Have you ever wondered why PR Prices on top electronic newspapers have such a huge difference? Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often overwhelmed by the quote matrix.
They do not know what the actual costs are and what the unnamed "hidden fees" are. In fact, the press booking market in Vietnam operates according to very complex underlying rules.
According to the latest statistics in 2024, up to 65% of businesses' marketing budgets are wasted due to a lack of understanding of the price structure. Understanding PR Prices not only helps you save costs but also optimizes communication efficiency.
As an expert at DPS.MEDIA with over 7 years of practical experience, I have witnessed thousands of successful and failed campaigns. Today, I will unveil the secrets about the price list that few agencies want to share with you.
This article will provide the most comprehensive and authentic view of the current press market. We will go deep into every corner of communication costs together.
1. Why Do PR Prices On Major Newspapers Have Such A Huge Difference?
The difference in PR Prices between newspapers is not random or impulsive. It is built on a complex and strict scoring system. Understanding this helps you accurately value the worth you receive.
Major newspapers in Vietnam such as VnExpress, Dan Tri, or Tuoi Tre all have their own standards. These standards directly shape the listed prices and discount levels.
Traffic factors and prestige
The first and most important factor affecting PR Prices is traffic. A newspaper page with millions of views per day will certainly have a higher price.
In addition to traffic, technical indicators such as Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) also play a key role. These indicators reflect the website's prestige to Google search engine.
For example, VnExpress always maintains the highest market price because of its position as the "most viewed Vietnamese-language newspaper". Conversely, general news sites or narrow specialized magazines will have much more pleasant prices.
The article display position determines the PR Price
On the same newspaper, but different article positions will lead to a completely different PR Prices level. Articles located on the homepage (Home) are always "golden land" with the most expensive costs.
Conversely, articles located deep in sub-categories (Category) or inside pages will have lower prices. This difference can be up to 300% to 400% depending on the policy of each editorial office.
Businesses need to carefully consider campaign goals to choose the right position. It is not always true that appearing on the homepage brings the highest conversion efficiency.
| Newspaper Classification | Typical Example | Average PR Price (VND) | Outstanding Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Top tier) | VnExpress, Dan Tri, Tuoi Tre | 15,000,000 – 50,000,000+ | Huge traffic, high brand prestige, strict content review. |
| Tier 2 (Mid-range) | Kenh 14, 24h, Zing News | 8,000,000 – 20,000,000 | Good access to young people, flexible content, reasonable prices. |
| Tier 3 (Niche) | CafeF, GenK, Afamily | 5,000,000 – 15,000,000 | Focus on specific customer files, high niche conversion rate. |
| Tier 4 (News sites) | Small general news sites | 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 | Supports SEO backlinks, easy to post, low cost. |
Booking timing and seasonal factors
The media market also has very clear seasonality. During holidays or major events, PR Prices is often pushed high due to a sudden increase in demand.
Conversely, during off-peak months, editorial offices often launch many attractive incentive packages. Grabbing this golden moment can help businesses save a significant amount of budget.
Experts at DPS.MEDIA always recommend that customers plan booking early. Early booking helps avoid "out of stock" situations for beautiful positions and price squeezing.
Specific industry sectors affecting costs
Few people know that the business industry also directly affects quotes. Sensitive areas such as healthcare, functional foods, or finance often bear higher fees.
The reason is that these articles require a stricter content censorship process. The editorial office must bear higher legal responsibility when posting information about these areas.
Below are the main factors causing price fluctuations:
- Hotness of the category (Business, Entertainment, Technology).
- Type of article (Photo article, Video article, eMagazine article).
- Article storage time on the homepage (1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours).
- Additional requirements for inserting hyperlinks or info boxes.
- Risk level of advertising content.
- Discount policy of the booking agency.
Expert Advice: Don't just look at the total number on the listed quote. Ask for a detailed analysis of items to see the distribution of PR Prices.
2. Debunking Hidden Fees In Current Press PR Price Lists
One of the most common mistakes of SMEs is only caring about the article booking price. However, PR Prices the reality you have to pay is often much higher due to hidden fees.
These surcharges are often not clearly publicized on the website. Only when working directly or through an experienced agency will you be specifically informed.
