Best ways you've promoted or advertised your business

[bulldogsfan]

Started a partition website with the exact problem of the demographic. And collected a huge mailing list!

 

[EasternTiger]

Best promotion I ever did was a 'doorhanger' for a beauty salon. They are just like 'do not disturb' things you hang on the door knob in hotel rooms. We got some DL sized card, punched a hole on top and tied some string through it. Then we gave them a 'no strings attached' offer which kind of tied in with why we were hanging a promotion piece on their doorknob.

This was a few years ago and I can't remember response rates, but it worked better than flyers in the mail and she said it saved her $300,000 start up business that had no customers. Also there's a guy called Joe Polish in the states who is the recognised guru of the cleaning industry. Might be worth checking out just for the emails he sends. But please don't go paying $10,000 for some whizz bang marketing course.

 

[Shane Hird]

Best promotion I ever did was a 'doorhanger' for a beauty salon. They are just like 'do not disturb' things you hang on the door knob in hotel rooms. We got some DL sized card, punched a hole on top and tied some string through it. Then we gave them a 'no strings attached' offer which kind of tied in with why we were hanging a promotion piece on their doorknob.

This was a few years ago and I can't remember response rates, but it worked better than flyers in the mail and she said it saved her $300,000 start up business that had no customers. Also there's a guy called Joe Polish in the states who is the recognised guru of the cleaning industry. Might be worth checking out just for the emails he sends. But please don't go paying $10,000 for some whizz bang marketing course.

very interesting...might try that myself

 

[Jordie_tackles]

naked ladies

 

[Dwillo]

First post on BF so go easy on me.

Shane, l started my own business early last year after having a franchise for 5 years and done the letterbox drops and got nothing out of it. On the off chance one day i met a client who invited me to a BNI meeting,a networking group, and amazingly their Mortgage Broker resigned that day due to ill health. I was excepted in and not only get real referrals almost every week but the ongoing work i receive is great. It does cost $800 per year with a $350 sign up fee and it pays to visit 2 or 3 in your area before signing up, but it works if you are prepared to put the effort in. I have since left my old group and am helping to start one up in Frankston as the benefits are worthwhile. Give it a go.
http://www.bni.com.au/

Things i found that didn't work (i cant cold call at all due to legal reasons)
Letter Box Drops, of any kind.
Billboards
Shop a Dockets

Things that do work.
WORD OF MOUTH
NETWORKING
CAR SIGNS
FREE TRIAL
FACEBOOK

If you want to do facebook, make sure you aren't spamming your product, just use your logo as your face page, talk about new clients products, use facebook as it was intended and put up a special offer once a month. Make sure your not just advertising your buisness 24/7 on it, just reminding people of what you do and how you help your clients.

Hope this helps..

 

[Shane Hird]

Go to Google and search for your industry + directory, your city + directory, your state + directory and business directory.
Scan thru first few pages of each search results. Go to any directories in results and look for free listing (most, but not all, have it). List your new biz as fully as allowed*. List your Facebook page as your website until you get one. Rinse and repeat.

Most important listing after above is done would be Google+. Set up a page and post at least fortnightly like you might in Facebook.

That's intentional. If you did, he/she knows you will hang up laughing when you hear the price.
You can submit a free listing online at YP. Take that option.

You will get far more value from a properly submitted directory listing showing up in search engine results pages than anyone actually searching for a directory and then looking for a service/product within it. Type in a service and local suburb into Google and see for yourself
(that's what the YP rep was going to bill you handsomely for - apply SEO to your paid ad so it shows up in SERPS).
Learn the basics, then apply it to ALL your free listings yourself.
One to two nights work once off to set up (+ occasional Facebook ,Google+ posts) and it will earn its keep for years to come - without maintenance and without cost.



Search engine optimisation.

Google knows if it throws up crap results to your searches you will use another search engine. If they want to keep their tens of billions in ad revenue their job is to produce results that are relevant so you keep coming back (and eyeball their ads) and not piss off to Bing.

Your job is to target your keywords (what people might type in when looking for your service/product) - for instance my previous example 'landscaping bunbury' - and then convince Google that your online property (website/blog/social pages/directory ads etc.) is relevant to that particular search.

The above para is SEO in a nutshell.

