How
do I decide what kind of advertising will be the most
effective?
Each
business is different. Here are some things you might
consider in deciding what kind of advertising plan you
want to use.
First,
Ask WHO is your market? Age has a lot to do with it, for
instance: families may be more likely to see a theatre
slide than the elderly. So, if you are advertising to
the local community and your target market is in their
teens, or up through middle age a theatre slide might
be a good way to go. Once your slide is prepared it can
advertise month after month for a much lesser cost than
say, a publication ad.
But
what if your market is the elderly and they don't usually
go to the theatre? You might want to consider the types
of magazine they like, or TV slides on the local TV station
if your market is local. What organizations are they affiliated
with and do those organizations have newsletters with
reasonable ad rates? Brochures can be placed in doctor's
offices, the library and the hospital waiting room.
How
about mailing houses? They keep demographics and addresses
of various markets. Stuffers in magazines or newspapers
might be another way to go. You do the layout and printing,
then deliver the printed flyers to their office where
they stuff them and send them out.
How
do I make a decision that fits in my budget?
Ad
layout costs are usually the lesser portion of your investment
because it is a one-time charge. So you will want to compare
not only ad layout costs, but display costs. You want
to compare your costs in the long-run. Display costs are
monthly costs and can add up fast. So even if you pay
a bit more than you originally wanted for the ad layout
or website, that cost won't come again like the display
costs will. Here are some comparisons.
Magazine
Publication Ads: Depending on the magazine
and its circulation, publication ads can run
anywhere from
$700.00 - 35,000.00 for a one-time exposure. Some folks
can't afford to advertise using a large ad
with an order
form in a publication magazine, but can afford to place
a small ad leading people to the website. However,
specialized magazines belonging to organizations
of which
you are a member might be quite affordable.
Ads
for local publications are also quite affordable.
These may
include include maps, placemat ads in restaurants,
high school posters that include local ads, newspaper
and
phone book ads (the latter of which can be quite
expensive for some of us).
Website
advertising:
The
website will display everything you have to offer. Space
is virtually unlimited. It has a potential for worldwide
exposure. You have the ability to take orders or simply
lead folks to contact you. You can take orders through
an order form or a shopping cart. Once your website
is set up, unless your inventory changes often, it is
there forever. Maintenance or updates may need to be
done periodically, but your initial ad investment is
in the setup, unlike a publication ad where you can
pay much more than for a website and it is only shown
for one month, and then gone.
Monthly
display costs will be your website space, (as
little
as $10.00 mo.), your website URL (website name) which
can run as little as $10.00 year. If you have a
shopping cart you will have charges from your bank as
well, through using your ordering and payment system.
If
you should want a website but cannot afford the cost
you might want to start out with a one-page flyer website
page, which can be expanded as your advertising budget
grows. Click on the button to find out more.
Theatre
Slides:
If
your market is local this might be good exposure for
you. Theatre
slides can also be sent to local TV stations who use
them in a slide show.
Magnetic
Signs: These are
great to place on your automobile or work
truck. Smaller ones
can be made the size of bumper stickers
or business cards for promotional gifts.
They are reasonable cost and do generate interest. Like theatre slides, they
should be simple to be read quickly and
include a phone number and possibly a website.
Brochures,
Posters and Flyers:
Again, consider your market. If it is local,
and there are certain places your market gathers you
may get some good exposure this way. Once your printing
is done there are no more display costs.
If
you are not already, you might consider
becoming a member of your local Chamber
of Commerce. They may offer to do a write-up about
your business
in their newsletter and all ow you to place your
brochures and business cards in their
office. They also may have a reasonable
price for placing an ad or a flyer in the Chamber
newsletter.
Some
towns and cities hold a business showcase
each year to promote local businesses. You
can set up a display at shows or get a booth.
You would certainly want some brochures,
flyers or posters available
as
well as your
business card to hand out at such events. Involvement
with the community helps to get you and your
product
known.
You
can save money by mailing flyers along with your product
to customers who order. This can be a great way to avoid
postage costs and reach your target market with other
products you have to offer.
Mailing houses can be expensive mostly because
of postage costs, but they have demographics for specific
markets and addresses that you may not have, and they
do all the labeling and mailing for you. You pay according
to number to be sent and area to be covered.
Business
Cards:
Business cards
don't have to be similar to everyone else's, plain
and traditional. They can be bright and colorful,
printed on both sides, or even doubled or tripled in
width
or
height
and folded. They can have lots of photos and design,
just like any other ad. No matter
what other method or methods of advertising you choose,
the
business card is something you always need to have
on hand, and they are one of the least expensive types
of ads you can do. Once your design is done you only
need to keep them printed up.
How
do I decide what I can afford?
After you have considered display costs compared to exposure
for your market, consider the following;
1.
How many customer orders it will take to pay
for your
advertising investment? Your layout
is only a one-time fee, but the display fees can come
every month or with every advertisement exposure.
2.
A website will take
time to grow, but your other advertising costs can be
cut by using smaller ads and leading people
to your website.
Your online search engine exposure will grow in time
but your monthly costs will remain small. You
will then have
money to work with for other advertising methods. You also
might want to make money with your website
by leading
visitors to other websites. For instance, a
consulting business for florists might want
to promote the florist shops they service with
their
location and contact info. and a
link to their webite. Each florist in the
system might pay a small monthly fee for this
service. These can add up to a nice bit of
residual income for the website owner.
NOTE: Remember,
the images you have prepared for use in the first
ad layouts will be available to use in future ad
layouts, which will save you on design time for your
next project. So take a good deep breath, and take
your advertising
goals a step at a time. With each little step you should
see results that will help you take the next one
while
remaining financially stable.
Can
we have this tomorrow?
Quality design may take several layout ideas stemming
from one basic idea and set of photographs. After the
first draft is finished, or several layout ideas, I will
need for you to go over the drafts and choose which layout
or parts of different layouts you would like to blend
to make your final draft. The final draft must then be
approved by you before printing, and then there's the
printing time, so you had better give yourself some time
for this.
Can
you do long-distance work?
Though
I would love to meet with you personally, we can do
everything we need to do over the phone, through e-mail
and
through the web. I can send you layouts to approve or
change by way of e-mail or can display them on a website
page. I can send final products, CD Rom and print-outs
through the mail. You can set up printing in your area
and I can prepare the files in the formats that your
printer
requests.
How
do you bill?
For new clients, most projects are billed 50% down at
the start of the project and the balance upon completion.
Larger projects can be billed in monthly payments.
If
you're a regular, I generally bill hourly. All invoices
detail what I've been up to and how long each task took.
Invoices
for the project are given and the balance is due when
it is finished unless other arrangements have been made.
Some
prices are pre-set, such as the one-page
flyer website pages.