Writing and content editing costs
The listed price lists of newspapers often do not include content production costs. If you send a pre-written article, you may still lose an editorial fee.
This fee arises when the editor has to edit your article to fit the journalistic style. This fee ranges from 500,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND depending on the level of editing.
If you hire the newspaper to write the article from A-Z, the cost will be even higher. This is a necessary investment to ensure the article is approved quickly.
Surcharges for inserting DoFollow and NoFollow links
For SEO people, backlinks from major newspapers are an invaluable asset. However, PR Prices basic ones usually only allow inserting NoFollow links or even no links at all.
To get a DoFollow link to pass power to the website, you often have to pay an additional "link purchase fee". This fee can be from 1,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND per link, depending on the prestige of the newspaper.
This creates a very vibrant underground market for buying and selling press backlinks. You need to be alert not to be "overcharged" when negotiating this item.
PR Price increases when pinning articles to the homepage
As mentioned, the homepage position is the place that attracts the most eyes. However, the time an article exists here is often very short due to the continuous update of news.
If you want the article to be "pinned" (sticky) in a beautiful position longer, you have to pay an extra fee. 1-hour, 2-hour, or half-day pinning packages all have separate price levels.
VAT costs and Agency commission
Finally, don't forget the mandatory 8-10% VAT on every contract. In addition, if booking through an untrustworthy intermediary, you may have the price inflated to take the difference.
At DPS.MEDIA, we are committed to making all these costs transparent. Customers always know exactly which item their money is being spent on.
| Type of Hidden Fee | Estimated Fee (VND) | Important Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New article writing fee | 1,000,000 – 5,000,000 | Depends on the level of reporter and type of article (regular/eMag). |
| DoFollow Link insertion fee | 2,000,000 – 6,000,000 | Many major newspapers have now completely abolished the DoFollow selling policy. |
| Pinning fee (Sticky) | 3,000,000 – 10,000,000 | Calculated by the hour, usually applies to homepages or hot categories. |
| Fast approval fee | 500,000 – 1,500,000 | For articles that need to be posted urgently within the day or during golden hours. |
| Post-publication editing fee | 500,000 – 1,000,000 | Each time the content is edited after publication, a fee is charged. |
Practical example: An SME customer once contacted for booking an article on Dan Tri by themselves. They only prepared a budget of 15 million according to the publicly available price list online.
However, when making the contract, the total cost ballooned to 22 million VND. Incurred items included writing fees, extra photo insertion fees, and VAT that were not calculated in advance.
List of items to check carefully in the contract:
- Maximum and minimum number of words of the article.
- Number of photos allowed to be inserted in the article.
- Regulations on inserting video clips (is there an extra fee).
- Warranty policy if the article is deleted or has link errors.
- Time for the article to be indexed on Google.
Tip: Always ask for the "Agency Quote" instead of the "Retail Quote". Even if you are a small business, knowing how to negotiate this can help reduce PR Prices significantly.
3. PR Price Optimization Strategy: Secrets From DPS.MEDIA Experts
How to get the best PR Prices level while still ensuring efficiency? This is the question that the team at DPS.MEDIA receives every day from partners.
With experience serving more than 5,400 customers, we have summarized blood-and-bone strategies. Optimizing costs does not mean choosing cheap newspapers, but spending smartly.
Booking in combo packages to reduce costs
Buying retail is always more expensive than buying wholesale, and press booking is no exception. Editorial offices always have large incentive policies for high-volume booking contracts.
Instead of booking each individual article, plan for the whole quarter or the whole year. Signing a combo contract can help you reduce from 20% to 40% compared to the listed price.
DPS.MEDIA experts recommend that businesses should combine many newspapers in the same system. For example, buying a combo package including Kenh14, CafeF, and GenK will have a much better price.
Leverage relationships with reputable Agencies
Large Agencies like DPS.MEDIA are huge "wholesale customers" of editorial offices. We have extremely deep discounts that retail customers never get.
When working through an Agency, you enjoy this PR Prices preferential level. The price difference is sometimes enough to pay for the Agency's management service fee.
Furthermore, Agencies also support handling arising issues such as dropped articles or broken links quickly. The voice of an Agency with the editorial office always carries more weight than an individual customer.
