Since it is the week of Cyber Monday (or Cyber Week as some retailers are calling it!), I thought you might enjoy this guest post!
While the Internet might not be an effective training tool in the housebreaking of puppies, the Web does hold a substantial edge over print media when it comes to finding the best deals on goods and services.
In years past, to find the best retail deals and top coupon offers, a deal-seeker had to trudge to the store or wait at their porch for delivery of the newspaper. Even if you only wanted a single coupon, you had to get the entire newspaper to snip that one money saving nugget.
Welcome to the future, where the deals and coupons come to you at the click of a mouse and without the overhead of newsstand or subscription pricing!
Retailers Know that Internet Advertising is More Cost-Effective and Popular
Retailers are well aware that it costs a lot less to make their deals and coupons available via the Internet than the price of having them printed in a newspaper. Buying ad space in a newspaper is extremely costly. In the age of the Internet, a retailer can simply post their offer or coupon on their existing website or with a coupon providing site. This not only costs less, but it attracts a generally larger, much more targeted audience.
Newspaper circulation is dwindling nationwide. Every year, the percentage of people getting their news and information through digital means becomes greater. This seeking of information through the Internet increases the amount of attention an online coupon will get as opposed to one in a newspaper, as the shopper is already utilizing the Web to get their daily dose of news. It’s highly unlikely that this consumer is going to leave their computer chair to pick up a newspaper to find a retail deal.
In a newspaper, an ad or coupon needs to be created in a manner that is eye-catching and will attract the consumer’s attention. This costs money in design fees. On the Internet, a coupon need not be flashy, as the website which contains the offer is already designed to be eye-catching. Consumers generally prefer a simple coupon, as it is easier to print.
Internet Advertising is Interactive
When was the last time a newspaper ad spoke to you? Not figuratively; actually produced spoken words and moving images. This goes on all the time in the world of Internet deals.
When you are deciding whether or not a particular product is what you want, or if you want to determine which brand is better than the other, what could be better than actual demonstrations of the products? On the Internet, you can watch video demonstrations of products and services and see 360 degree images of the item on which you are considering spending your hard earned money. Newspapers generally lack in this interactive department.
It is no longer necessary to drive all the way to the store to find out that the product you’re interested in doesn’t look as good in person as it did in a somewhat blurry print ad. Watch videos of the product and search the Internet for user reviews, and you’ll have all the information you need without setting foot inside a store.
Internet Advertising not Only Saves Green, it is Green
The environmental advantages to online coupons are staggering. Rather than creating piles of old newspaper, Internet ads take up only bits and bytes on digital mediums. To find the specific coupon a consumer needed would sometimes require buying several newspapers. On the Internet, sites like couponclaim.com list all the coupons in easy to navigate categories. There is no clipping or printing of anything other than the specific coupons you want.
When looking for the best deals, newspapers have become basically useless. When pitted against coupon hosting sites or retailer’s direct Websites, a paper’s only valuable use is – well – that puppy training thing.
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This article was written by Cynthia Waverly. She is a frugal living, stay-at-home mom of two. She is a freelance writer (when she has the time) who loves to write about personal finances, coupons and helping others save money in general.
Gee, as a journalist who has seen hundreds of her newspaper friends laid off the past two years, and as someone whose own hours have been drastically cut, THANKS.
ReplyDeleteNewspapers play a vital role not only in informing the public, but acting as a watchdog. You will be very sorry when they are gone.
Newspaper advertising network play a vital role !
ReplyDelete