Advertising on a budget

Number one is your business card. They do you very little good sitting in the box they came in. I have extra large cards made for me by a company called ADG printing in Lynnwood. They are half the size of a post card with a glossy picture on one side and my business information on the back.

Less is more in terms of information. Be sure your information is readable quickly. You have four seconds to make an impression with printed material. Make the most of your business name, your phone number, web address, and associating what you do if your business name is generic.

I prefer to have a business name say what the business does. There again, in these times of having a web address be remembered, your business name may just be a bunch of letters. In that case associate the web address above, so people can find it, with the description below. I use regular Times New Roman font because it's readable.

Italics is something I have yet to figure out, bold can be just as over used. For me increasing the font size is the most effective means of getting the point across. I only use a maximum of three fonts sizes per piece. I from time to time repeat phrases one right after another. It all sounds corny, but you can keep it distinctive with elegance.

The photos I use for my half post cards range from my company logo, to scenes common for my business. I have had a variety of businesses so the scenes may vary. It should be a picture some one would want to keep on a refrigerator or dresser. 

I had a gentleman call me out of the blue one day talking with me about a picture on his dresser that I had used in 1998. He said the size of the card made it hard to throw away while the picture he found nice enough as a keep sake. It was a photo of an older down town building taken in the 1950s.

As the photo is handed out there is the very real possibility to make a post card with the same picture. I prefer sending post cards to people I know. I have used the shot gun approach of mass mailings but find door to door more cost effective.

You can hand out post cards door to door, but the half post cards work just as well. Once you've been through a neighborhood or business district you can have an idea of who should be graced with your post card as a follow up. At least you'll know the nicer places once you've seen them.

Your business may be looking for professional people. An on site visit is essential for that. You need to know who the players are and if they will play with you. If you need an appointment you can make that appointment in person, followed by a post card that matches the hand out card you left at the reception desk. For the appointment a regular business card is the best for making an impression of a business like person.

You need a box of generic business cards of extremely high quality. Thinker paper, gold or silver foil, raised lettering, translucent plastic, all the tricks of the trade should go into the face to face business meeting cards. Your half post cards can work for every day stuff.

Now where do you go? Who should you meet? Biznik is perfect for that of course, but day to day, who should you be spending time with? If you have a business location you should go to other businesses near you. You should know your community council and go to meetings. You will definitely want to see people in businesses similar to your own, they should know you, and you should know them.

While you're at it, businesses that compliment yours rate a visit, post card, or telephone call. How often do you get a phone call from a competing business asking if you have any business you can't handle? Never, but I worked for a woman who had her staff do that once a week. It was great, worked well.

Now we're going up a notch to your web site. The woman I worked for kept a list of how other businesses were doing, in a very positive way. She did market trends for her business and posted a little blurb on her web site. It was a silly little thing about the business climate in her area. She also complimented other businesses that were doing well. It was kind of like blogging before it's time.

Your web site can be as simple as one page telling your story. I use GoDaddy.com to buy domain names and from time to time buy a Web Site Tonight package. I also lease about four web sites from developers in chosen industries because it's cheaper. They also host those sites which can be a source of concern, so watch them. All you need is to tell your story in the privacy of some one's home.

Now there are a lot of companies that talk about search engine optimization. My businesses are based in Seattle, for a Seattle audience. No matter what, if you are starting out , grass roots, organic, search placement I think is best. To get my web site address out to my target market I use simple signs, cards, or stickers.

I hit every place in a one mile to three mile radius that will allow me to put up my business cards. Grocery stores, coffee shops, dance studios, or community meeting places. The picture with the business information on the back I find works great for this. I display the information and when they turn it over it's a surprise.

Another thing I like is stickers about 2"X3" to match my half post cards. I use the picture with the web address and phone number on the bottom. I'll put the stickers on anything I use. There are brochures, community new letters, booklets, or other generic hand outs that become yours with a sticker on the front, back, or both.

What I'm experimenting with now are signs. Yards signs, A boards, and vehicle magnets. I think putting company information on the vehicle is tacky. What I'm liking more is parking the van with the company web site and phone number on a magnetic sign on the side. I can move the sign to other vehicles to park at different locations at different times. One set of signs can make you look like a larger company.

The yard signs or signs on wire posts seem tacky also so I'm having some A board signs made. I tried my first set today. It was nerve racking leaving a hundred dollar sign on a street corner. After four hours it was still there so we'll see if it works.

You have to be prepared to look foolish at some point. Relax, it's OK, it's a part of being a business owner. In my opinion, if people see you out flogging the street for business they like that. There's a way to be excited about your business that is contagious. By being out there shows you have something you believe in and want to share. You may be desperate for business, but being there, or out there, will take some anxiety out of the process.

What ever you do for your business, do something every day. Be active, pro-active. Leave the passive marketing of news paper ads for some time when you are established. Once you advertise in the paper you have to be there for a very long time. Plan on two or three years of newspaper ads.

For all of the computer stuff, you can do that at night. That's the great part about the INTERNET, it's open all day, and all night. Blogging is good if you have a market place, if you are starting out find a blog that will let you direct back to your web site, and blog.

In the INTERNET world it takes several years to get established so take your time. To build a web site takes time and you need to be selling a product for it to be cost effective. A click of the mouse is where the money is online. So keep your web site attractive, but budget your time for it.

The part about getting out to meet the public is the point. From my perspective having a give away is the easiest way to do that. People are looking at what you hand them, and you are headed off to the next place. In my opinion this is the toughest part of being in business, being out there. In a couple of months, as business grows, you'll remember the tough times fondly. You may even wish you still had the time to go out and meet people.