Much of radio advertising is done in local markets, which often makes it a more affordable medium for small businesses.
The phrase "typical advertising costs" is a bit of a misnomer in that advertising costs vary greatly by media type, audience size, time and space allocation and a number of other customizable factors. However, you can get a general sense of how expensive the most common media are by looking at some basic facts.
Television
Television advertising is generally regarded as the most expensive traditional media because of its high absolute including production and placement. Gaebler notes an average annual cost for producing a 30-second ad at roughly $350,000. However, small businesses, if resourceful, can find ways to create commercials for much less. Placement varies greatly by size of audience for the channel and program. Local commercials are often reasonable for local businesses. At the high end, a Super Bowl ad has run between $2 million to $3 million dollars during much of the first decade in the 21st Century.
Radio
Radio advertising also includes production and placement costs, but not usually to the level of television. Strategic Media suggests a budget of around $20,000 for a typical three- to four-week test run in advertising. This includes around $1,750 for creative development and $4,000 to $6,000 weekly for placement, as of 2011. Radio ads are usually purchased in volume and rotated over the course of a week. Size of the market has a great influence. Much of radio advertising occurs in local markets.
Newspaper
As Gaebler points out, newspaper advertising costs can vary considerably. Newspapers are distributed locally, statewide, regionally and nationally. The wider the distribution, the more expensive. Smaller businesses often rely on newspapers for affordable box ad placements. However, running larger ads in more widely distributed newspapers are often expensive. Gaebler notes that a full-page black and white ad in "The Wall Street Journal" national edition has a cost of $164,300, as of 2011.
Magazine
Magazine ad rates depend on size of the publication and location of distribution. Local access magazines differ greatly from nationally distributed magazines that draw millions of readers. Costs for magazine ads are affected by size and position, in the magazine, placement, amount of color and number of words. Startup Biz Hub suggests an "average" selling magazine may charge around $200 for a 10-word ad placement. However, a similar ad in a large magazine may cost around $10,000 or more.
Online
The Internet is the newest traditional media and offers a vast array of advertising options and price points. Many Internet ads are sold based on the popular cost per media, CPM, metric. This measures the average cost you pay per every 1,000 impressions your ad makes. This gives you a sense of how efficient your placement is relative to other opportunities. Smaller websites offer very reasonable rates, often under $100, for basic banner and text ads, while high traffic sites may charge $1,000s for ad placements on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
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