Advertising locally?

[Minneola24]

Hey,

I am starting this web design business and am looking at advertising locally.

How should I approach this? I don't want to litter the streets with my flyers and I don't want people to get angry that I touched their windshield wipers.

Should I put up flyers in the rich neighborhood where I live?

Should I put stickers on poles?

Do you guys have an ideas? thanks

 

[arejayell]

Your best bet is to join the local chamber of commerce in your area.

If you do not have a budget for joining at this time, just give them a call and offer some sort of package for any of their new members with a % of the sales back to them.

Such as the following example :

Recently we setup a web design company that offered only free websites to businesses. They would have to pay for hosting, but it would include the domain and a 4 page site based off of some templates. Because we leased a dedicated server for this startup we were able to keep the hosting fees, which was $120 per customer (plus upgrades). We offered $25 per signup to the local chamber and they took the offer. We signed up 4 people in the first week and the word of mouth locally has been great, and we now on average get 15 signups per week (we also contacted 2 more chambers in different areas) .

And we never paid any membership fees but still got the list on the new members.

Good luck with your company !

 

[kimkiroo]

Flyers could work. If you really want to promote your business using flyers then go for it. It doesnt matter if people will get angry on what you do. As long as you do a legit promoting then it doesnt matter. I have a friend in my area who owns internet cafe and he promote it using flyers and in the local radios. And yeah it works out.

 

[arejayell]

Flyers could work. If you really want to promote your business using flyers then go for it. It doesnt matter if people will get angry on what you do. As long as you do a legit promoting then it doesnt matter. I have a friend in my area who owns internet cafe and he promote it using flyers and in the local radios. And yeah it works out.

Just be careful with flyers. I know in Clark County Nevada you have to get a "Handbill Distribution Permit" , and if you do not and get reported you will get fines. The sad thing is that you will not know this unless you call city hall or get in trouble.

 

[CyXic]

Craigslist would be pretty useful.

 

[Minneola24]

Craigslist would be pretty useful.

Been trying that for a while and have not had 1 order.

 

[zachary0611]

I have heard people do good with Craigslist.

 

[Minneola24]

I have heard people do good with Craigslist.

Thats weird, I must be doing something wrong with my listings? Not 1 email.

 

[zachary0611]

not even any spam? lol My father and I on a landscape construction business and received several jobs

 

[arejayell]

My father and I on a landscape construction business and received several jobs

Craigslist is great for service type jobs like landscaping / construction / debris removal ect.. And it is good for clubs / bars / whores ect..

But when you post a web dev type service you are in competition with companies that over post , over hype up what they can do, and then give you nothing for your money.

If you check CL for that you will see what I mean.

I am sure the OP has a web dev service that yields jobs of $1k USD and higher, and people on CL want jobs done cheaper then people on GAF , and GAF is pretty bad.

 

[zachary0611]

yeh i know what you are talking about but being a local person in the same city helps greatly also you can try designing simple websites for free if they buy hosting and a domain from you

 

[kimkiroo]

Just be careful with flyers. I know in Clark County Nevada you have to get a "Handbill Distribution Permit" , and if you do not and get reported you will get fines. The sad thing is that you will not know this unless you call city hall or get in trouble.

I know. But in my country, as long as you have a business permit to show that your business is legit. Then flyers is legal. I dont know what rules exactly from other country. But I did not get into trouble with it. As long as I have business permit.

 

[shaji]

Small business, in particular, that need to attract local customer would do well to pay attention to the growth in locally-oriented Web sites -- such as local newspaper and TV/radio Web sites.

According to a new report from Borrell Associates, local online ad spending is rising at a 50 percent clip, and will hit $13 billion this year. According to Clickz:



Among the reasons for the expected increase is the sluggish economy, suggests Borrell. In short, local advertisers want more cost efficient alternatives to traditional media buys, and they're finding them online.



Among the places to look to place locally-focused sites with locally-focused media Web sites, according to the report:

- newspapers
- TV stations
- radio stations
- local directory and Yellow Pages
- city-specific resources and community sites

 

[Minneola24]

Thanks everyone for the great responses,

I got my first e-mail from the craigslist ads I set up about a week ago. It reads, and I quote

"Hiyeee I just got my toes painted.. .. Bya xoxoxo amber"

 

[stephy]

I think radio is good.or you can some other idea..like contact some departmental stores or so...and ask them if they permit you to put up a small banner outside or inside the store against some sum..all the best