The future of your publication’s classifieds could be lead generation. With so many ways for advertisers to get their message across, it can be hard to stick out above the rest. A recent article by Lucas Grindley, editor for The National Journal suggests that restructuring the way classifieds work may lead to new advertisers and more revenue. Here is his idea:What if instead of charging to post ads for things like jobs and real estate, your paper simply charged for the client to view responses? It would remove the risk that often keeps advertisers from posting ads in the classifieds, allowing them to pay only for what they use. This is lead generation, and companies such as Google and Apple have based a large part of their business model on it.
The first step is to get advertisers interested. What better way to do this than to make posting an ad FREE? Self-promote the idea and guarantee free ads will be printed for a certain number of issues. As people begin to call in, charge your client to view the responses. The first could be free to entice users, and a flat rate from there on out.
The hurdle of lead quality would have to be dealt with, however. Should advertisers have to pay for bogus leads or unqualified candidates? Try having interested persons rate their match to the product or ask a similar qualifying question when they respond to an ad.
Lead generation could be just what is needed to turn the heads of hesitant advertisers toward your publication. Being noticed in the advertising industry is important, and innovation is the key to doing so.
Share your experiences!
Have you tried lead generations in your classifieds? Was it successful? Post your experiences as a comment and let’s increase ad sales together.
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