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The DON ZIERDT Agency |
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Your Window to the College Market |
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Tear sheets are an obligation, not an option! Everything went well. Your advertiser’s ad ran on time. It looks good. All you need to do is send an invoice and proofs to get paid. Easy, yet sometimes neglected. Of all aspects of the college newspaper advertising process, receipt of proofs in a timely manner can be the most frustrating. Advertisers should not have to contact you to get proofs. It should be automatic. It is an obligation. What is a tear sheet? A tear sheet is an original copy of the full-page where the ad appeared. The most critical aspects of it are as follows: The ad itself. The client needs to see not only that the ad adheres to the all specifics noted on the insertion order, but that the ad quality is satisfactory. For example, blurry ads may not be acceptable. The ad may not be acceptable if alterations were made. Any changes without consent of the advertiser may be grounds for nonpayment. If you spot errors or quality problems, you should notify the advertiser with suggestions for a solution (credits or make goods). The publication date. Each page should have the newspaper name, date and page number. This is checked to ensure ads ran on the proper date. The date on the page should be the date that the newspaper was distributed (and seen by the readers). Other page content. Although rare, there are times when other items on the page may affect an ad. Example: An ad is placed next to offensive material in an April Fool’s edition. You need to use good judgment. Once you determine that a tear sheet is acceptable, send tear sheets on a consistent basis. Sending weekly seems reasonable (unless you’re a “less-than-weekly). Send the bill and tear sheets together. Receiving a bill before a tear sheet has no value to an advertiser. Tip: For multiple run advertisements, send the proofs from the first run immediately so any problems can be reported quickly. |
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Tear sheets |
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Phone: 609-265-0442 |
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Sending tear sheets once-per-month is a bad policy (unless you publish monthly). If an ad is run early in a month, an advertiser may not receive proofs for over one month. It is reasonable for an advertiser to expect tear sheets within 30 days of a run date. |