The Print Advertising Costs & Effectivity Explained

When talking about print advertising, many consider it a traditional and outdated method. While it does need some old design and method to spread the brand, it tends to be the most trustworthy marketing method. At the same time, you can also find the best cost-effective options that go well with your marketing budget. 

But, isn't the print advertising cost higher than the digital media? No, it is not always happening. Print material comes with a range of possibilities, including the rate ranges. It is based on the physical medium, size, etc. The more complex your ads are, expect the extravagant cost later. So, the idea is not a bad decision. It just needs some planning. 

What Is Cost-Effectiveness In Media Or Advertising 

So what is cost-effectiveness? Before talking about the vast amount of consideration and ideas for your advertisement, you got to learn about cost-effectiveness. Whether it is print or digital media, cost-effectiveness in advertising refers to how the investment is worth the retention or ROI. 

It is a measure of media effectiveness that compares the potential or actual audience with the charge for the advertising. In many cases, this kind of measurement is expressed with the cost-per-thousand-person viewing. Indeed, you can see the exact number from digital P.R., But it is also easier to monitor from print advertisements. 

One thing that is for sure is that the process of advertising media selection will be the determining method for the cost-effective options. So, there are a lot of considerations or factors to measure the effectiveness. It includes monitoring the ROI or return of investment; in other words, it measures the number of sales. 

When considering the ranges of options from the print media, it is safe to say that each of them has a different effectiveness rate. One might be better than the other. But, there is also some trick to ensure every kind of media will show better ROI. To learn more about the print advertising cost, read further and make sure you got some ideas for your marketing.  

How To Measure Cost-Effectiveness? 

Since the cost and effectiveness of print advertising are measured with the ROI and retention rate, you will need a tool or ways to monitor it. The thing is, digital promotion is easier to monitor due to the help of computerization. So, how about the print media? How can you measure the price and effectiveness of your campaign? 

Since you are hardly able to pay attention to every ad, it is better to use something as proof of retention. One of the best ones is to use unique promo codes, scarcity ideas, vouchers, or coupons. Issuing a unique promo for each ad you publish will help see how many sales you made. 

It is especially effective to count the ROI or return from each ad you place in print media. As an example, you make print advertising in a farming magazine with promo code FM. You also have different advertising in the gardening magazine with promo code GM. Each time you get some sales with the code (FM/GM) it means you got a direct sale from the media. 

As you know the return, you will see which one is the most effective advertising idea. Are you going to continue for the farming or gardening magazine? From that, you can also calculate whether the return from the commercial is higher, equal, or lower than the publication cost. Thus, you got the effective print advertising cost. 

How about different media or methods? It works the same. If you are using an email address or social media page, you can create a single point contact to measure the return. It works with direct mail, billboard, classified print, and much more print media. You can also do the same for digital media ads, including online social media or emails. 

Compared to print media, using digital ads will be easier to monitor. For example, by using social media or websites. Checking out the website traffic will be one of the determiners for your cost-effectiveness rate. A surge in site traffic, sales, increasing followers are some of the indications that you are successfully attracting people through your advertising.  

Cost Estimation 

Let's go back to print advertising costs. Since there are many kinds of options, you will find that each of them has different rates. Depending on the medium, location, size, and duration, the charge for your publicity will significantly vary. It is also worth noticing that the print price tends to rise time by time. So, this estimation might not be accurate at all. 

1. Newspaper

One of the most popular and also used as print advertising is newspaper. As a media that has a wide range of audiences, newspapers are considered as one of the best promotional options. You can feature your advertising in many ways and according to your budget or cost. It makes the marketing cost vary, and so does the exposure for your print ads. 

In case you are going for a newspaper, the price tag varies widely. One of the factors is the circulation size and period. In other words, how long do you want the advertising featured in the newspaper? The longer it is, the higher the fee will be. Another determiner that you need to jot down is the print ads size. 

Have you seen a full-page advertising coverage or a small pin size one in a newspaper? Due to the differing exposure, thus the charge tally will also be significantly different. In the case of size, the newspaper commercials mostly calculate the fee on a column-inch basis. The cost estimation is the bigger ad, the more cost to spend. 

The column-inch calculation is about one-inch height in one section. It is easier to call as one column is one inch. And your cost is the number column used. So, it is around one-sixth of the full page. The newspaper print price might be different, so it is hard to round up the number. However, you might also find some publications that use sectional pricing for the print advertising cost. 

Since many newspapers use black and white print, your advertising budget will also be based upon your choice of color or not. It is not a surprise if the print cost for the color advertising will be higher than the monotone color. It is especially true since the publication will need to use four types of color ink. But again, the colored design is way more attractive than the monotone one. 

Another unique point about the newspaper ads charge is the time and days. One of the higher budgets is for the daily newspaper Sunday issues. Since many people have time to read the publication, thus the brand exposure and product demand are higher. But, it comes back to the public demand for the newspaper. 

Some other pinpoints that will hike up your cost are the area, placement or section, and the circulation numbers. If you are going for a headline or the most attractive page, the print advertising cost will increase. For advertising cost estimation, the charge is about $250 to $400. 

To get the cost-effective option, try to fit your wallet for the advertising. Most of the time, print media has ranges of price. It is also worth investing in newspapers since you will have the needed brand exposure. As long as you can run the promotion on the regional bulletin, it is. The print ads' ROI will not disappoint. 

