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So you've decided you need to do some advertising and you are asking yourself: Should I do it myself or should I hire a professional?

Well, some people can fix the dripping faucet, while others need to call in a plumber; the answer depends entirely on you. Do you know anything about planning a campaign, choosing media or executing a creative concept? If so, then you might be able to do it yourself. If not, I'd suggest that you might be being pound foolish and penny wise by not calling in help.

But if you insist on doing it yourself, start at the beginning and ask yourself a few questions.

1. Who am I talking to?
Describe them in terms of demographics (gender, age, physical location, income level) and then look at their psychographic detail. Just because two women earn the same and live next door to each other doesn't mean that they think the same. What matters to them?

2. Where will I find them?
Chances are that you'll be tempted to advertise in your favourite publication. This is great if you want to talk to people just like you. But if not, you need to consider which media will appeal to them. Your local newspapers will probably try to sell you advertising space based on their total number of readers, but if you are targeting young women aged 16 to 24 and their readers are predominantly men aged 35 and up, you're going to miss your target. Any media owner worth his salt knows his profile. It's up to you to make sure you get the information you need, not just what he wants to tell you.

3. Is it the right editorial environment?
Sometimes you'll find media which reaches your target, but your message might not get through because it's the wrong environment. For instance, you might be able reach a target of mothers of children under 6 years in a daily newspaper, but you might get their attention more readily if you used posters or distributed newsletters in the local pre-primary schools.

4. What do I want to spend?
I've had clients tell me they have no idea. Well, a ten year old jalopy and a brand new top-of-the line Lexis are both cars. But before you go shopping for a car it would make sense to know which one you which you can afford! Of course, before you can decide how much you want to spend, you need to have an idea of what things actually cost. The sales people from your list of possible media will give you costs, but only for the media space. Don't forget to allow for production costs too.

5. How often do I need to run my ad?
Frequency matters. The more your target

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