Why visit an advertiser 3 times when you can visit them once and walk away with 3 ads?

Katelyn Mary Skaggs

Jul 1, 2026

That is a concept I have been working on with my sales team this year, and I have to admit, it has changed the way we think about selling.

Like every newspaper, we have areas where we are always trying to improve. For years, one of those areas was bundled advertising. I have listened to newspaper friends talk about package deals and long-term advertising bundles at conventions for years. We tried a few ideas ourselves, but nothing really seemed to stick.

This year, something finally clicked with our sales team.

Instead of looking at every special section or advertising opportunity as a separate sale, we started asking ourselves one simple question. What events or products naturally go together? 

The first bundle we introduced was our Patriotic Package.

We have three patriotic-themed special sections each year. We publish our American flag double truck for Fourth of July, our 9/11 anniversary section honoring local first responders and our Veterans Day special section in November.

Instead of selling each section individually, we bundled all three together. If a client committed to advertising in all three sections, they locked in one price for all three ads and received 20% off their Veterans Day ad.

The client only had to make one buying decision, and our sales team sold advertising in July, September and November during one visit or phone call.

That means when Veterans Day rolls around, those ads are already sold. Instead of spending time trying to fill another section, our team can focus on the next opportunity in front of them, like the holidays.

Our goal of bundling is not just about increasing revenue but about making our sales team more efficient.

We have also found success with a year-long advertising bundle tied to one of our monthly special sections.

At the end of every month, we publish our Shop Your Hometown section, encouraging readers to support local businesses. Clients can run either an eighth page or quarter page ad every month. This year, we added a digital component to the package.

If a client commits to advertising for the entire year, they also receive a Facebook ad each month. As an added incentive, the Facebook ad for month 12 is completely free, and they receive 25% off their print ad.

We can get clients to commit to consistent marketing instead of making us ask the same question every 30 days.

We have also started using bundles to introduce clients to digital advertising.

Our Facebook ad product normally sells for $150. With select special sections, we offer it as an add-on for $100 when purchased alongside a print ad.
There is a huge difference between discounting a product and making it free. A discounted digital product still has value. It still teaches clients that digital marketing is worth paying for while making it easier for them to try something new.

Many of those clients were not planning to spend another $100, but now they are.

It might not sound like much on one sale, but it adds up quickly over dozens of clients throughout the year.

It has also introduced many clients to a digital product they might continue purchasing long after the special section is over.

Another bundle that we will start next year is pairing Mother's Day and Father's Day.

The sections are only a couple of months apart, and many businesses naturally advertise in both. Instead of making two separate sales calls, we package them together and encourage clients to reserve both at once.

We are currently working on a package for our county fair and festival special sections. We have one large county fair followed by several hometown festivals throughout the summer. Businesses that advertise in one are often interested in the others.

Maybe they receive 10% off the festival section when they purchase the county fair section. Maybe they receive a bonus Facebook post if they commit to all of them.

There are plenty of possibilities.

The point is to start looking at your products differently. Instead of asking yourself, "How do I sell this section?" ask, "What naturally fits with this section?"
Could you bundle football previews with basketball previews? Graduation with back to school? Holiday shopping with Small Business Saturday? Bridal sections with Valentine's Day?

I think we sometimes make selling harder than it has to be. If one sales call can result in three ads instead of one, everyone wins. Your client saves time because they only have to make one decision. Your sales team has become more efficient because they spend less time revisiting the same advertisers. Most importantly, your newspaper builds more predictable revenue months in advance.

Katelyn Mary Skaggs is the sales manager and part owner of Leader Publications, a group of four papers based in Festus, Missouri. Skaggs, a Southeast Missouri State University graduate, stated at the publishing group as an intern and then as a full-time reporter in January 2019.