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What Are the Disadvantages of Newspaper Advertising?
Some disadvantages of newspaper advertising are a declining readership, close competition with other ads, and newspaper clutter. Newspaper businesses are in a constant struggle to compete with news from other medias, and their readership is sometimes quite small. Ads placed on a newspaper are also in competition with each other in close quarters, which can be a deal breaker for some advertisers. In addition, newspapers can appear cluttered with information and ads, making it less likely for a particular ad to be viewed long enough for profit. Lastly, the disadvantages of newspaper advertising includes the inability to include high-quality photographs.
A declining readership is one of the most often-cited disadvantages of newspaper advertising. Some people no longer wait for news to be delivered on the doorstep. Instead, they read an online publication for free or a similar fee, which gives them instant access and sometimes a constantly updated source of news. With the number of mobile devices readily available, online newspapers and journalist blogs can be taken anywhere and fit in a pocket. The portability and release of responsibility from dealing with old newspapers are some benefits that influence people to drop their newspaper subscriptions in favor of the Internet.
Another disadvantage is that an advertisement is sometimes placed alongside competing ads. For example, a car dealership might place an ad, but if another car dealership places an ad in a similar spot, those ads are competing for leads. In addition, it can be argued that two car dealership ads placed anywhere on one newspaper are competing in a small space. This is one of the major disadvantages of newspaper advertising; potential leads can be so easily attracted to similar advertisements.
Depending on the newspaper layout, clutter can be another disadvantage of newspaper advertising. Sometimes ads selling certain products are placed on one page or section of a newspaper. The viewer is bombarded with advertisers attempting to sell things and must carefully read the paper to find what he or she is looking for. Combined with small print or a reader who is not familiar with the layout, clutter can be disastrous for advertising.
In general, newspapers do not include high-quality photos. High-quality photos would increase printing time and costs. As some newspapers are already dealing with slow delivery time and high costs compared to other news mediums, the addition of high-quality photos could destroy them. For advertisers, this means they have to work harder to make their images stand out.
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![Newspaper ads usually are closely set together.]()
By: spinettaNewspaper ads usually are closely set together. -
![Because of declining circulation numbers, newspaper ads are losing popularity among advertisers.]()
By: Feng YuBecause of declining circulation numbers, newspaper ads are losing popularity among advertisers. -
![Many newspaper readers now turn to online sources of information, thus reducing the number of newspaper readers who might see an ad.]()
By: bloomuaMany newspaper readers now turn to online sources of information, thus reducing the number of newspaper readers who might see an ad. -
![With the number of mobile devices readily available, online newspapers and journalist blogs can be taken anywhere and fit in a pocket.]()
By: Frank BostonWith the number of mobile devices readily available, online newspapers and journalist blogs can be taken anywhere and fit in a pocket. -
![The layout of a newspaper can make advertisements less effective.]()
By: PetooThe layout of a newspaper can make advertisements less effective. -
![Properties found in a newspaper's real estate listings may no longer be on the market by the time the listing is published.]()
By: John TomaselliProperties found in a newspaper's real estate listings may no longer be on the market by the time the listing is published.
Discussion Comments
One of the biggest reasons I subscribed to the Sunday paper was to receive the coupons. I could easily pay for the cost of the paper in the amount of money I would save from coupons.
Now there are so many online coupon sites where you can get even more coupons than what you see in the paper. A lot of companies will have online coupons and still have an advertisement in the newspaper, but I know that many of them are going with online only.
I no longer receive the paper and get everything I need online. I can see how the cost of printing the paper and getting it delivered would be a big disadvantage for newspaper advertising.
One disadvantage of newspaper advertising is the waste of resources if the newspaper is not recycled. So many people get their news from their mobile devices, and this would be more of a targeted audience.
As an example, none of our four kids receive a newspaper. They get all their news and information either online or on their phones.
My dad lives in a rural area, and our local newspaper recently contacted him and said they would no longer be delivering the daily paper to his area. He could still get the Sunday newspaper, but would have to go online if he wanted to read the daily paper.
With a declining audience like this, it seems that even the newspapers are taking steps to cut down on their advertising through print.
I think that newspaper advertising also allows for the reader to cut the ad and save it. This is what I do if I see an incredible ad and I want to make sure that I don’t lose track of it. I think that this allows for the ad to be more memorable for me. I also think that the newspaper ad allows the advertiser to select the size of the ad that they want.
They can place a larger more prominent ad if they are worried about competitor ads. Their ad will stand out and have a higher chance to be noticed. The only downside I see is that more people are getting their news from the internet so this might have a negative effect on newspaper advertising.
I don’t subscribe to my newspaper anymore, but I do buy the Sunday edition so maybe the popularity of this edition will continue as so will the ads.
There are disadvantages, but it can still be useful to advertise in newspapers. I know a lot of unemployed people in my area still use the newspaper to search for jobs, for example. And I always go through the glossy Sunday ads even if I'm not planning on buying anything. It still seems worth it to me, and if those advertisements weren't there I wouldn't read any of those companies' ads at all, probably.
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