Choose the golden time to negotiate PR Prices
The end of the month or the end of the quarter is the time when press sales staff run after targets (KPIs). This is when they are ready to "cut blood" and reduce prices to close contracts.
If you are not too rushed in terms of time, wait for these moments. You can deal for more benefits such as free news gifts, free banners with the same price.
In my experience, January and July of the lunar calendar are usually the times when prices are "softest" in the year. Take advantage of this off-peak time to cover your brand.
Quality content helps reduce article approval costs
Content that is too advertising-heavy (sale-y) is often charged higher fees or rejected. Conversely, articles that provide real value to readers will be favored by the editorial office.
An article that follows journalistic style, with few bombastic words, will be approved quickly. Even, some newspapers have discount policies for articles with high community value.
Effective price negotiation steps:
- Clearly define the maximum budget that can be paid.
- Compare quotes from at least 3 different agencies.
- Request specific KPI commitments (views, clicks) for that price.
- Propose exchanging benefits that are not used (e.g., no VAT if possible) to reduce cash.
- Ask carefully about the "article compensation" policy if the post does not reach the committed KPI.
"Never accept the first price offered. In the media industry, every number is negotiable if you know how." – DPS.MEDIA Expert.
Typical example: A cosmetic brand saved 150 million VND/year by switching to booking through DPS.MEDIA. Instead of buying individual articles on Zing, they switched to a monthly package with a committed fixed number of articles.
Secret: Some newspapers have a "First Booking Discount" policy for new customers. Ask about this program immediately if this is your first time working with them.
4. Comparing Electronic Newspaper PR Prices And Paper Newspapers: Which Is A Good Choice?
In the digital age, the war between electronic newspapers and paper newspapers is still not over. Many businesses still wonder if PR Prices paper newspapers are still worth investing in?
The shift of budget to Digital Marketing is an inevitable trend. However, paper newspapers still maintain a unique position in certain customer segments.
Trend of shifting to electronic newspapers
Electronic newspapers hold absolute advantage in speed of spread and measurability. With a PR Prices reasonable level, you can reach hundreds of thousands of readers in just a few hours.
The ability for two-way interaction (comment, share) is a strength that paper newspapers cannot have. According to the 2024 trend report, 85% of consumers receive news via smartphone.
This forces traditional paper newspapers to also strongly develop online platforms. Booking prices on online platforms therefore also become more competitive and transparent.
SEO effectiveness and sustainability of online PR articles
A huge advantage of online PR is the ability to support SEO. Articles exist forever on the internet (if not deleted), continuously bringing back organic traffic.
Backlinks from these PR articles help increase power for the business's website. In the long term, PR Prices online is much cheaper compared to the value it brings over the years.
Meanwhile, paper newspaper PR articles only have value on the day of issue. After that, they almost disappear and no one finds them to read again.
Paper newspaper PR price: Is it still worth investing?
Although readership has decreased, PR Prices paper newspapers are still quite high, especially political newspapers. The reason is that paper newspapers bring extremely high prestige (Trust) to the brand.
Paper newspaper readers are often leaders, elderly people, or government officials. If your target customers are in this group, paper newspapers are still a channel that cannot be ignored.
| Comparison Criteria | Electronic Newspaper PR (Online) | Paper Newspaper PR (Print Ad) |
|---|---|---|
| Average price level | Flexible, from 2 million – 50 million++. | High, from 10 million – 100 million++. |
| Display time | Long-term storage, possibly permanent. | Short-term (1 day or 1 issue). |
| Measurability | Accurate for every view, click, time-on-site. | General estimates, difficult to measure. |
| Interaction capability | High (Share, Comment, Click link). | Low (Only passive reading). |
| SEO Value | Very high (Backlink, Traffic, Keyword). | No direct value for SEO. |
ROI index analysis between two platforms
In terms of return on investment (ROI), electronic newspapers usually win in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. Customers can click to buy right after reading the article.
However, with industries like Real Estate or Cars, paper newspapers help build brand trust. Appearing solemnly on paper newspapers is an affirmation of class.
Therefore, there is no absolute answer to which is better. A smart strategy is to combine both (Mix Media) to optimize customer touchpoints.
Benefits of combining multi-channel:
- Increase brand coverage on all fronts.
- Reach a variety of customer files from young to old.
