Can my vendors participate in my publication, and share the cost?
Yes! Ask your account manager about our free Advertising Program. Most agents have one or two ads. Your referral partners are often eager to participate, and our ad program is RESPA-compliant.
How does the Advertising Program work?
Discover will suggest rates and provide sales materials to help you sell ads. Or, we can sell ads for you to a list of up to 7 of your closest partners. We also provide free design and placement for all your ads, as well as billing service for up to five ads (minimum $200 each). All the ad fees we collect for you come right off your bill and are itemized as a credit.
Who can buy an ad in my paper?
Anyone. However, we strongly encourage that you only offer ads to your close vendors. Discover’s ad sales service is limited to your vendors only, and Discover’s ad billing service is limited to up to five ads paying $200 or more each. We encourage our agents to keep their advertising simple; one or two ads to your referral partners is a good goal.
Can I get enough ads to pay for my whole paper?
Not easily. In over two decades, only a handful of clients have achieved this, and not a single one has maintained it. Businesses that don’t directly benefit from your success are hard to convert, pay very little, and want an immediate ROI off each ad. If your circulation is under 50,000 homes (like every agent at Discover), businesses will see better results advertising in other publications or in coupon books, so it’s a tough sell. Most agents save 15-30% by selling a few $200-$1,000 ads to close partners, and it takes almost no effort. Doing more than that will take you away from your core business, and may end up costing you a lot more than your ad fees in the long run.
Do vendor ads violate RESPA laws?
Not when handled correctly. While you are ultimately responsible for following regulations, Discover makes compliance easy. Discover collects the ad payment, and uses special worksheets to ensure adherence to the laws in your state. We have not had even one RESPA violation in our 25-year history!
Who collects the ad payments?
We do! Discover can bill up to five advertisers per client per mailing, as long as they are paying $200 or more each (most vendors pay $250-$500 each). Discover sends each advertiser an invoice, and credits their payment to your bill. Advertisers are billed 30 days in advance of each publication, and followed up with until payment is received. Ads that don’t meet our $200 billing minimum (or any ads in excess of 5) will need to billed and collected by you, but Discover will still work with those advertisers to design and place the ad.
What happens if my advertiser doesn’t pay?
A paper needs to be paid in full before it can go to print (including advertisements). We bill advertisers 30 days ahead of each publication, and follow up until payment is received. But if an ad doesn’t pay in time, that ad credit will not appear on your invoice (you will need to cover it). You can delay printing until payment is received, remove the ad from the paper, or let the unpaid ad run (and pay the difference on your own bill). We can pursue unpaid ads for 90 days after your paper prints, and give you the ad credit (or a cash reimbursement) when it’s paid.
How many ads can I put in my paper?
We suggest no more than five. You could squeeze more in, but that could result in additional customization fees and Discover is not able to offer billing service to more than five advertisers. Most agents only have one or two well-priced ads to their closest partners.