Classified advertising in newspapers is still a most effective print medium for reaching your target market…a market that looks to the “classifieds” for solutions to problems. It is the meeting ground for landlords and tenants, the nerve center where owners and renters come together. It’s also highly specialized, labor-intensive, and requires the services of an experienced, professional results-oriented agency.
Some recommendations on how to advertise more effectively are: Think of yourself as a retail store. How do experienced retailers advertise? They advertise the item, description and price. In rental terms, that would translate to the number of bedrooms, brief description and price. Speaking of price, try to price your rental property below a round number, as retailers do. For example, rather than price your apartment at $800, $1,000 or $1,200, consider lowering it to $795, $995 or $1,195 respectively. Although only five dollars less, the psychological impact is really closer to one hundred dollars.
Size vs. Frequency
We are frequently asked, is it more important to have a larger ad or better to run more often with a smaller ad? We believe that repetition is more important that size. Since most advertisers have budget limitations, consistency, in our judgment, trumps size. The classified section is like the yellow pages. You already have a captive audience, turning to specific classified categories, including a variety of rental and sale classifications, for apartments, rooms, homes, investments, office, stores, industrial and commercial properties, and others. Ad size is likely more important in the display sections, where your ad may compete with banks, furniture and department stores, and other large retailers, all competing for attention.
Position on Page
A commonly asked question is how can I be further up in my category? On any Sunday, in the Star Ledger, for example, there are hundreds of ads appearing under Newark, Irvington, East Orange, Orange, Elizabeth, etc., plus other geographic areas. The construction of your ad, i.e. heading, price, and other content, dictates how far up in the column your ad will be. Our professionals are experienced in this area.
Online Advertising
With the increasing population of the internet, online advertising has assumed an ever increasing role in reaching consumers. This is especially true in the real estate field. Some newspapers include online advertising on their own websites, when you advertise in their paper. Others offer an ala carte online menu, which includes various bells and whistles, and is priced accordingly. We provide the expertise to assist our clients in this area.
Sheldon Greenholtz is a principal with Kenneth Jaffe Advertising, a South Orange based agency that places ad copy for many P.O.A. members, as well as other landlords, developers, investors and property managers. He can be reached at (973) 378-3200, or by email at kjinc103@aol.com.