Guide

Beyond Print Toolkit: Pre-print advertising

The future of pre-prints will be managing decline. These clients are difficult to convert to digital ad buys.

June 27, 2024

A hand signing a contract — TatMih / Shutterstock

Pre-prints are free standing advertising inserts in the newspaper — think of the sheets of coupons and sale sheets from major retailers on Thanksgiving weekend. These are a print product, so in the “beyond print” era, best practice is to manage decline.

That said, they should still be part of the advertising revenue mix for a few reasons. First, in most cases, pre-prints have fantastic margins because they’re inexpensive to produce. Second: Newspapers still own the distribution chain, and advertisers don’t have many other options for a similar product, other than directly mailing coupons and sheets to consumers.

Finally, there’s still demand for pre-prints from advertisers that want to reach a print readership – typically, an older demographic. With this in mind, it’s possible to even find some new business, such as ads for senior living facilities, for pre-prints. But again, the future of pre-prints will be managing decline. These clients are difficult to convert to digital ad buys.

One more thing to consider: As publishers inevitably consider cutting back on print frequency, you’ll want to keep pre-print revenue in mind. Pre-prints are more popular in the days leading up to holiday weekends. You could consider leaving those days in print or having “bonus” print editions on those holidays, if the return on investment is worth it.