Ad Layout Introduction Put it in writing The layout sheet Indicating copy and art The copy sheet Keying copy Keying art Other things about art Digital artwork How art scales The model release form Proofs Managing proofs Credits and adjustments More on adjustments The fastest way to increase sales! Participate in this award-winning, newspaper-specific ad sales course on-site or in a Webinar.  • Get past upfront stalls and objections without any pushing  • Make the account believe he really needs you  • Get better information from your prosepct  • Develop quick ad strategies that work the very first time  • Eliminate size, frequency, content, cost and most other objections before they ever arise  • Get dramatic responses for all kinds of advertisers  • Never have to push an advertiser to run again click here

Again, the department that creates live ads, that is, the final, sold ads that will appear in your publication, is usually called the production or creative services department.

It's important to keep in mind that they'll try to follow whatever instructions you give them to the letter, with as little creative embellishment as possible. Since a live ad that you send through to production should reflect what the customer wants, then even the slightest change in design or content might result in a surprised and unhappy customer who might not want to pay for the ad.

Sure, as long as you get your ad in early enough, many times production will be willing to give you a copy of the finished ad (called a proof) for you to bring out to the customer for final approval. But this is mainly a way to catch typos, not to make up for poor communication with production.

To avoid headaches and assure that you retain a good relationship with your advertisers and production people (which is always a good idea), you should make sure you clearly describe, on paper, exactly what you want your customer's ad to look like.

Most newspapers have a fairly formal approach to communicating with production. In fact, many production departments won't accept verbal communication of any kind. This not only helps reduce errors, but will protect you and them if a problem later arises and an advertiser wants a full or partial credit. Everyone will know exactly who was at fault and how to avoid the problem in the future.

Although many production departments know the time constraints an ad salesperson is under and will sometimes accept alternative ways of requesting an ad, if you follow these simple guidelines, you'll rarely see an error appear in your advertiser's ads. And when an error does appear, it probably won't be your fault.

Also, if you follow these guidelines, you'll be production's favorite sales rep, which, you'll find, won't be the worst position for you to be in.

Next: The layout sheet