I don’t want to hear, “we don’t have the money.†According to the U.S Census, black America will approach $1.2 trillion in deposable income by 2012. BE’s listings of the nation’s largest black-owned companies collectively earned hundreds of billions of dollars last year. Yet, few of them if any advertise in BE or any other black media. So why should white companies pay competitive prices for ads in black media if you won’t?
Our apathy forces black media to lower their ad prices. Meaning they can’t charge what comparable white media outlets charge for advertising. No advertising means no revenue. No revenue equals no media. No media, no voice. No voice means less exposure for you and your company. Less exposure means less interest. Less interest equals no customers. No customers, no business. Get it?
To be honest you could insert any other black media outlet here. All of us can’t afford to advertise in national black media. But, we can buy an ad in the local black paper, pay to place our business card in a church program or sponsor food at a local black event.
If you don’t support voices that promote you to your community who will?
We need more black businesses advertising in black media. We can do that by taking a more proactive approach toward sustaining our voices. We can achieve this by subscribing to black media that resonates with us. We can contact advertisers and let them know that we support their cause because they support ours. We can also purchase ads or classifieds in black media that reaches out to our customers.
Zachary Raynell Rinkins is the host and producer of “It’$ Paydayâ€, an AP award winning 90-second personal-finance lifestyle radio show produced for Rinkins Media Ventures, Ltd.