In today's fast-paced world, marketing and advertising messages exist pretty much everywhere you look.

According to Forbes, "most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day."

So, with so much competition, how do you decide which advertising distribution channels will work best for your business?

Stick around to find out.

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Hi, Pop Jots fans and followers.

I'm Jason Starr, and in this video, we're going to discuss seven traditional advertising channels you can use to distribute your promotional messages. 

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How to Pick the Right Distribution Option for Your Advertising

When it comes to traditional advertising, there are many places where you can distribute your promotional messages.

Some of these places include:

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Brochures and Flyers
• TV
• Radio
• Billboards
• And more

However, just because a distribution channel exists doesn't always mean you should use it. Not all advertising channels are created equal. Each one has its own share of strengths and weaknesses. 

For instance, some forms of advertising are better at communicating quick messages to large numbers of people, while others do better at targeting specific groups of customers.

So how can you know which advertising channels work best for your needs and which don't? The answer is simple. 

You just have to gain a better understanding of: 

• What types of traditional advertising channels exist
• How much each traditional advertising channel cost
• And what strengths and weaknesses each channel has

This video's purpose is to help you gain that knowledge. Let's discuss each of your traditional advertising options now.

Traditional Advertising Option #1: Newspapers

Newspaper ads are a form of print advertising. This advertising channel's costs vary widely, depending on several factors. 

These factors include:

• How famous the newspaper is
• What publication circulates the newspaper
• The size and color of your ad
• Where your ad gets placed within the newspaper
• The number of times you run your ad
• And what day of the week the newspaper features your ad

With newspaper ads, you could pay anywhere from $480 to place an advertisement in a local newspaper to over $1 million for an ad in a national newspaper.

Some of the strengths of newspaper advertising are:

• Your ad becomes more credible because it appears next to news content.
• You can change the size of your ad to fit your budget and messaging needs
• You can submit or revise an ad up until 24 hours before printing
• Newspapers can reach a large audience every day
• And newspapers can sometimes be cheaper than other advertising options

However, there are some disadvantages to advertising in newspapers. These disadvantages are:

• It's harder to reach your intended target audience
• Fewer people read physical newspapers today than they used to
• Newspaper ads only have a lifespan of 24 hours before they become old news
• Newspapers are cluttered with lots of other information, making it harder for your message to stand out
• And newspapers limit how creative your ads can be because they don't print colors or photos very well

For these reasons, newspapers are usually a good choice if you're either trying to

• Build customer awareness of your brand
• Or you want to advertise a special promotion or discount

Traditional Advertising Option #2: Magazines 

Like newspapers, magazines are a form of print advertising. 

However, magazines tend to be more expensive than newspapers. Their prices range from $500 for local publications to $500,000 for national publications.

These expenses come from:

• Whether the magazine gets circulated locally or nationally
• The size of your ad
• How much color your ad uses
• And how many ads you're buying

Additionally, there are a few different types of magazines that exist. They are:

• General-interest consumer magazines, like The Reader's Digest
• Special-interest consumer magazines, like Better Homes and Gardens
• General-interest business magazines, like Forbes
• And specialized-interest business magazines, like Aviation Week

Some of the strengths of magazine advertising are:

• You can craft your message to speak directly to a highly targeted audience
• Your ad has a longer lifespan because people value the magazine's specialized content and hold onto the magazine longer.
• Your ad messages can be longer since people spend more time reading the magazine
• Your ad is more captivating due to a higher printing quality
• And you can use images that reflect the lifestyle of the magazine's readers

On the other hand, magazine advertisements are weak in that:

• They cost a lot of money
• They have lengthy deadlines
• Your ad has to compete with a large clutter of other ads in the same magazine
• And you have to work with fewer publication dates

Because of these strengths and weaknesses, you should use magazine advertisements when:

• You have a large budget to work with
• You're trying to build more brand awareness
• Or you want to create a specific lifestyle or attitude around your brand

Traditional Advertising Option #3: Brochures, Posters, and Flyers 

Brochures, posters, and flyers are another form of print advertising that companies can use to promote themselves. 

However, this type of promotional material usually costs a lot less than newspaper and magazine ads.

If you want to write and design a high-quality brochure, poster, or flyer for your business, it will typically cost you:

• Between $150 and $15,000 to write and create it
• And another $200 to $3,000 to print it
• That equals a total production cost of anywhere from $350 to $18,000

Some of the factors that influence the prices of a brochure, poster, or flyer are:

• Whether you hired a freelancer or an agency
• How experienced your designer or agency is
• The location of your designer or design agency
• How quickly you want the promotional material produced
• And how many copies of the brochure or flyer you want to print

Some of the strengths of brochures, posters, and flyers are:

• They are cost-effective to produce
• They build trust and credibility for your brand
• They are easy to distribute
• They establish your brand's authority
• And they can make your business appear more personalized

However, brochures, posters, and flyers are weak in that:

• They give you limited space to showcase your products and services
• Customers can easily throw them away
• People will ignore them if they aren't visually appealing
• And they can take time to produce

Because of these factors, brochures, posters, and flyers work best when you want to:

• Promote a product or service on a limited budget
• Quickly communicate information on a specific topic
• Spread brag attention and build awareness toward your brand

Traditional Advertising Option #4: TV Advertising

Television advertising is a form of broadcast advertising that has been around since 1941. This form of advertising appeals to major global brands because it can reach thousands, or millions, of people at once.  

