Classified ad sales are still important to the newspaper revenue model. While classified ad revenues are generally down, particularly in print, the fact is that placing classified ads in newspapers gets results.

Furthermore, people sometimes buy papers specifically to look at the classifieds. If your classifieds aren’t delivering as well as you expect, there are several things you can do to increase classifieds ad revenue. Here are 5 of them.

1. Give Your Site a Minor Makeover

Have you ever shopped at the same supermarket for years only to discover one day that they’d rearranged everything? Supermarkets do this on purpose because over time shoppers get used to where the things they usually purchase are and develop a sort of psychological blindness to everything else. Rearranging forces customers to look at everything anew. The same is true with your website. You don’t have to do a complete redesign, but a little rearranging now and then can get repeat readers to notice those classifieds they used to skip right over.

2. Have a Sale

Announce to readers that classifieds are discounted for the months of April and May, and you could grab the attention of spring cleaners who want to sell off unwanted possessions and people advertising for garage sales. Sure, you may not be getting the full amount for an ad, but you could greatly increase the number of ads you sell and a beefed-up classifieds section can sell more papers (or generate more page views). “Buy One Get One Free” sales work well, prompting buyers to perhaps spring for a color ad or a larger size knowing that it will run for two weeks rather than just one.

3. Offer Different Pricing Options

When you offer different pricing models for classifieds on your website, you open it up to more advertisers. When you have more advertisers, revenues increase. To do this well, you should use an ad management tool that lets you accept different pricing deals and helps you allocate your ad inventory optimally.

4. Use a Good Ad Submission Platform

When people go online to place classified ads, whether for print or website classifieds, they want the experience to be intuitive and simple. Just using a basic online form may not be enough because many ad buyers have questions or need help placing their ad. If it’s not clear how to include a picture or color, your ad submission platform could leave submitters frustrated and confused. This contributes to high abandonment rates. If your online classified submission form needs help, consider teaming up with a classified ad submission platform provider that offers classified buyers a great interface and help with adding extras like photos or color. Cloud-based classified ad buying platforms are available that allow customization with your site’s colors and logo for a coordinated, professional look.

5. Team Up with a White Label Job Board Provider

Do job classifieds right and you make your site stickier while attracting new traffic. Working with a web-based custom job board provider like RealMatch gives you a powerful new website feature that provides a real service and works on a revenue sharing basis. You won’t have to worry about beating the bushes for job advertisers because RealMatch draws on an extensive network, bringing your website readers information on the jobs they are looking for. Employers can pay for their ads to be promoted or highlighted, and job applicants can submit applications and resumes right on your site. By adding recruitment advertising solutions for media companies, RealMatch is the perfect partner for your traditional online classifieds and can bring in traffic you never would have had otherwise.

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