Developing a great ad can be mind boggling. What’s even more confusing is deciding which ad avenues you will use, such as direct mailers or fliers.
The best thing to do is get educated on the most popular types of advertisement.
1. Newspaper ads: These are a great way to announce limited time events that are going on with your company, such as sales or grand openings. This typically isn’t the best avenue if you want a permanent avenue to advertise. TIP: To make your newspaper ad stand out amongst the others, headline it with what the „big deal“ is, not the name of the company. For example, don’t say: „ROBERT’S CAR LOT IS HAVING A GRAND OPNENING!!!“ Say, „GRAND OPENING AT ROBER’TS CAR LOT!!!“ The „big deal“ is the grand opening, not the name of your company, so you must start your ad with that. This is what is going to catch the reader’s attention.
2. Outdoor ads: These are the ads that are in the form of signs or billboards. These ads get the driver’s attention, and may make them slow down just to read it. Because the driver is already on the road, this makes it convenient for them to just drop in and see what you’re selling. TIP: An outdoor must be easy to see, so it should be made large in size or in a bright color. Each letter should be clear and easy to read, and the amount of words on them should be few. A driver doesn’t have enough time to read an essay! Just use the same method as the newspaper ad and advertise your big deals only.
3. Direct Mail ads: These are the riskiest kind of advertisement. Brochures or catalogs are mailed out to people you don’t know, and you basically wait to see if they are going to contact you. The reason why this is risky is because the information you sent them is unsolicited, so there is a good chance they would rule it as junk mail and throw it out. TIP: The only way direct mailing would work is if you are confident that the service you are offering is on demand. If you are offering something that people cannot resist, then using direct mail could be quite effective. Just make sure you don’t spend very much money creating the material you want to mail them. Mailing them a flyer would be good enough in an eye catching envelope is good enough.
4. Brochure ads: These are great to give out or place on bulletin boards. Brochures give the customer in debt information on your services. TIP: It is a good idea to put a lot of effort into your brochures. You can create decent brochures with Microsoft Publisher brochure templates. As your business becomes more successful, you may want to spend more money on creating your brochures. ( www.vistaprint.com makes great brochure templates.)
5. Business Cards: Business cards are kind of controversial because some business experts say they are completely unnecessary. They say that business cards are often thrown away or lost soon after receiving them, and a customer never keeps up with them long enough to give you a call. On the other hand, a business card is a handy piece of information your customers can have about your business. It’s small, so it takes up very little space in a wallet or purse. TIP: It is good for every business to own business cards for the few customers that actually ask for one. There is nothing more embarrassing than a customer asking for your card, and you don’t have one. Make sure you keep the information on the card minimal, and have the company’s contact info in larger font than the rest of the information.
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