If you get it right it's like a yellow pages from Harry Potter - every time someone opens it up there you are

* PM me your biz details and your area and I'll give you a chopout with your keywords to get you started

I took HP's advice and listed on every free trades and services site I could find. It's paid off way better than flyers..in fact I don't think I'll ever deliver another flyer ever again.

My Gumtree free ad seems to get a lot of views. Got a few jobs directly from it.


Anyone else got any advice who hasn't seen this thread?

 

[Helicopter Punt]

I took HP's advice and listed on every free trades and services site I could find. It's paid off way better than flyers

Holy s**t! I got snowed under and forgot to follow up. Apologies SH.
If you still want to fine tune your listings send me a pm and I will follow up re: your keywords.

Glad to hear it is working out so well
Well done for following through.

..in fact I don't think I'll ever deliver another flyer ever again.

 

[Shane Hird]

Holy s**t! I got snowed under and forgot to follow up. Apologies SH.
If you still want to fine tune your listings send me a pm and I will follow up re: your keywords.

Glad to hear it is working out so well
Well done for following through.

Just post here mate...or send me a pm

I'm getting phone calls from different online business directories too that I've put a free ad on and it's hard to work out which ones are the best to pay that bit extra for better Google 'hits'...it's all a bit confusing.

also..Can you start ur own website without paying someone to host it?

 

[carn tigez]

Just post here mate...or send me a pm

I'm getting phone calls from different online business directories too that I've put a free ad on and it's hard to work out which ones are the best to pay that bit extra for better Google 'hits'...it's all a bit confusing.

also..Can you start ur own website without paying someone to host it?

Nah you need to pay for hosting. It's only $20 odd a month for a smallish site, definitely worth it.

 

[Helicopter Punt]

Just post here mate...or send me a pm

I'm getting phone calls from different online business directories too that I've put a free ad on and it's hard to work out which ones are the best to pay that bit extra for better Google 'hits'...it's all a bit confusing.

also..Can you start ur own website without paying someone to host it?

Don't bother too much about paying directories. You have already got most of what they can do for you for nix.
Put the money aside and get your own website eventually. It's nice the directories are performing but it's like comparing sparklers to flamethrowers

As CT said hosting is an unavoidable necessity. Whats more a slow host will cost your website Google ranking penalties nowadays. Research. You should be able to get hosting for sub $20 per month.

RE: keyword research - You have competition. Best not to post publicly.
Data includes all metrics for each keyword including # searches per month, competition, commercial value ($ being spent on Adwords). It's easy to unearth gems when you have x-ray vision
Pm me an email address and I will send you spreadsheet.

 

[Bicky]

I started a small scale online retail business a few months ago, but my 2 cents:

1> Google+ Places (FREE): It can put you at the top on the front page of google in your local area

2> Google Adwords: With the right ads for the right keywords. You can do a test run by paying $20 and getting $100 worth of free ads when you first sign up (I think they still do this). I'm an online business, but regardless google is the first place a customer is going to search for you, without knowing who you are yet.

You'll want a website for both of these though...
"Can you start ur own website without paying someone to host it?"
There are some free hosts which don't make you run ads, like FHOST.com.au ...You get what you (don't) pay for though. You can get decent ones for a small site at well under $20 a month though. Buy a domain for your website ($20 for 2 years), set up an email address yourname@yourdomain.com.au (free with a domain)

 

[sabre_ac]

Great thread this one.

I've got a few friends who have their own "startups" and some that work in advertising, specifically branding. Both have said getting your Logo or even the font/solors you use on your signs/advertisement is very important. People tend to make snap judgement's, specially when they decide if something is worthy of their time (Money).

 

[Shane Hird]

Getting stuff all from online free ads. Get a few jobs but nothing to write home about. Will be moving to set up a website shortly.

But what I did last week was door knock..as mention back in this thread by a poster.

3 hrs/ 30 doors knocked.

15 said no thanks go away.

9 took some printed info and sounded interested

6 let me inside to do a quote on the spot

2 confirmed jobs from those quotes worth $450


Not bad considering I hadn't really planned on exactly what my pitch was and just improved it as I went along.


Planning on doing more I think. Worked well.

 

[Chief]

I took HP's advice and listed on every free trades and services site I could find. It's paid off way better than flyers..in fact I don't think I'll ever deliver another flyer ever again.

My Gumtree free ad seems to get a lot of views. Got a few jobs directly from it.


