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Here are a few ideas that may help you sell
some more papers.
Check your factory complexes. Place vending machines in them.
Run a ‘special’ price on your newspaper to introduce the
concept, and then run that ‘special’ price every so often.
Promote the idea thru rack cards and signs throughout the
factory complexes.
We can make you vinyls/decals and rack cards for these
locations. Personalize the racks to each complex, with colors
and vinyls.
Here is an idea to sell issues of your newspaper everyday! Set
up a modular with 6 - 49’s and 1 - 100 and sell your newspaper
everyday. Put these modulars at your Main Office, and at all off
site offices. Think about other locations in your city where
this could work. Some ‘eye catching’ vinyls on them would bring
attention to them. Your papers are then On Sale 24 hours a day!
How about Dry Cleaning establishments? A wood rack, with the
name of the Dry Cleaner and your newspaper on it, for those
customers that drop off their ‘cleaning’ in the morning on the
way to work. I’m sure the Dry Cleaner also would like the profit
they will make on each paper sold. Some of these businesses have
‘drive-up’ windows, display the paper ‘ON SALE HERE’ at this
window. (Maybe hand out free papers and a ‘freebe’ (jar opener,
pen, coffee cup, hats, etc.) to introduce the sale of your
paper.
How many Dry Cleaners do you have in your area?
Anyone starting a ‘new’ product? Here is a way to pay for your
racks and introduce the ‘new’ product.
Sell advertising in the cardholder area of each rack. The cost
to the advertiser would be the cost of the rack! It could be a
30-60-90 day ad. Then change it out to another advertiser. Each
rack should have vinyls with the name of the ‘new’ product and
the Newspaper. The ad could be done as a decal. You would place
the ‘new’ advertiser’s decal over the old one, or remove the old
one.
Do your customers know where your paper is being sold? Why not
run an ad everyday, (by City), where your newspaper is for sale.
List the rack and store locations, along with any kiosk
locations. Watch your sales improve over all.
Inside stores, sometimes your newspapers are hidden from the
customers view. One thing you can do is use Mobiles. They can be
suspended from the ceiling directly above the newsrack. The sign
should have the newspaper name with arrows pointing down to the
area where your newspaper is located on the rack. Also, if your
papers must be placed on or in an aisle, be sure to place signs
up front showing which aisle your newspaper is located. (Maybe
you could get on the Directories that are around the store).
With all the technology available today, why not download the
logos, colors, and other identifying information about
corporations, when you want to place a newsrack on their
property. Do a rack with their logos, etc. and show them what
the rack will look like. After they say Yes, have vinyls made to
match what you showed them. Start 10 of these locations, X 12
papers ea., = 120 papers sold per day. (You more than pay for
the rack with 1 weeks sales). Look around, I’m sure you’ll come
up with other ideas too! Don’t forget, a Modular setup with
vinyls would work too!
Here’s a way to ‘boost’ your NIE program!
Involve students with learning about your newspaper, have fun
doing it, and use your present racks on the street to display
their Art work!
Meet with the Art teachers (Elementary or Jr. High), hand out
flyers explaining the idea. The teachers interested would be
given the posters and free newspapers. The students would design
a rack card on 1 of 3 themes: What Do I Learn From The
Newspaper, My Favorite Section of The Newspaper, and Why Having
A Free Press Is Important!
The students involved pick the top 10 posters to be judged by
(maybe the Director of your local Art Museum), or someone
involved in Art in your community. The students could pick 10
for Honorable Mention and these would be displayed in the
newspaper lobby. All the others, (the Top 10) from the schools
involved would be laminated and displayed on your street racks
for a month.
You could show the Top 10 Winners in color and the 10 Honorable
Mentions in Black and White, along with a story explaining to
ALL your readers what this project has accomplished. Have some
certificates printed up and hand one to each winning student at
an auditorium gathering of the entire school body.
I’m sure you will see the excitement with the students and
teachers, and also the community, and your NIE Program will get
a ‘Boost’ too!
Use those Coupons!!
They are being used for everything from A-Z, why not for your
newspaper? Have a coupon printed in your newspaper, with .25
cents off your Daily Newspaper and .50 cents off your Sunday
Newspaper. List the stores where the coupons can be redeemed.
Not only will you sell more papers, but your stores owners will
appreciate the ‘free’ advertisement. |
Loose money in a rack? Missed Newspaper? Offer customer a
coupon for a Free coffee and newspaper. Compliments of (your newspaper
and the store). This would be for an AM paper. For a PM paper, offer the
customer a Cool drink and your newspaper. Pick a participating dealer
and run ‘spot’ ads in your newspaper promoting this.
Use Vinyls to ‘localize’ racks. Helps to increase awareness in
the market. (See the American Flags on my
Graphics Page). These can be applied to aluminum panels, to be
mounted on existing racks, Memorial Day through the 4th of July. And
again for Veteran’s Day in November. Maybe Holiday scenes, or a landmark
in the area of the racks. (Put on your thinking caps, I’m sure you and
your team will come up with several ideas.
