How to Sell Newspaper Ads

In order to sell newspaper ads to clients you have to know a great deal about newspapers. You’ll have to spend some time training or doing research to pick up newspaper lingo. Selling newspaper ads may also require some good communication skills.

• Understand the focus of your newspaper. Many businesses have a specific type of person that buys their products. When a business advertises they like to use a newspaper that caters to the same demographic that they sell their products to. Collect as much information as possible from your readers to determine the newspaper’s demographic. Some important factors would be the reader’s average age, how many males and females read the paper, and the age range of readers.


• Learn about the sizes of newspaper ads. You will need to be able to show a client an example of each ad size when making a proposal. Many newspapers use different sizing methods. Speak with the editor of the paper to make sure you understand how the sizes work before selling ads to clients.


• Get a good idea of how newspaper advertising works. You will need to know how many readers your paper has and the advantages it has over other newspapers in the area. The more facts you can provide to people the more comfortable it usually makes them in buying from you.


• Create a master list of potential clients or get one from your Sales Manager. Pay a regular visit to each of the businesses on the list to talk to them about their advertising needs.  Make an initial phone call to set up an appointment with each client before actually driving to his or her location. In many cases, it might take three visits to a business before you sell anything.