So how come many business owners shy away from print advertising? Part of problem is that they mistakenly believe people don’t read much anymore, and that a print ad will be a waste of their time, and their money. They’d be wrong, again.

If you don’t believe me, consider following:

 63 million newspapers are distributed in U.S. every day. In fact more newspapers are published today than at anytime since World War II.

 In first half (January to June) of 2004 top 10 magazines in U.S. reached a total circulation of more than $72 million.

 And a recent survey by Magazine Publishers of America shows that proportion of Americans with a favorable opinion of magazine industry is much higher than for any other media industry, including Internet.

With facts like that you’d be a fool not to rush out and spend some of your advertising budget on a targeted, print ad today. So what are you waiting for? Get started now. These step-by-step guidelines will help you produce powerful a print ad that sells.

1. Have a Plan

I know I’ve said it a thousand times before but without a plan you risk spending thousands of dollars on a useless, ineffective and costly campaign that fails to bring you any new business. I get a creative plan for every job I take on. That way, I make sure I write an ad that’s targeted to right people, written in right tone of voice and published in right media.

Here are main points a creative plan should cover:

Objectives: What is ad trying to do? Sell more products, generate awareness or launch a new product or service? First, determine ad’s objectives. Then quantify them. For example, I want to attract potential buyers who don’t have an immediate need for my product, or I want to achieve 50% more awareness among my target group.

Target Audience: Who buys product? For years advertising agencies have based their client’s advertising campaigns on demographics because certain approaches appeal to different groups of people. I won’t start trying to explain ins and outs of demographic profiling but before you start your campaign you should consider whether your target prospect is a man or a woman, young, middle aged or old, rich, poor or average. Because determining this will drive every aspect of your ad.

Proposition: What is main benefit you want to convey? If you’re selling insurance main benefit could be peace of mind and security. If you’re selling a car main benefit could be sporty yet economical. It’s important to find right benefit for your target market. Value for money may be a great benefit for someone on a tight budget but if your target market is more concerned with quality it will have a negative effect.