- Create a "long-term persistent rain" effect in the minds of consumers.
- Supplement each other's prestige: Paper newspapers create trust, online newspapers create conversions.
- Optimize the overall budget thanks to multi-platform combo packages.
Advice: Allocate 70% of the budget to electronic newspapers and 30% to paper newspapers if you are an SME business. This ratio ensures both sales efficiency and brand building.
5. Mistakes That Make Businesses Lose Money Unnecessarily Due To High PR Prices
During the consulting process at DPS.MEDIA, I have encountered countless cases of customers "burning money" in vain. They accept a PR Prices sky-high level but receive zero results in return.
These mistakes often stem from lack of experience and a hasty mentality. Identifying these traps early will help you protect the business's pocket.
Not surveying market prices before booking
This is an elementary but most common error. Many business owners only ask for the price in one place and then close immediately due to blind trust. In fact, for the same position, the price can differ by tens of millions.
The media market is very chaotic with hundreds of large and small agencies. Not performing a price comparison makes you easily become a "chicken" to be ripped off.
Take the time to refer to at least 3 different quotes. You will be surprised to see the significant difference between service providers.
Choosing the wrong posting category
You sell cosmetics but post in the… Technology section because you see the PR Prices price is cheaper? This is a fatal wrong mindset.
Readers of the Technology section do not care about cosmetics. Even if you can buy at a cheap price, the Conversion Rate will be zero. That is a terrible waste.
Sometimes, accepting to pay a higher price to be in the right section (e.g., Health, Beauty) brings back much better economic efficiency.
Ignoring efficiency measurement indicators after posting
Many people think that after paying for the post, their responsibility is over. They don't care how many people read that article, how many people click back to the website.
If you don't measure, you won't know if the money you spent is effective or not. Ask the booking unit to provide a detailed acceptance report (Report) after the campaign.
Based on these indicators, you will have a basis to optimize for subsequent campaigns. Don't throw money out the window and hope customers will find you on their own.
Believing in fake quotes on social networks
Currently, there are many Facebook groups selling booking packages at surprisingly cheap prices. "Post on major newspapers for only 500k" – these invitations are often scams or tabloids under a false name.
These websites often have domain names that mimic or interfaces that look like major newspapers to deceive. Posting on these sites not only has no effect but also lowers brand prestige.
Signs to identify booking scams:
- Unusually cheap price compared to the general level (50-70% cheaper).
- No legal contract, only working through personal messages.
- Requirement to transfer money to a personal account instead of a company account.
- Commitment to unreasonable things (e.g., commitment to reach Top 1 Google immediately).
- Unable to issue standard VAT invoices.
Warning example: A technology startup lost 50 million to an "expert" online to book articles. The result was that the article was posted on a fake VnExpress website (domain name off by one character).
Safe booking process at DPS.MEDIA:
- Consulting to choose the right channel for the target audience.
- Transparent quote, separating booking fees and service fees.
- Sign a full legal contract, issue VAT invoices.
- Implement writing, send for demo approval before posting.
- Send report links and traffic statistics after the article goes live.
Only when working professionally like this can you ensure the PR Prices you spend is worth it. Don't let lack of understanding turn a communication campaign into a financial disaster.
Conclusion
Understanding PR Prices and the underlying rules of the press market is a powerful weapon for every business. It helps you not only save the budget but also master the media game.
We have deconstructed from pricing factors, hidden fees to cost optimization strategies together. Hopefully, the information from DPS.MEDIA has helped you have a clearer view.
Don't forget that cheap price is not everything. Suitability and ultimate efficiency are the most important measures of a successful campaign.
Summary of key points to remember:
- PR Price depends heavily on Traffic, Prestige, and Display Position.
- Always be wary of hidden fees such as writing fees, link fees, pinning fees.
- Booking through a reputable Agency usually has a better price than individual retail booking.
- Combine electronic newspapers and paper newspapers wisely to maximize ROI.
- Stay away from cheap scam traps and always request a transparent contract.
- Quality content is the key to minimizing cost barriers.
- Continuous measurement and optimization are mandatory to avoid wasting the budget.
If you are looking for a reliable partner to optimize your communication strategy, contact DPS.MEDIA immediately. We are ready to consult the solution that best fits your budget.
