Running a business from home is one of the hottest trends for sole proprietors and limited partnerships. It’s convenient, provides great tax benefits, and nothing beats it for flexibility.
The home business is great, but getting customers to engage your services can be a little trickier for you than it would be for an old-fashioned corner storekeeper. Your home business won’t have the advantage of foot traffic and you can’t put the “closed” sign up and go home when you want to stop working for the day.
One of the least costly and most available forms of advertising is the local newspaper. Many people have told me not to advertise my home-based business in little papers because they say it doesn’t bring in many customers, or it causes too many problems. In reality, the local publications I’ve used for my business have rendered me many good customers. It’s all in how you use this tried and true advertising tool.
Let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes small business owners make when advertising their businesses in periodicals. The first mistake is listing the business name as the title line of the ad. This is especially true if your business name doesn’t state the nature of the business. If your business name is “Studio Tech,” the reader won’t have any idea what kind of business you’re running when he sees this name in large, bold letters at the top of your ad. Even if your business name is “Al’s Plumbing,” listing that as your tag line does nothing to differentiate you from “Bill’s Plumbing,” which is the ad right next to yours. It’s far better to place a short, grabby question as your first line, or to announce an opportunity. For instance, Tom of Tom’s Small Appliance Repair might start his ad with something corny but catchy, such as “Is Your Refrigerator Running?” The use of a question mark in the first line automatically leads people to “answer the question” in their own minds. Then, they have a tendency to read more.
The second mistake I’ve seen people make when advertising their home-based business is to list their home address in their ad. Now, I realize that your home is your place of business, but your family’s privacy is very important, and sometimes, you just want to be “off the clock.” If you tell people where your house is, they will stop by at all hours of the day and night, without calling. Don’t make this mistake. List a phone number (preferably a second business line and not your regular home phone number), list your e-mail, list your web page, but for heaven’s sake, don’t tell them where you live. When you pre-qualify potential customers on the phone or by e-mail, you can then give them your address and directions, if necessary.
Another common mistake is to believe what the advertising sales representative tells you.
If you read through the ads in a small paper, what do you notice? Does everybody’s ad look the same? Are you led to believe that the bigger ads are better than smaller ones? Remember, the advertising sales personnel are not interested in generating business for you; they are interested in their own commission. The biggest ads are not always the best.
You are trying to generate calls and e-mails from prospective clients. What is the best way to do this? Well, Al of Al’s plumbing could take out a medium or small ad, with the first line being, “Don’t Call a Plumber Until You’ve Called This Number.” The next line could be “5 Things You Need To Know About Plumbing Rip-Offs.” The third line: “This is a free call! (111) 555-5555. When people call his information line, Al will be on the recording saying, “Hi, this is Al with an important message about plumbing scams.” Then he will list the information briefly, adding at the end that Al’s plumbing is glad to answer any plumbing questions, even if you’re not a customer. “And, if you ever need an honest, punctual plumber, be sure to give us a call. Would you like to leave a message about a plumbing problem? Press the star key and speak clearly. We’ll get back to you promptly.”
Why is this an effective use of the newspaper ad? It uses a small amount of text --so
it’s very affordable, it piques people’s interest, it’s non-threatening (especially if you include the words “free recorded message,” meaning they won’t be reaching a live salesperson), and it establishes Al as an honest, concerned business owner who will not scam people. You’ll be surprised how many people leave messages.
It is especially effective to use a separate number, such as a specially designated voicemail, for this type of information line. That way, you can count the number of calls that the ad generates, and use caller I.D. to retrieve their phone numbers. They called you first, so you will not violate any “National Do Not Call” rules by calling them back. Then, if you use telemarketing, you can call them to see if they have any more plumbing questions and announce your upcoming sale, etc. This technique also works well with websites. List your website in your ad and on your phone recordings. When people go to your site, ask them to sign your guestbook to receive free newsletters and notices of special sales.
Change your ad often. Even if an ad works well for you, people will get used to seeing it in the paper. A good technique is to alternate between the “information line” type of ad listed above and a more conventional ad, such as one with a catchy tag line, a great sale announcement, and the name and phone number of your business. “Mention this ad for 10% off” is still a tried and true method if you only use it intermittently. Or, how about mimicking a “lonely hearts” ad: “Lonely plumber seeks leaky sink for one night stand. Call Al’s Plumbing.”
A final suggestion: Go where no one has gone before. What I mean by this is simple. I run a holistic healthcare practice. I used to advertise in the wellness periodicals in my area, where my name was in a long list of similar practitioners. Then, one day I picked up a newspaper that was aimed at seniors. I looked inside and noted that not one holistic healthcare practitioner was listed. I immediately placed an ad, and phone calls started coming in. I was the only person offering my service to the readership of that particular periodical. I had effectively sidestepped my competition.
Local newspapers can be a wonderful, affordable advertising venue. Be creative and play around with different ad copy. A little humor and ingenuity can go a long way toward expanding your customer base. And, who knows? Your ad rep just might have a leaky sink.
