What can I do to reduce my advertising costs per lead or per sale?

There are several things you can do to lower your costs while maintaining, or even increasing, your results. The easiest thing you can do is to use a media buyer like Integral Media to purchase ad space instead of purchasing it directly from publications—thanks to our long-relationships with magazines, you can save up to 80% off of published advertising rates when you use our service. Other ways to reduce your cost include:

• Making sure your ads are highly targeted, both in terms of what publications in which you advertise and the message the ad is communicating.

• Use your ads to capture leads by offering something of value for free in exchange for contact information.

• Track the response your ads generate by pairing print ads with dedicated online landing pages—this will allow you to eliminate advertising that is not cost-effective.

Thanks to the consultative approach we take to media buying, Integral Media can help you with all of the above methods of reducing your advertising costs per sale.

What call to action should I use in my ads?

A “best practice” is to use your ads to offer something of value for free. For example, you could offer a coupon for a free sample or offer people the chance to enter a sweepstakes to win your product or service. In order to get what you are offering, people will need to provide some personal information.

For example: name, email address, phone number, etc. This will allow you to follow up with them (either automatically or in-person) and begin the sales process.

The better your free offer is, the more information you can ask for. The mistake most companies make is trying to make the sale in the ad. This method tends to be far less effective and will increase your customer acquisition cost.

How can I track the results from my advertising?

What should I look for in a print media buying service?

In many cases, print media buyers are viewed as a commodity—i.e. the only difference people see in them is what rate they charge. When you select a print media buyer using this criteria alone, you are setting yourself up for frustration. Here’s some additional things you should consider when deciding who to work with:

• Customer service: Will you have a dedicated account manager? Are all phone calls and emails answered promptly? Is there good communication?

• Strategy: Will the media buyer help you develop a strategy for success, and take the time to learn about your business so that they can give you the best possible advice?

• Results: What does the media buyer do to insure that your advertising campaign actually gets results? Saving 50-80% off of published rates is great…unless it didn’t get you a single new customer.

• Relationships: How many magazines does the media buyer have relationships with? Can they place your ads in publications that reach your target audience?

At Integral Media, our combination of outstanding service, strategy development, relationships, and emphasis on producing and tracking results makes us the best choice for your media buying needs.

What is alternative print media?

Alternative print media refers to things like direct mail postcards, package inserts, catalog blow-ins (third party ads loosely inserted into a catalog), etc.

In addition to magazine advertising, Integral Media offers advertising using alternative print media through our network of partners. Several of our clients have had great success with this strategy.