What should happen after a local advertiser says yes?

The yes is not the finish line. A lot of money leaks out between "let's do it" and the first ad running. The fix is a short, boring process that gets paid first.

What's the order of steps?

1. Tell them the invoice is coming today. Not "in a minute," just today. Then send it.
2. Take a card. I use Stripe: create the recurring payment and get the card on file.
3. Send a simple contract. It says what you'll deliver, like six ads over the next six months.
4. Send the ad form. Copy, call to action, logos, images.

For single ads I want this fully hands-off: they click select, it goes to the invoice (one ad, $200, pay here), then the payment link, then the ad form. Semi-automated, and nobody has to talk to anyone.

Why collect the money up front?

"You got to get it up front. I have Stripe. Create the recurring, get the credit card."

The risk is real. People say they'll do it and then don't. Or they come back a month or two later, say they don't care what they signed, and cancel the card.

A prepay discount fixes most of it. Something like 25% off if they pay in full, or 10% to 15% off if they pay for six months up front. You'd rather give a little away than chase a cancelled card.

What goes in the contract and the form?

Keep it short. The contract names the ads and the time frame. The form asks for what you need to build the ad, like five images. Basically the contract tells them what they're getting, and the form gets you what you need.

Do I need special software for this?

Not really. Beehiiv's ad tools are built for national B2B newsletters, so if you're selling local ads you do everything manually. I tried HoneyBook, which walks the sponsor through it in order: read the proposal, sign, pay, then send the ad copy. It works, but it felt like Salesforce to me, and at $50 to $60 a month it wasn't worth it at my scale.

What I actually wanted was a simple version for local newsletters: send ad offers, they respond, sign and pay. If you're small, a payment link, a one-page contract and a form get you most of the way.

What about the ad copy?

A lot of advertisers don't know what they want the ad to say. Even with an automated form, you're going to have to deal with them. Plan for it, and have a format ready. See what a local newsletter ad should look like.