No Advertising is Too Cheap

Some people may scoff at cheap advertising. They may think, well if it’s low-cost, it must not reach many people. Why waste my time on that? Many marketing experts say you have to spend money to make money. But what if you just don’t have a big marketing budget? If you’re a new business or a small business, you may think you don’t have many options. Good news! You do have options! For about $20 you can do some flyer printing at your local copy shop and hang them around town. You can even get some exercise – walk around neighborhoods, leaving your flyers in mailboxes or at front doors. Stop by a busy mall parking lot and leave flyers on cars. A professional flyer can act like a full-page ad in the newspaper, delivered to your target audience. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your inexpensive flyer investment: Keep your copy simple and to the point. You’ll only have a few seconds to make an impression on the potential customer. You must make your offer, claim or call to action within the first three seconds as her eyes run over the page. Be sure to fill the top two-thirds of the flyer with your most important information. This is the area that the eyes travel to first. Use headlines that are functional – they tell the benefits of your product or service. Let the customer know how their life will be easier, happier, or more satisfied after they have used your product or service. Include a call to action, such as “Visit our Web site” or “Call today!” This greatly increases the odds of getting a response. It helps even more if you create a sense of urgency such as the dates for a sale “Hurry, prices only good until Saturday!” Include your contact info. Make sure if you ask them to contact you, that you clearly state how they can contact you. If you mention your Web site, be sure to have your Web site address close by. Use a line drawing rather than a photo. Line drawings photocopy better than photos. Also make sure you use no more than two fonts. You don’t have a lot of room, and you don’t want to clutter the page. This will turn off potential readers. Use one sans-serif font (like Arial) and one serif font (like Times New Roman). Serif fonts have “feet,” or little extenders. Copy your flyer on colored paper. Lighter colors work best and there is usually no extra charge for colored paper. Use these tips to create a great flyer, and then when you have the resources, print more flyers! Flyers have been around for a long time because they work. Let them work for you!