The Media is a powerful thing - the average person spends an enormous amount of their life consuming it in one form or another, and spends a significant percentage of that time watching, listening to, or seeing advertisements. If you want to harness the power of the Media, however, you need to know what you are doing.

Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines

There are two types of advertising you can place in newspapers and magazines: Classifieds and Adverts. Classifieds are the small ads in the back of the publication, while display ads can be almost any size, from a small corner on a page to a large double-page spread.

If you are interested in a publication to advertise in, either go to the publication's website ("Price List" section) or call the advertising department to find out about rates. Now pick your jaw up off the floor. Yes, advertising in print media is very expensive, and for most home users it is probably not that economical.

However, there is one exception: niche and trade magazines. If you have ever looked around a newsagent's, you will have seen how many magazines there are, filling every conceivable gap in the market. You need to find the magazine that the people interested in your services might read. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, look for a magazine called 'Your Wedding', 'Bride' or something similar. Advertising in these magazines is much cheaper than advertising in a general interest magazine and you are much more likely to get responses.

Advertising on the Radio

Wherever you are located, there is almost certainly a local radio station. Once your home business reaches a decent size, you can consider buying some airtime.

The only type of home business that benefits enough from radio advertising to justify the cost has to do with cars. Since radio is now used almost exclusively as an in-car entertainment medium, you know that almost everyone you reach with your advertising is a car owner and therefore might be interested in what you have to offer. If you offer something that people need cheaply or even for free, you can get a great response.

Unfortunately, this response might be a little too big - thanks to the time-sensitivity of the radio, you will be overrun the next day and then you will be forgotten again. Radio advertising offers listeners no way to retain your ad and refer to it later or find it again in the future. You will find that any advertisement that includes a phone number is spectacularly useless.

Advertising on Television

Unless your business is quite large, this would be a pretty bad idea. You will have difficulty producing and airing an advertisement, even on local cable stations for less than thousands of dollars. Of course, if there is a market for your product and you have the budget, you can take a risk and make a fortune. The home businesses that do best with TV have a product with a "unique and useful invention" and easily demonstrated benefits - think of a commercial.

Advertising on Billboards

This option is often overlooked but can be very effective if you do it right. Billboard advertising is relatively expensive, but it tends to stick around for a long time and can be very targeted to one area - the one in which it is located. You get the best results if you can put a billboard near your business, so you can say, for example, "Turn left at the next intersection" or something like that. Phone numbers are pretty useless here too, although you might have some success with a website address.

Advertising in the Cinema

Finally, one more point is often overlooked. If you go to the cinema early, you may have seen ads for local businesses running before the big commercials. This can be a great way to advertise relatively cheaply and attract attention and is particularly good for takeaways.

For more information about Advertising in the Media, feel free to contact the experts at OneTeam.