How To Run An Ad Introduction Your media options ----Daily newspapers ----Weekly newspapers ----Shoppers ----Other publications Making first contact Analyzing the media Choosing the right one Running the ad After the ad runs Take our ad effectiveness course. Learn what you need to know to get a great response the first time you run. Just $59 • Get more readers seeing your ad • Get more readers reading your ad • Get more readers responding

So, you've met with each publication's advertising representative and now it's time to make sense of all the information.

Here are the things you should probably consider and watch out for when choosing in which publication or publications you should run.

Keep in mind that when you think you're being quoted circulation figures, you might really be getting readership figures, and the difference is enormous.

To make matters worse, some advertising representatives don't exactly go out of their way to clear up the confusion. Here's the difference:

Circulation is what you probably think it is—the number of newspapers that are being published and distributed that day (or week if it's a weekly).

Readership is a much higher number based on the fact that a single newspaper is often read by more than one person—2.5 people is the newspaper industry average.

This means a 5,000 circulation newspaper has approximately 12,500 readers and a 50,000 circulation newspaper has 125,000 readers.

Since a newspaper's readership is a larger number, most promotional pieces will use those numbers. While readership may be a more accurate reflection of the amount of people reading the newspaper, it's probably a better idea to stick with circulation figures when comparing one newspaper to another.

Don't hesitate to ask your advertising representative as he's reeling off the statistics about his newspaper, "Are those actual households, or are those the readers?". In fact, it's not a bad idea to say that whenever you initially meet with an ad rep, just to show that you know what you're doing.

You would think that publications wouldn't misrepresent their circulation figures, but it happens. There is only one kind of real proof that a newspaper is getting into the hands of their readers, and it's call a third-party audit. There are two well-respected organizations that a newspaper can pay to come and and check everything out and put their seal of approval on it.

BPA International, ABC-Audit Bureau of Circulation, Verified Audit Of Circulation and CAC-Certified Audit of Circulation are some of the big audit bureaus. Insist on getting a copy of the audit. Those that have been audited have copies for their advertisers.

If your advertising representative tells you they're not audited, be careful. Some newspapers will show you a statement from whoever prints their publication, but this might not be truthful, and even if it is, who's to say that the newspapers were delivered properly? Publisher's statements are just as questionable, so if that's all the proof that's available, proceed with caution.

Next: Choosing the right one

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