Top 5 Tips for Measuring ROI for Print Advertisements

Posted on:

Something we’re constantly being asked here at Coffee News is: “How do you measure your return on investment (ROI) for a print ad?”

This is an understandable concern, after all, if you’re going to take the time to put together and run a print ad, you want to be able to know whether it’s working.

Measuring the ROI for traditional forms of advertising can be tricky. For online ads, there are built in methods of tracking how many people see and engage with your ad, but how do you know if a customer who’s walked into your store or visited your website did so because they saw your print advertisement?

A key factor that will help you effectively measure the ROI of your ad is a strong call-to-action. Before putting anything in print, consider what it is you want people to do when they see your ad. Do you want them to visit your website? Subscribe to your newsletter? Show up to an event or big sale? Once you know what your call to action should be, you’ll be able to craft an ad with a clear and effective message that will result in the reader taking a specific action. With that desired outcome in mind, you’ll also be able to determine which of our tips can apply to your ad and how you can best measure your ROI.

Here are our Top 5 Tips for Measuring ROI for Print Advertisements!

  1. Create a QR Code

QR codes make it quick and easy for customers to visit your website or download your app. All they need to do is scan the code with their phone and they’ll be directed straight to your website, app or contact form. Best of all for the purposes of measuring ROI, you can also link a QR code to your Google Analytics account to track how many visitors came to your site specifically from the QR code.

  • Include a Promo Code or Coupon

This is a straightforward method for tracking ROI if your call to action is directing the customer to purchase from your online store. Just include a unique promo code in the ad for a special gift with purchase and then track how many time that code is used to see how many leads came from the print advertisement. Similarly, if you want to encourage in-store visits, you can include a coupon for a bonus gift in the ad that readers can cut-out and use at your physical place of business.

  • Direct to a Unique Landing Page

If you’d like to encourage people to take some kind of action online (e.g., visit your website, purchase a product from your online store or submit a contact form), you should include a URL in your advertisement that directs the reader to a unique landing page that you have created to coincide with this print campaign. You’ll then be able to analyze the activity on this landing page to determine how successful the print ad was at achieving your aim.

  • Use Dedicated Contact Information

This method is helpful if the goal of your print ad is to have potential customers contact you. Create a dedicated email address or phone number for the campaign and include this contact information in the ad. That way, you’ll know that anyone who contacts you at that email address or phone number is doing so because they saw your print ad.

  • Ask your Customers Directly

Sometimes the simplest methods are the best. You can always ask your customers how they heard about your company to determine if they learned about you from the print advertisement. Try adding this question to the set-up process when you’re onboarding a new client, or a customer is creating an online account or signing up for your newsletter. You can also include a customer survey on your website and encourage people to take it by offering rewards for completing it.

As you can see, the best method for tracking the ROI of your print advertisement varies depending on the call to action you’ve included in your ad. Make sure you have a clear idea of what you want the ad to accomplish before you create it to get the best results out of your campaign.

If you’d like further advice on how to create a strong print ad and measure its effectiveness, we’re here to help. Contact us today – click here or call 780-220-6397.