Local Internet Advertising – Evolving from Newspapers?

Local newspapers have been a staple in our advertising world since our country was established.  People would buy the paper to see what was going on in the world and their communities.

So why are so many newspapers filing bankruptcy or just closing their doors for good??  Simple – people are getting their news via the internet.   Think about it – every time you sign on your computer you probably have an opening browser page.  On that page, you’ll see the top news events in real time.   By the time the newspaper comes out the next day, you’ve already heard all the top stories.

I have to admit – we no longer subscribe to our local newspaper.  The last few years, we actually used our newspaper for a very important reason…..  to make sure our dog had something to go to the bathroom on.   We no longer have that dog, so we had no reason to subscribe to our paper – we dropped it totally and get our news from the internet.

At one time I actually spent thousands of dollars with that same newspaper in my real estate business.   I now simply use the internet to advertise any vacancies that I now have and I actually get calls within minutes of hitting the “save” button.   And – I don’t pay any advertising to do it!

This trend is going on all over.   Here is a listing of large newspapers that have shut their doors since 2007:

* Tuscon Citizen

* Rocky Mountain News

* Baltimore Examiner

* Kentucky Post

* Cincinnati Post

* King County Journal

* Union City Register-Tribune

* Albuquerque Tribune

* South Idaho Press

Just something to keep in mind when you are doing your advertising.   Display ads no longer carry the “punch” they once used to.