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Print Advertising can take many forms. There is advertising in publications such as local / regional / national newspapers, magazines, trade journals or telephone directories but there is also the use of things like business cards, flyers or brochures.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of whichever form of advertising print you are thinking of using.

Decide on the purpose for your advertisement. Don't try and cover too much in one advert or you'll lose the reader. Focus on the key proposition that you are trying to convey.

Make sure you understand your target market. You need to understand this in order to decide on the most appropriate form of print to use. If you are looking to advertise in publications you need to be able to check the demographics of each potential publication against your target market, ensuring you are going to be putting your advert in front of the right people.

The key with advertising in print is that the ad needs to be designed to get the readers attention, it needs to point out the benefits of the service or product to the consumer and must call them to action by providing clear next steps with contact phone numbers, email addresses or web site details – whichever is appropriate. You could consider using the experience and skills of a professional copywriter to help you.

Make sure you place your advert in a timely fashion. Publications have cut off dates for each edition, make sure you meet the date for the right edition for your advert. If your business or product is seasonal, make sure you have taken this into account with the timing of your advert i.e. there is little point advertising Daffodil Bulbs for sale in April.

When it comes to print advertising in newspapers and magazines you are likely to find you get better value from your advertising spend by running a smaller advert on a regular basis, rather than a single one off large ad. People who regularly read a publication tend to notice consistent advertisers. I would even go one step further and say to get maximum value from advertising in print you should also try to obtain the same spot in each publication. As well as portraying your marketing message, the consistent advertising is giving people confidence that you are a business who has been around a while, a business who isn't going anywhere, a business that they can have confidence in using. Now, more than ever, with the current economic climate this is a good message to be sending out to consumers.

And finally, the process doesn't stop when the advert appears. You must monitor the response, if it is not having the required impact, review and improve the advert content.

If you find this daunting or feel you do not have the skill to plan your campaign, or create the advert yourself make sure you recognise this and choose one of the many available professional print advertising companies to work with you.