Advertising is not particularly cheap, but it is necessary. No business can live without advertising in some form; even small home industries that rely primarily on word of mouth must do something to draw the public’s attention to their products and services. This could be as simple as handing out business cards or flyers at parties or flea markets or buying space in local newsletters. Of course, to be really effective, it is best to advertise in local or national newspapers, on local or national radio and, if the budget is so large, in magazines and television. When it comes to determining how to spread your budget across various advertising media, you need to know what the price of different ads is, and this is where rate sheets come in.
Wikipedia defines a rate sheet as: a document containing prices and descriptions of the various ad placement options available on a media outlet.
But that is not all. To be really useful, a rate sheet should give you more information about the audience for that particular medium. For example, the rate sheet should contain information about your demographics: pet owners, financial advisers, women in spare time and teens, etc. A newspaper or magazine should provide information about its circulation and readers. They should also include the dimensions of the various advertisements available, as well as the contract options. All media must inform you about the scheduling dates and deadlines.
In many cases, the price of the rate sheets is flexible. New advertising companies may not know this, so it is a good idea to hire an advertising agency or media buyer to negotiate on your behalf. These agencies typically have up-to-date rate sheets for all media, including the burgeoning online avenues. They also tend to have good relationships with those who sell advertising and will be able to negotiate discounted rates based on the length of your campaign, the size of the ad, and the amount of ad space available.
Shari Waters (about.com) looks at some of the size factors that affect price. Breaks down print ad sizes into 1/16, 1/8, ¼, and ½ page. However, some magazines and newspapers do not offer standard rates for standard sizes, in which case you should look at column inches or, in some cases, pica, a letterpress unit of measure. Waters gives an example: 12 points = 1 spade or 1/6 “, and 6 spades = 1”.
Advertising is more than most people think. Rate sheets help you determine which ads are following your ad campaign and your budget. Up-to-date pricing information will help you determine how much to spend on which advertising media. They are an invaluable tool when it comes to structuring ad campaigns, so you should strive to understand them.