There are several types of community newspaper advertising and they are not that different from the types of advertising used in larger metropolitan or national newspapers. Advertisements in a community newspaper can take the form of a classified ad or a small box to the side of an article. Full pages of the newspaper can be purchased and filled in, or an ad can be designed to look like an article. In certain areas, advertising fliers can be inserted into the paper.
The smallest and usually least expensive form of community newspaper advertising is a classified ad. Many papers usually have a section in their classifieds for products and services where businesses and individuals can list who they are, what they provide and how to be contacted. The benefit is that these ads are inexpensive, but they also are all gathered together in an area of the newspaper where readers might not look.
A business card advertisement is the next size up in community newspaper advertising. This is a small box of information resembling a business card. The advantage is that the ad is straightforward and is placed within the content pages of the paper. The disadvantage is that, without color or graphics and because of the small size, the ad could be quickly overlooked by many readers.
There are two community newspaper advertising types that are similar but can serve different purposes. The size of these ads depends on what sizes are offered by the newspaper. The first is called a sales ad and espouses the benefits of a product or service to the reader. The second is called a coupon ad, and it encourages the reader to act on the deal being offered in a timely fashion. Both ads seek to bring a customer toward the business being advertised.
One type of ad, known as an advertorial, tries to get the reader involved in the advertisement by disguising it as an article, although it might not be intentional deception. The idea is to draw the reader into the ad by providing some useful information or describing problems the business can solve. These tend to be larger ads, appearing in the same column format as the rest of the newspaper.
One form of community newspaper advertising that can make an impact, if the paper allows it, is to place a separate flier inside the papers. This could be an expensive form of advertising. Regardless, it provides readers with an experience uninterrupted by articles and other ads and allows them to see the business brand as the company intends.