Pay-Per-Call Newspaper Advertising - How Does It Work?
Pay-Per-Call Newspaper Advertising – How Does It Work?

If you’re looking to generate inbound calls for your brand, newspapers can be a fantastic source of new customers. Print newspaper readers are typically older, engaged, high-converting and have money to spend on a wide variety of products and services. Technology developed over the past decade or so now enables offline media - such as the print editions of newspapers – to participate in the performance-based advertising campaigns that brands have been accustomed to running online. When exploring pay-per-call newspaper campaign possibilities, there’s a few things to consider -
Call Center Capabilities
Brands interested in exploring pay-per-call newspaper and print advertising should have a call center or sales representatives available to take calls most days of the week. Inbound calls that reach a live representative convert at a much higher rate than calls that reach voicemail. You’ll want to be sure to communicate your call center hours clearly with the publications or ad network where your campaign is running to ensure that calls generated outside of live operator hours are handled in a mutually agreeable manner.
Call-Tracking Services
Once there is an appropriate structure in place on the brand side to receive calls, the next step is to look for a call-tracking service provider. Services such as Invoca allow companies to generate unique phone numbers to place in print ads. These phone numbers ring through to the call center or other main phone number that is specified by the advertiser.
Phone Numbers in Print Ads
Each newspaper or print ad you place should have a unique phone number in it. When a reader calls, data will be generated from the call-tracking provider that shows the call time, caller ID, location and more. Pay-per-call newspaper ad deals can be structured through a pay-per-call newspaper advertising network like Mediabids. Examples of a pay-per-call payout could be $100 per 120-second call, or $50 per 60-second call, or even have a conversion payout.
The price you pay per call depends quite a bit on the cost of your product or service, typical conversion rates and the prevailing cost-per-call in your vertical.
Call Analysis
Once call data starts being generated from your pay-per-call newspaper or print campaign, you will be able to learn a tremendous amount about your prospective customers, call center quality and media channels where you are running. Inbound calls convert extremely well for brands that have clear and compelling print offers and a great call center experience. Interested in learning more about performance print? Submit this short inquiry form and a Mediabids representative will reach out to chat about how performance newspaper advertising can work for you.