Advertising 'special offers' - you might as well give your money away!

As someone working in marketing, every day I get calls from sham publications offering cheap advertising in a publication I’ve never heard of. And in 12 years, I have never said yes.

Sadly, this is not true of many salon owners. Next time you are down at the supermarket, pick up a copy of the free paper they have by the exit – the dispenser will usually be full. These papers promise that they print thousands of copies, but in reality, they are probably only read by a couple of hundred people – probably bored men waiting for their wives to stop chattering to the person on the checkout.

I know that the ad has only cost £150, but how much value have the advertisers got out of it? Probably none at all – I’d be amazed if they get a single customer on the back of these ads. They might as well rinse the money down the drain.

If you want advice on how to book advertising, our advertising podcast could help. Failing that, just remember one simple rule – if someone is trying to flog you cheap advertising, it is because they couldn’t find enough people to pay the full price.