Written by

Nancy Chodak

Director of Advertising

Genesee Valley Penny Saver

When faced with this tough economic climate, there is no better way to increase your customer base and revenue than with Community promotions. Everyone is looking for new revenue growth, and community pages are ideal for attracting new customers who may not regularly run in your publication. The key to any Community page is frequency. We run over 15 community pages in one of our 10 editions every month.

How do you begin?

Start with a layout of the page. This layout should include real life photos of the community such as a Main Street, a Shopping Center, school or church. Ideally you want to have eye catching graphics that have local community focus and local landmarks. Some Community Pages offer free space to local nonprofit organizations such as a food cupboard or senior center. The cost is covered by paid advertisers who agree to support these organizations. Most layouts include information about community events that is updated seasonally/monthly.

The Look

The layout should also have specific ad sizes. Keep it simple by offering just one or two ad sizes and be sure that they are large enough for ad copy and a small graphic. We rarely offer anything smaller than an 1/8^th of a page. Color sells and all of our community pages are full color. By grouping all of the ads on one or two pages, it enables us to offer a lower price to an advertiser that otherwise could not afford the cost of full color or ad size.

Frequency

All of our community pages run monthly. Many of the businesses that run in our community pages might not normally advertise - particularly seasonal or niche businesses. We typically ask the advertiser to make a 6 month commitment enabling the Ad Consultant the guarantee of filling the pages without constantly looking for new advertisers. Once the promotion runs, the advertisers usually see a return on their investment and continue their commitment.

Ease of Sale

Beginning a Community page does take quite a lot of time for an Ad Consultant to sell. However, once the promotion runs, we often only need to make minimal changes to an ad the following month. Many of these changes can be handled via e-mail or phone, shortening the sales cycle for the Ad Consultant.

Bottom Line

Community pages benefit the community and the paper. It helps readers stay connected to what is happening in their hometown thus strengthening your papers readership. Another benefit to the advertiser is that there is strength in numbers and their ad will have more impact on a page with an attractive header and businesses from the same locale.