Anyone else got any advice who hasn't seen this thread?

Years ago we were selling timber - hardwood decking mainly.

Tried the normal publications for hundreds of dollars but ended up selling tons on ebay. The price wasn't even that much better than retail, more people bought when they had some control over the price they paid. Cost was like 50c a listing.

Not sure it works with services?

 

[Chief]

Getting stuff all from online free ads. Get a few jobs but nothing to write home about. Will be moving to set up a website shortly.

You can start with just WordPress in a basic hosting setup.

Free software, maybe pay for a theme from places like themeforest.com, put in your basic info and you're set.

 

[carn tigez]

Years ago we were selling timber - hardwood decking mainly.

Tried the normal publications for hundreds of dollars but ended up selling tons on ebay. The price wasn't even that much better than retail, more people bought when they had some control over the price they paid. Cost was like 50c a listing.

Not sure it works with services?

What do you mean by control over the price they paid? In what way?

 

[Chief]

What do you mean by control over the price they paid? In what way?

They would bid on a per-metre price. They might end up 5-10c a metre under the Bunnings price and they'd be happy with that. Then we'd add delivery cost, and while delivering we'd stick around for 10-15 minutes giving them advice.

 

[Jimmy Yamazaki]

Interesting. Obviously being service based you would be getting phone calls more than direct sales, whereas for me being online retail it would be a different conversion method.

When you say 3-4% hit rate though, do you mean 3-4% call or 3-4% actually buy your service?

When doing online only, the pamphlet isn't designed to sell, it's your website that is designed to sell. Your pamphlet is only meant to be designed to get people to go to your website.

So for you it's mainly about optimization your webpage for conversions (Sales) rather then trying to sell off of the pamphlet,which won't really work in your case.

 

[Shane Hird]

Just joined homeimprovementpages.com (hipages) last week...anyone else part of it and how does it work for you?

 

[Shane Hird]

hipages.com not very good. $15 per lead and not every lead turns into a job. $60 for 12 months membership.

Direct inquires from hipages are good because they cost nothing to get customer's details.

Been on TrueLocal for month now. $140 per month for -premium ad-top of list. Biggest laod of s**t ever. One job in 4 weeks. Will be cancelling next week. Very disappointing.

People keep telling me about Google Ad words saying its the only way to go. Anyone got an opinion how good it is?

Helicopter Punt

 

[EasternTiger]

People keep telling me about Google Ad words saying its the only way to go. Anyone got an opinion how good it is?

Helicopter Punt

If you're going to use adwords, your ad must get enough clicks and your website has to convert. By that I mean it must compel a significant amount of people to buy or get in contact with you. That usually means finding a good direct marketing mob to put together a website that follows all the rules. Having a nice looking website with your contact details and a summary of your services aint gonna cut it.

You said homeowners need your service. If this is the case you'd be looking at SEO to put you somewhere near the first page of google for your industry/area. For commercial clients, I'd draw up a list of the companies you'd like to work with, and approach them directly.

Might be an idea to shoot an email to gregcassar.com. We used his services a few years ago and the guy is a gem.

 

[Helicopter Punt]

hipages.com not very good. $15 per lead and not every lead turns into a job. $60 for 12 months membership.

Direct inquires from hipages are good because they cost nothing to get customer's details.

Been on TrueLocal for month now. $140 per month for -premium ad-top of list. Biggest laod of s**t ever. One job in 4 weeks. Will be cancelling next week. Very disappointing.

People keep telling me about Google Ad words saying its the only way to go. Anyone got an opinion how good it is?

Helicopter Punt

Don't bother too much about paying directories. You have already got most of what they can do for you for nix.
Put the money aside and get your own website eventually. It's nice the directories are performing but it's like comparing sparklers to flamethrowers

1\ Drop the paid directories.

2\ Spend the money your saving on your own site.

Google knows if it throws up crap results to your searches you will use another search engine. If they want to keep their tens of billions in ad revenue their job is to produce results that are relevant so you keep coming back (and eyeball their ads) and not piss off to Bing.