2. Magazine

Almost similar to newspapers, the magazine commercial has more options to play around with. At some point, you can also reach a more specific audience with a themed magazine. It also comes with colors, so your advertising will look more attractive. But for the cost, the number can start from cheap to the extravagant one. 

Most of the time, magazine advertising costs will depend on the pricing and circulation. At some point, magazine publishers will also use a rate card that shows modular pricing. In this case of print publication, you can expect lower rates for the local media compared to the national magazine. The charge will vary from one media to another. 

The typical cost for the magazine commercial is about $500 to $20,000 (entrepreneur.com). However, some considerations will determine the cost. The factors are the size, the publication area, the color, and the use of multiple advertising rates. Don't get surprised that some national magazines can reach up to $500,000 for an inside front cover. 

 Again, the print advertising cost is not too different from the newspaper one. The placement is the crucial consideration for the advertising exposure and the payment. A special section or the inside cover, for example, has a higher charge than the random section. It occurs for both local and national magazines. 

One thing that you will need to notice about magazine print advertising is the use of rate cards. The card will help determine the cost based on the insertion frequencies and ad sizes. In other words, you can call the print magazine card a contract for both the company and the publisher. It includes details for the price rate, the ads insertions, and also size.

As an example, you have a contract or card that says five insertions over five months. It means your advertising will appear once per issue for five print magazines (monthly publishing). The unique thing is that some publications might give a discount cost for multiple insertions. So, featuring your ads in magazines is not a bad idea at all. 

3. Direct Mail

If you are looking for a low to high charge yet more personalized approach, consider using direct mail. It is a print media that you can send through postal service to the customer's homes. With the purpose of getting them to make purchases, direct mail will be one of the most cost-effective print advertising to use. 

However, you will need to pay more attention to the target audience research. You will need to see whether the print advertising costs are worth the ROI. So, sending direct mail to the proper audience elevates the chance of higher retention. But in this case, you will also need to buy the target address information and geographic location. 

With the help of a qualified mailing list, the payment of this print promotion can start from $50 to $20,000. The price tag will depend on the list details and sizes. As an example, an across island mail might have a higher fee than the local or regional mail. Thus, print advertising is more suitable for established businesses with loyal customers. 

A loyal customer might increase the guarantee to make a return. Thus, you will get an effective initial total for the production and ad. Another consideration is the full price for these promotional campaigns. Some factors such as material, printing, distribution, and design should be on the 1-2% response rate. Thus, the total cost should be about 30% of the conversion rate. 

4. Yellow Page For Business

Yellow page is not the best print advertising for modern business. Since people are starting to use the internet and smartphones, the significance of the yellow page has decreased in 2008. But for your information, the ad charge for the yellow page can start about $250 to $400 for a small business card-sized placement. 

5. Billboard

Having a directional marker as a promotional medium is one of many billboard benefits. It used to support any other kind of ads you have in many media. But, billboards can have a bigger impact on the ROI due to their direct method and fleeting exposure. While it has a higher chance of conversion, billboard advertising needs a punchy copy and cost consideration. 

Most of the print advertising cost for billboards is determined by the location, size, area population, and duration. As an example, the rural area billboard might charge about $250 per month. Meanwhile, the downtown area billboard commercial charge can reach up to $15,000. It also depends on the impression, such as being located on a major road. 

If you are using billboards, there are also some other cost considerations. The first one is the production fee which can vary based on the material, design service, printing company, and also size. Not only that, but you might also have to pay for the advertising installation. That is why huge billboards are mostly used by established businesses or companies.

6. Classified Print Ads 

If you are looking for a more budget-friendly option with great exposure, try the classified print ads. It refers to the small blocks of text that are usually found toward the back of the magazine or newspaper. It might be very simple and not so attractive, but it works. One of the reasons is due to the dedicated print advertising section. 

The section comprises many other advertisements. Thus, people or readers know where to find ranges of brands or products. How about the commercial price? In this case, usually, you will pay per character used. So, you can save some costs with a more straightforward and directed message. It is one of the best options of printed ads suitable for small businesses. 

Factor That Influences The Cost  

1. The Size Of Prints 

Since you are working with a physical object, it is safe to say you need to pay attention to its size. No matter the publication you will use, going bigger will result in higher print advertising costs. The idea is that your publication needs to consider how your advertising will take up space on their content. 

2. The Publication Popularity And Reach 

Popularity and reach guarantee the brand's exposure. It refers to the print advertising possible notice, audience, and also ROI. In this case, you got a lot of points to look at. You got local, regional, or national publication media (newspaper or magazine). It can also be about the specific reach or audience, such as teens, adults, automotive themes, etc. 

3. Placement 

The publication price depends on the placement. The prominent placement brings a larger audience than those that are hidden or hard to find. With that in mind, the most strategic location will charge you more. So, is it an effective print advertising approach? Since it can help elevate the ROI, putting some more investment for best placement might not be a bad idea.

4. Time And Date

Lastly is the time and date. In other words, when and how long do you want the P.R. featured in the publication. The best timing will demand greater print advertising costs, such as special edition issues on holiday or Halloween. It also happens the duration of your ads will also affect the price, which might also come with a discount possibility.  

Conclusion

Those are some of the pinpoints that you need to write down when trying to plan the print ads' cost. Some of the points underline that you can either get inexpensive to the exorbitant fee for the advertising. It is based on your consideration of the publication, media, and the factors. If you want a lower budget yet high ROI, a properly planned campaign might help you.