM Accepted
    There is a similar scheme operating near me - only it is general (ie serving all local businesses) very local and *importantly* every Thursday.

    It is produced by a local printer who advertised it to their client base who already used them for flyers and other print work - and of course, graphics.

    It has been a resounding success, despite the recession caused by the 2007 crash. Many local businesses rely on it for a presence in the locality as it now runs to six A4 pages. Pricing is extremely affordable and in truth, a no-brainer for any established local business.

    The locality around where I live has a population of some 25,000 and some 7000 homes are served.

    Hand in hand, the two work very well for this small print firm.

    Now the question of getting an agency in is really to avoid the real question: is what you are offering what your advertisers really want? To me quarterly is too infrequent - and for a flyer alone won't develop any kind of interest. A weekly publication that is focused on a tightly knit local area does, especially with an established client base all of whom want cheap, effective advertising.

    I want to know from you what other things you can offer besides this one publication? Can you offer them print services - who else could you serve besides restaurants and diners? (Hotels, casinos, garages any local business). Do you have a website and blog that would act as a feed point for reactions to advertisements and perhaps a directory of local businesses that have reviews and grades etc.? My thoughts are that you need a lot more than just an infrequent advertising flyer to get people interested - both clients and readers.

    Let us know if this helps.

    Moriarty
  • Posted on 12/15/2012 at 6:24 PM Author
    Thanks everyone for your time and comments.

    @mgoodman - I was told there are things called "media buying agency" that will match their clients with companies offering advertising.

    I am not really having trouble selling space, it is just time consuming. I am actually interviewing Account Executives now but thought I would try all options that are out there.

    -------------------------------------

    @Gary Bloomer - Yes we do all those things, we help clients with their advertising and even build their ad at no additional cost.

    -------------------------------------

    @Moriarty - I created this dine guide because it seemed several nights every week my family and I would sit around and ask "what are we eating tonight" and we could never think of everything new that was around us, so we would end up eating from the same old places month after month. So this Magazine style Restaurant Guide was to help other local families that might have the same problem finding where to eat. Yeah you can say we have the internet now but honestly it is hard to find smaller local restaurants on the internet.

    We print them every quarter to keep the cost down for advertiser. Print cost is not too bad but to mail 35,000 copies is rather costly and instead of our advertisers paying about $320 per month (on payout option) they would be paying $900 per month if it was a monthly publication and from what we have found most residents are actually holding on to the Dine Guide for the entire 90 days until the new one come in the mail.

    The publication is a 48 page magazine (48 pages is the max weight for our permit) in it we showcases the menus of local restaurants and we sell the additional pages to other businesses for advertising. I thought this would be a good medium for any size business because it actually gives the customer a reason to hold on to the product. It is not a one time mailer that they will throw away if it is not something they may need on the day it is delivered but most of our Dine Guides are retained for the entire 3 month period, maximizing the advertising dollar.

    Yes, we do have the capability to assist local businesses with other services such as printing and design work.

    We do have a website that is in the works but has not officially launched yet where customers will be able to go and enter reviews but again it is still in the works.

    -------------------------------------

    Thanks again everyone for you comments. Hope the answers above help explain some things a little better.

  • Posted by Moriarty on 12/16/2012 at 4:55 AM Member
    500

    thanks for the detailed answer! We had a problem - only of a different kind. We grew our own and most restaurants didn't which left only the Partridge in Wallingford (v. expensive but worth the time, effort and expense).

    This is a small space to put yourself forward; most here are setting up something and haven't any real experience. You have, and for that well done. What I want you to do is look at the restaurants who like you, and your *readership* that like you. You will certainly have this info somewhere, perhaps even readily to hand. All this means you have an established niche - this is the *stuff of profitable marketing*.

    So forget the agencies and start thinking about who your customers are. You need two online campaigns: one for frustrated restaurant owners and one for hungry diners-to-be. With the sorts of money you are charging, targeting a tightly focused niche such as yours will be both effective and worthwhile. Just buy a copy of Howie Jacobson's "Adwords For Dummies" and you should find it pretty easy. Really!

    A few points: "It is hard to find smaller local restaurants on the internet" Information products (your magazine/guide is one) are being undermined all the time by the internet - cheaper, faster, easier. If you can tie it in with your printed version it will make the magazine in the hand even more worthwhile, not less. There is something to having something in the hand as you are heading out the door that even a mobile app doesn't satisfy.

    If you can refine your target even more, and speak to them in the language they prefer you will find that your effectiveness really establishes itself.

    Let us know what you think.

    Hope this helps, Moriarty
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/17/2012 at 9:44 AM Accepted
    Each of the things you do to help your advertisers is a primary selling point, a major benefit to each advertiser. Rather than working with an ad agency, have your ad sales people discuss the ways your advertisers can benefit from working with you. Focus less on the "why", more on the "how", and steer away from "should".
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 12/17/2012 at 4:23 PM Accepted
    As one of my gigs, I started and run a small regional sports magazine (California Kayaker Magazine, calkayakermag.com). Never heard of a "media buying agency", so if more comes up about that, I'd definitely be interested.

    I am suspecting that you are the sales person? One route to grow is to hire on a freelance sales person. In my market/region, they seem to get a 15-20% commission and no base. This sometimes could appeal to someone looking for a side job with flexibility. Better yet, someone who is already going after similar targets for another (non-competing) sales call. But of course, you need to split up the market somehow, so you both aren't going after the same people.

    Of course, having a good list of the benefits to the potential advertisers is important. Make sure you can easily tell them what they get out of working with you (much deeper level than just saying they would get an ad - what would that ad do for them? How many people see it? Etc.). And you should understand the other options that restaurants have to advertise (radio, newspapers, etc.) and the costs and benefits.

    Not sure if it will help, but I wrote a blog post about ad sales for a magazine at https://expandabroad.blogspot.com/2011/06/ads-in-new-publication.html.
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