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Positioning the Ads
Effective and attractive page design is
important to everyone. It's important to you because how the
paper looks will have a lot to do with how much work you will have
to put into selling the paper and the ads. It's important to
your advertisers because they need the best possible placement for
their ads. And you want your advertisers to see real results
from every issue.
Study the patterns used by successful
and appealing publications that you like. Read up on the
theories behind ad placement in page design. But do not become
a slave to the industry standards. Be creative. Be
stubborn. And by all means, be effective.
Placing ads along the outside edges of
the pages can be a good way to draw attention to the ads. But
it can also be a great idea to place them along the fold, inside the
page and other content. The same goes for top edge and bottom
edge. Don't make every page look alike. You gain nothing
by putting everyone to sleep.
Above all, you'll want to avoid crowding
ads together, so that readers can hardly tell where one ends and
another begins. Use white space, border designs, typefaces,
and other content to separate ads, and to make each one stand out as
much as possible.
Think about the ads in the middle and back pages when
you're running articles that continue from the front pages of the
paper. And think about them when placing content, such as
special features throughout the paper. Some ads will be better
served by certain kinds of content, such as comics, puzzles, and
special stories. Your advertisers pay for the paper, so always
have them in mind as you build the paper.
Sectioning off the Newspaper
This may seem like a silly idea if you
only have a small paper, of say 8 to 16 pages. But even when only half a page (or less) is given to a section, it's a good idea
to break up the paper. There are several reasons for this.
One good reason is that sections help you to mentally, and then
physically, organize the newspaper. Another is that it helps
you to give serious thought to the kinds of features and elements
you want to include in each issue.
I would encourage you to include comics,
a puzzle or two, and some health, beauty, family sections, etc.
I think it's a great idea to have a church page, and to include
short messages from local pastors. Some of the features you
can buy inexpensively from sources like King Features (see
the Resources page).
Sections are also very important when it
comes to the placement of your ads. Allow advertisers to
choose various sections. And feel free to charge different
prices for different sections. The more popular a section, the
higher the price, and even then, it will have to be on a
first-come-first-served basis — unless a client reserves the section
in advance.
Along these lines, be sure to think who
will be looking at which section or page the most. Ads more
geared for adults may not be suited for the comics page, for
example. Not because adults don't read comics (I sure do).
But think about the children who will certainly find the comics
page(s) the most interesting section in most newspapers.
Classified Ads
Obviously, classified ads are in a class
by themselves. I know, that sounds like a silly pun. But
it's more than just a pun. While some of the overall design
rules apply to classified ads, you must get into a different box of
thinking altogether. I suppose that, above everything else,
you should decide to make your classified ads readable. Ads
that are legible (without a magnifying glass) will get a lot more
attention from readers. And when they get results, you and
your paper win a little more respect in the community.
In a small newspaper, it seems to be a
good idea to place the Classified section toward the back or in the
very middle of the paper. Wherever you decide to put the
section, make sure to list it on the front page in the index box.
You will decide whether or not to sell
classified ads with images. Many newspapers find it most
effective (and simple) to sell classified ads as pure text ads.
Some also use little icons (generic symbols or images) to draw
attention to some ads. Whatever works for your community and
your paper.
I find that using a special type face or
font for all classified ads is helpful is setting the section apart
from all other content. Readers looking for the "Classifieds"
should be able to tell at a glance when they've found them.
And you can use a different page layout. If your pages tend to
have two or three columns, then the Classified section might have
four. This can be especially helpful if you must begin or end
your Classified section in the middle of a page that also has other
content, such as your news articles that will be continued from page
one.
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