I am trying to understand how newspaper advertising works. My local paper charges about $100 per inch. If the columns are 2 inches wide, and I want an add 4X2, is that considered 4 inches, thus $400?

Another question that I have is, what is the best way to advertise for what I need? I am basically freelancing part-time since I am in college. I probably would not have any problem fitting in 40 hours a week if I had a deadline, but normally I want to keep it bellow 20 hours. So what I am thinking is maybe 2 small-to-midsize jobs a month, plus maybe doing some updating and designing a HTML or flash email newsletter or two as well.

So my question is, what advertising medium will give me result without giving me too much business. If I run an 2X2 or 2X4 ad in a paper that reached, say 500,000 people, will that generate calls, or will it be a scratch on the surface. I know that the key to advertising is repetition, so say I run the same add 3 times, 2 weekdays, and on Sunday?

What do other flashers and freelancers think of calling on business face-to-face that look like they might be a good target, like doctors offices, and real-estate agents?

What is peoples opinion on an add in the yellow pages?

What other ways are there to advertise?

Thanks for any suggestions or experiences!
-Zach