The advice I gave you earlier (above) is becoming outdated. To be 'relevant' is now not enough. You need to have 'authority' in Googles eyes to maintain high rankings.
- Find someone to set up a Wordpress website (try Gumtree), make sure it has a blog/news section that allows comments. Get back to me.
- you will be Google Authorship (If you haven't set up G+ account earlier do it now) + some strategic social site accounts + a couple of shortcuts from taking in a double digit percentage of all inquiries online (your niche, your city)

3\ Adwords is good if you know what your doing but will clean you out a lot quicker than paid dirs if you don't.
Learn a bit, take up one of G's many offers ie: $50 free adwords, set it up on a new G account** and experiment, rinse and repeat. If/when you get your leads cost effectively replicate it on your biz Google account and with a positive RoI you can let it off the leash without Google cleaning you out like a partner with a crack habit.

Did you get spreadsheet w/ instructions I sent you? It's a pain but if you're serious about getting work online you need to pin down the best keywords for your service. You will either need to pay for it or spend an hour or two to sift through that list. PM me any questions if u r taking the cost effective option.
If I were to provide thorough keyword research for a business I would charge - depending on competition (no of competing pages) and potential business (search volume x $value of service/product) - anywhere from $300 to upwards of four figures.

As a once off effort (or cost if you cbf) it will be worth it in long term website traffic alone but if you are going Adwords you are going to auction. You will need to know the value of the keyword you are bidding on so as to not bleed red ink.
Tip: if that spreadsheet has a heading title AWCPC (I cant remember if I left it in) that is a guide as to what you will need to bid PER CLICK to get your ad listed on page 1 for each corresponding keyword.

You might lose more money getting the hang of adwords than a basic website would cost. My advice would be to first bite the bullet on your own site if funds allow.

**IMPORTANT - one not currently linked or set up for your biz. Google will score your ad buying efforts (click through rates, bid price ...)and handicap you accordingly. It doesn't want ads which don't get clicks on it's first page results - Google needs to eat too.
Wait till you've made most of your mistakes before transferring to your business account or you will be paying over the odds (more than a competitor who has their s**t together) for exactly the same results.

 

[Helicopter Punt]

If you're going to use adwords, your ad must get enough clicks and your website has to convert. By that I mean it must compel a significant amount of people to buy or get in contact with you. That usually means finding a good direct marketing mob to put together a website that follows all the rules. Having a nice looking website with your contact details and a summary of your services aint gonna cut it.

Good post. SH is selling a service so I am guessing his preferred customer action is direct contact via contact web page/email or phone. I believe he would need to quote each job so wont be directly selling from the site.

Highlighted is key. The ad itself needs to convert - get the click. Google doesn't give a * if you sell something or not. They just want to get paid for a click. The higher the conversion (clicks per ads displayed) the less chance Google will treat your future ads like a red-headed stepchild. This matters because there is not much but cobwebs and dust after page 1.

 

[Shane Hird]

So I,m 3 years into running my own business and 5 weeks ago I got a website and started using google adwords.

Anyone got any advice on how to get the most out of adwords marketing..how much of your advertising and promotions is directed into adworks etc..

Everything and anything about your own experience and opinions about using or not using google adwords.

 

[cotter101]

So I,m 3 years into running my own business and 5 weeks ago I got a website and started using google adwords.

Anyone got any advice on how to get the most out of adwords marketing..how much of your advertising and promotions is directed into adworks etc..

Everything and anything about your own experience and opinions about using or not using google adwords.

Print media is dying, rapidly. Letter Box drops don't work like they used to.

I'm in a seriously competitive industry and you wouldn't believe the amount of money I spend on Google Adwords and other online advertising. Out of curiosity what do you do and where is your company based? Are you doing the Adwords yourself or are you employing another company to do it?

For instance, I went into a $20,000 contract with an internet mob and was not getting results. Luckily, I had a stipulation of sorts in said contract. There's not many decent SEO companies around, finding the right one is essential.

With the adwords it's essentially a bidding system. There's yourself and a whole bunch of other companies that will likely have the same key words. Say you have a keyword of "Landscaping Melbourne". To determine who pops as the first result they all automatically bid on that key word until they reach their 'set limit' or they win the bidding.

Depending on your industry and budget, don't be afraid to spend big on the Adwords. Website wording and your landing page is seriously important too.

I do a lot of the Adwords myself now, it's not hard to do but it can be somewhat time consuming. There are also ways of finding the most popular Key Words your competitors use and even what they pay on average for each one.

SEO companies love to make promises they cannot deliver on.

Not entirely sure if I've made any sense whatsoever there.