TV ads are one of the most expensive forms of advertising. With this advertising channel, prices to produce and distribute a 30-second commercial range anywhere from thousands of dollars to nearly $8 million.

Some of the factors that affect these costs are:

• The length of your ad
• The TV show
• Whether your ad gets shown on a metro, regional, or national level
• How many stations show your ad
• The time of day your ad airs 
• And how often your ad plays

So what are the strengths and weaknesses of TV advertising?

TV ads are strong in that they:

• Can reach up to many millions of people at once
• Give your business a lot of credibility
• Can advertise to metro, regional, or national audiences
• Allow you to choose when people see your ad
• And can use color, sight, sound, and motion to help you create an engaging and memorable message

However, TV ads are weak in that:

• They are expensive
• You can't target precise audiences
• They create a lot of clutter when played alongside other TV ads
• You have less than one minute to communicate your message
• And it can be hard to track and measure your ad's performance

Because of these strengths and weaknesses, TV ads are usually a good choice for your brand if:

• You have a large budget to work with
• And you want your message to reach a broad audience

Traditional Advertising Option #5: Radio Advertising

Like TV, radio is a form of broadcast advertising. This type of advertising is much cheaper and easier to produce than TV ads because it only uses sound to communicate a message.

On average, a 30-second radio ad can cost you between $1,000 and $2,500 to produce and another $200 to $5,000 per week to distribute. 

That's a total cost of anywhere from $1,200 to $7,500 for one week of radio advertising.

Some of the factors that influence how much you'll pay for a radio ad are:

• Your ad's length
• The location where your ad airs
• The size of your listening audience
• The Music you use
• How many voice actors you need
• And the costs of both writing and editing your ad

Additionally, radio ads are strong because they:

• Are less expensive than other advertising channels
• Are more portable than most advertising channels
• Can be produced and distributed in only a few days
• Do an excellent job of targeting specific types of audiences
• And can use sound to engage a consumer's imagination

However, radio ads are weak in that:

• They aren't very visual
• You have to communicate your message in 30 seconds or less
• They don't get much direct attention
• Radio is a cluttered medium that broadcasts lots of different messages

For these reasons, radio advertisements are usually a good choice if:

• You want to build awareness quickly
• You want to reach an audience close to the time when they make a purchase
• Or you want to reach a large number of people around a specific city

Traditional Advertising Option #6: Outdoor and Transit  

Outdoor and transit advertising is any promotional message you see while traveling outside your home.

It can include things like:

• Billboards
• Murals 
• Train station ads
• Exterior bus ads
• Airport terminal ads
• Street advertising
• And vehicle advertising

Typically, outdoor and transit advertising can cost between $25 and $14,000 or more per month. These costs are determined by:

• The size of your ad
• The location of your ad
• The number of places where your ad gets posted
• The geographic location of your ad
• The length of time your ad appears
• And how much it costs to install the ad

Some of the strengths of outdoor advertising are:

• Your ad will be available to people 24/7
• Your ads have the power to reach many different types of people
• People can frequently be exposed to your ads, making your message more memorable
• You can use bold and creative images to make your message more stimulating
• You have a lot of opportunities to be creative

However, outdoor and transit ads are weak in that:

• Advertising space is limited
• You only have a few seconds to catch people's attention
• Your messages have to be short and to the point
• It's hard to target specific groups of people
• And your ad message might not get noticed amid the clutter of other competing outdoor messages.

For these reasons, outdoor advertising works best when:

• You want to reach a variety of different people
• You have a more limited budget
• Or you want to build brand awareness as quickly as possible

Traditional Advertising Option #7: Direct Mail

If you want a more personal way to reach customers, direct mail can be a powerful advertising tool for your business. Direct mail is powerful because it can target specific groups of people within a particular area.

With this advertising option, there's also an 80% chance that people will open and read your message. You can also change the amount of material you distribute based on your company's needs.

Direct mail can exist in the form of:

• Newsletters
• Catalogs
• Brochures
• Postcard Mailers
• Leaflets
• And Flyers

With this form of advertising, your expenses will be anywhere from 30 cents to over $10 per person. These costs arise from how much you spend on:

• Copywriting
• Design Fees
• Direct mail lists
• Printing fees
• And other distribution costs

Some of the strengths of direct mail are:

• You can personalize it to speak directly to members of your target group
• It provides a two-way form of communication between your company and your target customer
• It makes your product more visible to your selected audience
• It can create additional interest in your products and services
• And you can easily use call tracking to measure your results 

However, direct mail advertising is weak in that:

• It can be expensive if you're targeting a large audience
• You are limited in how many people you can reach at a time
• It can be time-consuming to create
• And overusing these types of promotions can decrease customer brand loyalty, which damages your brand's image

Because of these strengths and weaknesses, direct mail advertising works best when:

• You want to run a special promotion
• You want to target specific groups of people
• And you want to create a more personal connection with your customers

Conclusion:

So, there you have it. 

In this video, we've discussed many traditional advertising resources you can use to distribute your promotional messages.

Some of the things we've discussed include: 

• What types of traditional advertising channels exist
• How much each traditional advertising channel cost
• And what strengths and weaknesses each channel has

If you like this video and want more marketing and advertising content like this, be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel now.

Click on the subscribe button below this video. 

And if you'd like help writing a marketing or advertising message for your brand, head over to popjots.com and pick a time to meet with me on my calendar.

I'll give you a FREE consultation on how you can improve your copywriting to get better results for your business.

Click my website link in the description below for more information.

Which traditional advertising method do you think is the best? Tell me in the comments below.