Advertising Sales Tips
Publishing Partners can significantly improve the
profitability of certain books by by selling
advertisements to local businesses. Typically, these advertisements appear in
the back section of books and on the back cover. Partners should also seek out
"Sponsors" for locally significant books. These Sponsors can be given
credit on both the front page and back cover of the book.
The following are key points to remember when selling
local advertising:
Tips for Finding Local Advertisers:
1. Think Local: Call on businesses that derive most or all of their
revenue from the community.
2. Seek Out Decision-makers: Call on businesses that have local decision-makers; large national
corporations often give their local managers budgets for community-based promotional activities.
3. Be Aware of Co-op Advertising Dollars: Many large corporations, such as car
manufacturers, pay for local "co-op" advertising; in other words, the
corporation reimburses the local dealer for certain advertising expenses.
4. Concentrate on Prominent Advertisers: Look for businesses that already advertise extensively in the community (for
these businesses, advertising works!).
5. Look for "Community-Conscious" Advertisers: Call on businesses that have demonstrated a high level of community
involvement.
6. Keep Your Eyes Wide Open: every business, especially every new business, is
a potential advertiser.
Benefits to Local Advertisers:
1. Sponsorship of some of the community's most important
activities;
2. ELP advertisements are carefully read and permanently retained (our books are
never thrown away!);
3. Association with the community's best-selling books;
4: The opportunity to tell the story of the business in narrative form (many of
our ads are "business biographies" i.e. narrative form); thus the ad
becomes a permanent history of the business.
5. The opportunity to help direct the tone and content of the book.
