WAHM Blog

People ask me all the time how I advertise my business, so I thought I would use todays post to talk about some ways I advertise my businesses that have worked well for me.

I have used all different types of advertising, some have worked well, others failed miserably. I use free advertising and paid advertising. When I found a method that worked well for me, I worked to improve my results with that method of advertising.

Online advertising that has worked well for me….

1. Message Board Advertising- This type of marketing has worked very well for me. If you are not already taking advantage of message boards for free advertising, take a look at my previous post Easy Online Marketing

2. Free Classifieds- YEP, I said it! Free classifieds have worked very well for me! I have used several different ones for years and done very well with them. They key to running free ad’s that work is the AD. Short ad’s have worked best for me. With 1000’s of classified sites out there I do not have time to submit them all by hand. I cheat and use website blaster. It works great and does not take up to much time.

3. Social Networks- Social networking works! When you join the right networks and actually put web 2.0 to work for you, you can be successful. There are some tips to remember with social networks….Don’t try and sell yourself! Hard advertising does not work on social networks.

Offline advertising that has worked well for me….

1. Business Cards- My business cards have always done me right! I take them every where I go and give them out all the time. I get calls all the time from people who said they picked up one of my cards!  I use VistaPrint for all of my business cards and have had excellent results.

2. Postcards- I use postcards for two different businesses. I normally buy postcard leads or aged business leads that have addresses. I use VistaPrint for my postcards as well. Instead of printing the addresses onto labels and attaching them, I get better results when I hand write the address on the back of the postcards. If you have never used VistPrint before, click here for 100 free postcards. (you just pay shipping, it is a great way to try them to see the quality)

3.  Magazine Advertising- Now this method can get expensive, so I generally do Co-Ops. I try to get 5 people to go in with me and we all split the cost of the ad. Then all leads are split between us as they com e in. It is a good way to get good magazine ad’s without going broke.

If I am doing a magazine ad for my design business, I will wait until the last minute to call and place my order for my ad. When I call I always ask if they can work out any deals if I place the ad then. If not, I will tell them I am price shopping and will get back to them. I then call around and see who can offer me the most for my money that is within my target audience.

The longer you wait to call or the closer to the ad close date the cheaper prices tend to be! They need to sell all ad spots, so the longer you wait the better deals you find. 9 times out of 10, they want the ad and will then be ready to talk. It is better to sell a 5$00 ad for 1$50 than to have a $500 ad spot empty!

What have you found that works well for advertising your business? 

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