Local Paper Advertising

[freddiemercurystwin]

Anyone else advertise in their local paper and if so, did it work for you?

I've just signed up for a 6 days a week for 8 weeks deal in mine which has a circulation of 34,000 (that's the official figure, not the papers claim of 60,000! ). I shall be paying weekly and have the option to stop at any time, obviously you pay a lot more for the first week though and then it gets less and less as the weeks go by. I'd been thinking about it for a few months as to whether to do it or not so have finally taken the plunge. I know if I don't do it I'll always be wondering if it was worth it or not. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[Goldspoon]

I tried it - waste of time for me.

 

[Johnmelad502]

Works well for me, in fact most of my work comes from the local paper advertising.

 

[dave.m]

We have a "Small Green Book" delivered free every month:
http://www.focusmags.co.uk/
It contains articles galore about what is happening locally and a resonable selection of adverts scattered throughout its pages.
I am not sure what the advertising costs are but it must be profitable for the advertisers because they are the same ones every month.

What I have noticed, too, is that almost everyone who receives their free copy keeps it and only goes to the recycle bin with the old one when the new issue is delivered, proving that they keep it for reference more than a daily paper.

Does some one run this type of magazine in Devon?

dave

 

[WoodYouLike]

We have a "Small Green Book" delivered free every month:
http://www.focusmags.co.uk/
It contains articles galore about what is happening locally and a resonable selection of adverts scattered throughout its pages.
I am not sure what the advertising costs are but it must be profitable for the advertisers because they are the same ones every month.

We do the same in 5 local Village Directories, free delivered in all surrounding villages around Ashford. Is the only paper ad that works for us due to the same above mentioned reasons: local news with local advertisers.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Does some one run this type of magazine in Devon?

I live in Plymouth but we have a similar magazine set up in a few areas surrounding Plymouth so maybe I'll give that a go at some point, I'll see how the stint in the local rag goes first.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Most of my large jobs come from personal recommendation. When things get quiet I put an ad in my local paper (circulation 11,500).

It always more than pays for itself but can't rely on it to fill up a week of work.

 

[Mw Roofline]

We go in from time to time and, yes, we do get some work and its worth it.

Never agree the price they tell you. You can ALWAYS knock them down. Find out when the deadline is. Normally for a Friday paper the deadline is Wednesday afternoon. Wait till then, call up and ask for any late space. make sure you have a pdf or jpeg of the advert ready to email them.

 

[roberta1000]

Never use the local paper myself as I found that only people with little nitpick jobs replied. All of my work comes from recommendation (plus the odd little bit from people who've seen my van).

Personally I don't use the local paper when I want something doing so I doubt many other do either.

 

[Diyisfun]

Do you always make a point of asking where people got your number from?
If you forget, you can always run the add, and say quote xyz for discount.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Nearly 2 weeks on.........0 calls from the ad so far!

 

[wideoakfloors]

Dont beat yourself up about it, you have to try lots of different forms of advertising to see which one is most effective.

If after a reasonable period of time you still have had no enquiries then move on to a different kind of advertising.

Record exactly where your enquiries are coming from (i.e website if you have one, or local ad etc, or referral) and then track your conversions from each set of advertising, then you can calculate which form brings you the most money/sales and then you know where to invest next time.

If you get a lot of referrals, then offer your customers a reward for referring a friend to your services etc etc (like each get 10% discount etc, whatever would work best for your business)

Hope this helps

 

[wideoakfloors]

Also forgot to mention that you should try writing the ad in different style, using different words etc if you are tied in as the way you present your ad could make a big difference to whether people pick up the phone and call you or not. Have you given them real incentive to call.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Also forgot to mention that you should try writing the ad in different style, using different words etc if you are tied in as the way you present your ad could make a big difference to whether people pick up the phone and call you or not. Have you given them real incentive to call.

Right you are: Direct Response Marketing - make sure your ad tells them what to do, don't just count on seeing your ad = making the call.

Nor make your ad like the standard "headstone" ad: business name at the top, address and phone number below, then one little sentence about your services/products.

Start with a catchy headline, like "Darling, have you seen the new floor at Peter and Judy's? Can we have the same?"
Or: "How to Stop Hard Water damage in your home - Fast"
Another one: "Landlords, we'll keep you and your tenants safe"

You get the drift.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Also forgot to mention that you should try writing the ad in different style, using different words etc if you are tied in as the way you present your ad could make a big difference to whether people pick up the phone and call you or not. Have you given them real incentive to call.

Right you are: Direct Response Marketing - make sure your ad tells them what to do, don't just count on seeing your ad = making the call.

Nor make your ad like the standard "headstone" ad: business name at the top, address and phone number below, then one little sentence about your services/products.

Start with a catchy headline, like "Darling, have you seen the new floor at Peter and Judy's? Can we have the same?"
Or: "How to Stop Hard Water damage in your home - Fast"
Another one: "Landlords, we'll keep you and your tenants safe"

You get the drift.

Thats all very well but my ad has limited space and number of words, I'll upload a copy of it when I get a chance for the 'scrutiny' of the forum. Signed up for another week today!