Since the advent of digital distribution, many traditional print publications — some venerable institutions that have been around for more than a century — have gone the way of the dodo bird. Despite the growth of e-readers and tablets, consumers continue to feel more positive toward print advertising than digital media, according to the Magazine Media Fact Book. When deciding how you should allocate your advertising dollars to best promote your product, keep in mind there are a few pros and cons to print media.

Pro: Drives Purchase Intent

According to the Readership Institute at Northwestern University, advertising is one of the top five drivers of newspaper consumption. On the magazine front, almost two-thirds of readers say they enjoy reading magazine ads, while more than half read their favorite print magazines specifically to gain information about new brands. Consumers enjoy and trust print advertising. At a time when consumers are fast-forwarding or bypassing advertising altogether, print media is considered a destination for advertising.

Pro: Cost, Lifespan, Production

Newspaper advertising can be less expensive than advertising in other media outlets. With different ad sizes and rates, even small businesses can place an ad that won’t break the budget. If your ad requires production changes, they can generally be made quickly. Ad design services are usually free. In addition, magazines and other print media enjoy loyal audiences. Magazines may be kept around for a month or longer, which gives more exposure to your product.

Pros: Targeted Audience

Print media provides opportunities to advertisers to reach targeted audiences in a local market. When you advertise your small business in local print media, you can focus your ad to fit your desired demographic. For instance, if you want to reach the Asian market, advertising in an Asian publication can generally achieve better results than advertising on other platforms because the readers are a high concentration of your target market.

Cons: Readership Decline

A decline in readership of print media has occurred as more people get their information and advertising from online sources. The firm eMarketer estimates that online newspaper advertising revenue grew more than 8 percent in 2011, while print newspaper advertising revenue sank more than 9 percent in the same year. It is generally a good strategy to spend your advertising budget where your audience is looking.

Con: Rates, Lead Times

While it’s true newspaper is a cost-effective advertising medium, when it comes to magazine advertising, especially in a national publication, the cost can be prohibitive. Furthermore, the magazine industry has long lead times, so your message cannot be delivered as quickly as with other media.

Con: Cluttered Landscape

In print media, your ad may be packed like a sardine among other advertisements, a very common practice in print media. It may be harder for your potential customer to find or read about your product.

This article comes from smallbusiness edit released

One of the basic axioms of book marketing is that it takes multiple impressions on target buyers to induce them to make a purchase. The more varied these touchpoints, the greater the impression and motivation to favorable action.

Successful book publishers market their books using an assorted mix of promotional media. The four parts to an assorted communication mix are publicity, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling. The weight of any one element depends upon the content, nature of your product lines, the author’s involvement in marketing, and the target buyers.

A strategic combination of print media and digital communication can maximize the impact of your message because print media offers benefits that digital doesn’t, and that digital combined with print media advertising is more powerful than digital alone. A strategic use of print media can most effectively and efficiently increases your sales, revenue and profits.

Technology has made it easier and cheaper than ever for small book publishers to reach their prospective buyers through advertising. Websites, social media sites and email campaigns offer immediacy and interactivity. But traditional print media advertising retains many of the advantages that made it the lifeblood of marketing communications for decades. For book publishers seeking credibility, repetition and a closer connection with their target buyers, the benefits of print media ads may outweigh even the most-used digital media.

This article comes from sheridan edit released