Promotion with Single Copy Dealers, based on sales. If they
increase (a set %) over last year, they are entered into a drawing. Pick
a Top Prize worthy of their effort. ** A Bonus For the driver who
serviced the Winning Dealer, they too win a prize. By doing this, you
are Promoting Sales and Rewarding both the Dealer and the Driver. Run
ads congratulating them.
Paint Racks School Colors or use Vinyls. Locate the rack near the
Main Office in each school. The driver places the page with that schools
news/sports in the Front Window of the rack. What a great extension to
your NIE Program.
Use Penny Trays, Wobblers, Shirts, Hats, etc. If at least 3 of
the 4 items are being displayed AND the clerk MUST suggest
picking up a copy of your newspaper, they win $50 cash on the spot. Also
the clerk and the store manager are entered into a contest to win a
Grand Prize. This will ensure the store manager makes the promotion
mandatory with all clerks!!
Kids Day Local Children’s Hospital. Print a Special Section about
the facility, then advertise, advertise, advertise!! EVERYBODY sells
papers all day, everywhere. $1.00 per copy!! Everything is paid by
Company/Community donations. ALL proceeds go to Local Children’s
Hospital. You can kick this off with a Golf Tournament. Run ROP Full
Page ads, run ads on TV and the Radio too! (Check with ABC, but I
believe they accept all sales as Paid Circulation).
Tie in-store sales with World Series, NCAA, NFL, etc. Run ROP
ads, promoting all games, players and stories about the teams. Dealers
win with call in’s for more newspapers. Have a Grand Prize. (And always
announce who the winners are).
Use Bumper Stickers (Yes, they now have stickers you can peel
off). Spotters pick license tags. Two winners each day. Publish the tag
numbers and each winner gets a cash prize.
Reduce Price of Newspaper at Special Events & other locations for
1 hour on a given day. Advertise in advance. Maybe put a coupon for a
Free coffee and newspaper at a later date. Maybe the store could help
with some of the costs.
Balloons and Newspapers Tie balloons to a ‘New’ rack location and
hawk the newspaper to those buying and give them a balloon with their
newspaper.
Run a contest on Increased Sales and Reduced Return
Percentages. This will help make everyone aware.
Place Wood Racks or Wire Racks in ‘multiple’ locations in Grocery
Stores. The Produce Dept., Dairy, Bakery, (don’t forget the Deli), and
Meat Dept. Place overhead signage, mobiles, floor graphics, maybe even
get the newspaper listed on all store directories.
Here’s A Sweet Deal!! A coffee, roll, and newspaper, or a soft
drink, candy bar, and newspaper - All for .99!! Now that’s a Sweet
Deal!!
University Subscriptions If you have a University or College in
your city, send out a mailer to all the Alumni for a Special
Subscription. By subscribing for the Football/Basketball Season, they
will be assured of having all the news about their teams.
Rack Cards Sell advertising from a mix of businesses on rack
cards. Charge for each location the card will be shown. They could
advertise a free car wash, or a special on pizza, furniture store ad,
automobile ads, etc. (Hold a ‘barn storming’ meeting for ideas). The
advertising would pay for the cards, (many of them would be reuseable),
and you might build some revenue for other circulation projects or your
rack budget.
Set up Kiosks
at Shopping Malls to sell subscriptions. Coordinate the event
with the malls Merchants Association for gift certificates good
at any store in that particular mall.
Give out gift certificates in an amount that would correspond
with the length of the Paid In Advance subscription.
Be sure you are using the "Take A Penny-Leave A Penny Trays,
(With your logo), Window Cling Decals, Point of Purchase
Material pointing the way to YOUR newspaper. Ask me for some
ideas on some things we have done for other newspapers.
Here is a way to pick up some extra sales at the end of the day.
How about offering a "Sundown Special"? Sell your newspaper for
½ price after a certain hour. This also could help bring your
returns into line while getting credit for sold copies. This
could be used for a certain chain of stores you are trying to
get in. It would build traffic for them.
The idea of selling advertising on newsracks has been around a
long time. Why not try a major advertiser? Maybe an advertiser
your newspaper is trying to bring aboard. Call me about doing
your rack cards. Maybe some vinyls on your racks.
Here is one for Home Delivery. Insert a card into all your
single copy sales that clearly shows what the Single Copy cost
is compared to the Home Delivery price.
Get your local High School Band members involved in selling
subscriptions door to door. I bet some existing customers would
pay to extend their subscription when they know part of their
payment goes to the school band.
Here is a list of sales locations to add to your existing
locations:
Dry Cleaning Businesses
Bait & Tackle Shops
Hardware Stores
Car Washes
Medical Clinics
Cafeteria in Large Office Complex
Do you use a display in all store windows, displaying your
newspaper? It could be placed right above your newspaper.
Display two papers, one facing out and one facing in.
The Public loves "Give-A-Ways". Put a plan together with an
advertiser to do a drawing for prizes. A Grocery Shop Trip is
good. It could be a timed event, giving the winner a given time
to gather all they can. Place contest entry sites throughout
your circulation area. Use advertising to announce the contest.
Use store names, list locations of entry boxes. The stores
participating must have an advertising agreement with the
newspaper. I’m sure you can come up with your own rules for a
successful contest. Great way to gather names of potential
customers. |
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