What is Verified Circulation and Why Does it Matter?

“How do I choose where to advertise?” The first place to start is prioritizing advertising methods that provide the most significant reach for your marketing goals.

William Randolph Hearst is famous for saying “there is no substitute for circulation.” In fact, it was the slogan of his newspaper, The Examiner, in the late 1800s. He was obsessed with eyeballs, always asking “how can I communicate with the most amount of people today?” He knew only popularity and awareness – not fancy paper, vague distribution, special binding, or catchy marketing terms – would help him win the war of influence of his time. And he did.

The same applies to small businesses today.

Numbers, in the form of awareness and popularity, are the first place marketers should look to when formulating the plan for their top-of-funnel advertising methods. But numbers can be manipulated and inflated, so before an advertiser spends a single dollar in advertising, they have to educate themselves on how to buy advertising.

In advertising, everything starts with circulation. Circulation is a count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed. In digital media it’s known as unique traffic. It’s essential in advertising because copies, unique traffic and engagement equate to actual reach (a.k.a. audience size) and that is what you buy when you buy advertising in any type of media. If that number isn’t true, fluctuates, or is declining, the value of the advertising greatly diminishes.

It’s not just an issue in print advertising. Low traffic websites, obscure TV channels, billboards on backroads, restaurant placemat advertising, anywhere there is not a high frequency of reach, the odds of ROI on advertisements are low.

Medias know this, so they do everything they can to inflate their actual reach to appear more influential then than actually are. Using vague measurement tools like “readership, viewership, followers, and traffic” to oversell their value to the advertiser.

Vague audience information is detrimental to advertising campaigns. Verified Circulation prevents this type of trickery in advertising.

What is Verified Circulation?

Verified circulation, in essence, is the certified number of copies of a publication that have been distributed and are in the hands of readers. It is a reliable measure of a publication's reach and the number of potential readers or viewers an advertisement can reach. To establish verified circulation, medias often undergo a rigorous auditing process conducted by independent organizations, provide postal receipts, share website analytic reports or provide roadway traffic reports to advertisers.

Basically, verified circulation equates to transparency in actual reach numbers.

Why Verified Circulation Matters to Advertisers

Advertisers need to reach their target audience effectively, but if the numbers being sold are not true, then that objective is nullified. Choosing an advertising partner based on their verified circulation data will…

Ensure Accurate Audience Reach
Verified circulation provides business owners with the confidence that their advertisements will be seen by the intended demographic. Knowing that a publication's circulation figures are authentic enables advertisers to make better decisions about where to allocate their ad budgets.

Build Trust
You want to pay an advertising partner you trust and not be left with the buyer’s remorse feeling of wasting money on advertising that didn’t work. Choosing a publication or media outlet that has verified audience data that will save you from this regretful feeling because you know you got what you paid for. Third party verification tools are independent entities with the sole purpose of ensuring accuracy and transparency. Advertisers can trust that the circulation figures they receive are not inflated or manipulated to attract more business.

Clearly Define Cost-Efficiency
Every penny spent on advertising needs to be justified. Verified circulation helps advertisers gauge the cost-efficiency of their campaigns by determining exact cost per impressions, cost per leads and cost per conversions. Then you can compare the cost of ad placements in different publications based on the number of potential readers reached, ensuring they get the best value for their investment.

Help with ROI Assessment
Marketers rely on data to evaluate the performance of their marketing campaigns. Verified circulation data is a crucial component of this analysis, enabling marketers to assess reach, engagement, and conversion rates accurately. Accurate circulation data is vital for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of advertising campaigns. Advertisers can assess the effectiveness of their ads by analyzing response rates and sales generated in relation to the number of people exposed to their messages through the publication.

Questions to Ask your Advertising Sales Rep

When you’re ready to buy, here are some questions you can ask your advertising sales rep regarding their circulation when reviewing advertising methods.

For Print

1. What is your circulation? How many actual copies are distributed daily, weekly, monthly, annually?

2. Is that readership or actual circulation? or How many copies are printed?

3. Do you provide an audit report or receipt to verify circulation?

4. How are the issues distributed? Of that, how many are mailed, put out at free locations?

For TV Broadcast / Radio

1. What is your daily viewership? Listenership?

2. Where are those viewers / listeners located?

3. How do you measure that number?

4. Can you provide an audit or traffic report to verify?

5. Do you use Portable People Meters or Nielsen Meters to verify listener size?

For Billboards

1. How many cars drive by this billboard a day?

2. What is the Daily Effective Circulation (DEC - the number of vehicles that pass by the billboard as well as the number of pedestrians)?

3. Can you provide a traffic report to verify that data?

For Digital Medias (websites, blogs, social media influencers)

1. What is your monthly / daily unique traffic?

2. What is your total monthly traffic?

3. How much time do visitors spend on your website each visit?

4. What is your click-thru rate?

5. What is your engagement rate on social media posts?

6. What is the typical reach for each of your posts?

7. What are your video view and video completion rates?

8. Can you provide analytic reports to confirm this information?

“Vague audience information is detrimental to advertising campaigns. Verified Circulation prevents this type of trickery in advertising. ”

Verified Circulation is a metric that plays a pivotal role in shaping advertising strategies and ensuring that marketing efforts reach their intended audience. Without it, you’re just guessing.

Regardless of the medium, the core principle remains the same: reliable data is the cornerstone on which successful advertising and marketing strategies are built. In a world inundated with information, verified circulation stands as a beacon of accuracy and trust, guiding advertisers and marketers toward their goals.

Repeat after me: “I will not buy advertising based on how friendly the sales rep is.”

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