7 Ways to Make Your Local Newspaper Work For You

To many people, newspaper classifieds mean ink-stained pages and misprinted phone numbers. But most newspapers now have their websites, complete with original news content, aggregate content – and classifieds. Here are 7 quick and easy ways to make your local newspaper’s website work for you.

Legitimacy

Some still consider newspapers more legitimate than other sources of news and classifieds, especially those less-than-internet-savvy. This means that listing on a newspaper site can help you reach potential buyers classified sites (such as Kijiji) can’t.

Let them do the research for you

Many newspapers maintain useful local content in the sidebars or drop-down menus of their classifieds section. Take a few minutes to look through these before you write your ad and make sure your expectations are realistic. Sure, a 600 sq ft. loft in SoHo might be worth x dollars, but in Little Rock?

Note on home listings

Local content is especially useful in the case of home listings – newspapers often maintain easily reached – in the sidebar, drop-down menu, or a tab – searchable community profiles in the realty section of their classifieds. This immediately gives you an advantage over listings on more bare bones sites such as Craigslist and Classifiedads.com. After all, it’s one thing for you to say your house is in a nice neighborhood, but why should potential buyers believe you? With an online newspaper listing, the proof is just a click away.

Keywords

Nowadays, everyone knows about keywords and SEO techniques. But determining the best keywords for your listing can be more of an art than a science. Take the time to skim through the appropriate section of your local paper to get a feel for the keywords your target audience is searching for.

Linking events and features

Place ads in line with local events – check the events page. Unlike a print ad, online classifieds offer you the opportunity to link back to more information. This is great for linking back to your own site, but consider taking it a step further by looking for articles about your product or service in your local paper. This can help you establish credibility and trust with your consumers.

Scheduling

Long-time classified posters understand the importance of a regular posting schedule – ads rotate, and newer, fresher content is appearing daily. To make sure you’re at the top of the list when your target audience is looking, schedule your ads to appear on the same day as the paper’s specialty section in your area. Are you selling a car or used cars? Post when the paper runs its weekly car feature.

Events

Keep an eye on your paper’s events pages, making sure to post when events related to your posting are on. Selling a diet product? Post your ads when there’s a health expo in town. Like scheduling, this helps you make sure your ads are reaching the right people at the right time.

Headlines

Newspapers are known for their headlines – they’re big, they’re flashy, and they’re instantly recognizable. Newspaper folk know what catches the eye – take advantage of their experience by staying on top of headlines relating to your product, and playing off them when creating headlines for your ads. You get a great eye-catching title, and the memory recognition from the original headline creates interest in your product.

By Peta Andersen
April 16, 2009
© Daype Inc.

photo credit: Asif Akbar