A recent MediaWeek article entitled "Buyers Want Newspaper to Reinvent Model" discusses new methods newspapers have been using to meet the needs of buyers, and echoes some of the same sentiments we've heard from our advertisers here at MediaBids. For example, many of our advertisers typically request value-adds like online exposure with their buys. In response to this, publications are now posting print offers on our site with online space included as an integrated online/offline buy. Many newspapers have focused on presenting these integrated buys more frequently to their advertisers. Additionally, as the article outlines, some newspapers have started publishing e-newsletters on single topics and other newspapers are utilizing mobile opportunities to try and improve the overall success of their publication.

Here at MediaBids, we're presenting another option for newspapers and magazines in the print ad sales arena, in the form of our Per-Inquiry Advertising Program.We are currently working with  a small number of national advertisers who are paying for their print ads based on response. Newspapers, magazines and more can simply request an ad for these advertisers and we'll send them creative within 2-3 business days. Publications get paid based on the response their ads generate. Some advertisers participating include Vonage, Dish Network and DirecTV. Details of the program and forms to request ads can be found here: http://marketing.mediabids.com/ppi/index.html

According to this recent Brandweek article, the "Business Elite" (defined as executives with 250+ employees - average salary of $400K/year and a net worth of $1.7 million) are extremely receptive to traditional media - including newspapers and magazines. Key print-related statistics found in survey referenced in this article include "More than half (51.2%) visited a Web site because of an ad, 47.2% did so because of a magazine ad" and "Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed read the most recent issue of a print publication".

Not all news in the print industry is bad - this article from MediaPost outlines some of the successes small newspapers are still experiencing. Among the reasons for their continued success is the ability to maximize on the local scope of their publication - to provide excellent content to their local readers and deliver the highly targeted local readership to their advertisers.

Working with advertisers who target locally everyday, we can testify to the existent demand for local print advertising. Local merchants whose target customers work or live within a relatively close distance to their business depend on saturating their local market with their advertisements to promote their business to prospective and existing customers. Many of these advertisers tell us that their local newspaper is the first place that comes to mind as the best place for promotion - in front of radio, television and online.

To find out about the full-range of reasons some small weekly newspapers' circulation are actually growing, Click Here to view the full MediaPost article.