Print advertising of some kind, whether it's a newspaper insert or an ad in your community association's newsletter, is the most commonly used form of advertising for many small businesses. This is because it's relatively inexpensive compared to other forms, such as radio and television, and it has the potential to reach plenty of customers.

Brochures and Flyers

One of the simplest forms of advertising is a sheet of 8.5″ × 11″ paper, folded three times (trifold) to create a brochure or flyer. Home-made used to look exactly that: home-made and on the cheap; however, today's computer printers are improving the look and feel considerably. You can produce it yourself or take the design (usually in an electronic file) to your local office supply store or print shop. You could also hire a writer or writer/graphic designer team to prepare the brochure and deal with the printer.

Then, of course, you need to deliver it. Maybe you just need it to send out on request or to have on hand at trade shows. But you can also hand deliver it to specific neighborhoods — either under your own power or through a flyer delivery service.

Newspapers

Newspapers usually sell ads based on a price per column inch. The rate will depend on the market, the circulation (the number of customers it reaches), the competition, and the newspaper itself. Paid-circulation major dailies will likely charge more than free weeklies, for example.

You can buy “run of paper” ads that might be placed anywhere within certain sections of the newspaper or you can request specific positioning such as up-front, or sports — although you'll pay for a premium ad or location to guarantee your spot. Of course, you can always try classified ads, if you think they'll reach your target customer. As always, gauge the response rate to find out if something's working; if it's not, change it.

Magazines

Magazines tend to be much more expensive than newspapers because they have higher costs (all that glossy paper) and because they have better longevity — a newspaper tends to get read a few times and then recycled; magazines may stick around for weeks or months.

Check out the differences between local, regional, and national magazines, and don't forget to consider trade association publications. The latter can be very effective if you're focusing on a business-to-business product.

Telephone Directories

Telephone directories have the advantage of being in virtually every household — plus, when people open them up they're generally looking to buy. The disadvantage is that you're committing yourself to a year of advertising — there's no opportunity to change the text or reduce the size of your ad to improve its response rate or decrease its cost.

For home-based businesses that cater to customers in the immediate area, directories can be a reasonable component of an advertising program. But be wary of taking out large display ads, especially if there isn't much competition for your business.

Direct Mail

Direct mail, when carefully targeted, can be a very effective technique. The mailing lists that you can rent or purchase should narrow down your customers' characteristics as much as possible by: age or income, interest, or zip or postal code, for example. It can be reasonably expensive to obtain the list and then to produce the mailing and send it, but if the list is closely aligned to the customers you want to reach, it could make economic sense. (Note that if you've rented the list, the list broker will likely send out the mailing, so that you can't “steal” the names on it.)

Once you begin to build a customer base, you can build your own direct mail list. Find out whether people prefer to be contacted via regular mail or e-mail, for example (e-mail is cheaper for you). Be sure to note in your communication with the people that you won't release their names or information to anyone else. (In Canada, privacy legislation is now in place that all businesses, no matter how small, have to follow.)

Coupon Mailers

One way to use direct mail less expensively is to consider a coupon mailer, in which your coupon is included in a packet along with a number of other coupons. If you've recently received one of these promotions yourself, look at the different companies that are advertising. Are they targeting your customers? Would your business seem out of place in this mailing?

Call a noncompeting business that participated and ask about their response rates. How much business did they get from the coupon? Would they do it again? If so, would they change what they printed on the coupon?