Advertising Guide goes monthly

The Advertising Guide, which has been published weekly for nearly six decades in the Storm Lake and Cherokee trade territory, is switching to a monthly schedule beginning now.

This free publication that carries the ads of local businesses has been distributed to upwards of 13,000 households every Tuesday. Originally they were delivered in town by youthful carriers, but as kids became less interested in doing after-school work, about four years ago delivery was switched to the U.S. Postal Service.

However, the cost of producing the Ad Guide has increased substantially, due to double digit increases in postal rates in the past couple of years. Meanwhile the loss of print advertising to online venues has made the cost of doing business on a weekly basis prohibitive. It’s a problem nationwide with publications.

Henceforth the Ad Guide will be distributed the first week of every month to homes and businesses throughout Buena Vista and Cherokee counties. This will allow us to conserve our resources while continuing to provide businesses the opportunity to reach this valuable trade territory on a regular basis. You can contact an advertising representative by emailing ads@stormlake.com or calling 712-732-4991.

Advertisers can continue to reach customers weekly through the widespread newspaper coverage of the Storm Lake Times Pilot and Cherokee Chronicle Times, which are delivered in the mail every Friday. Since these are paid circulation products, advertisers know that their messages are being delivered directly to people who want to read them. Both of these newspapers have been serving their communities for more than 120 years.

Circulation of these newspapers is growing, and we hope to keep them healthy through our continued investment in news coverage that attracts readers, both in print and online. More people get their local news in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties from the Storm Lake Times Pilot (stormlake.com) and Cherokee Chronicle Times (chronicletimes.com) than from any other source.

If you would like to support local journalism, consider donating to the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation at westerniowajournalismfoundation.com. This tax-exempt organization helps support independent newspapers in this part of the state.

We appreciate your readership.