You Might be UNLISTED
My current bedtime reading is Marketing Without Advertising by Michael Phillips et al. One of the primary themes throughout this book is that the most important advertising for our businesses is being LISTED. The editors mention the obvious like Yellow Pages, Web pages, and the Chamber of Commerce. But I suspect that all too often, our small businesses haven't even taken care of the obvious.
So, are you listed? Do you have a decent sized ad in the yellow pages? The ad should be well thought out. If you are unclear about how to do a great yellow page ad, do the research in dozens of yellow pages at your local library or on line. My personal preference is to make sure my ad is completely different and more eye-catching than my competition. It is crucial to use the copy writing techniques discussed elsewhere in this blog: headline must say it all, lots of copy, promises, action statement.
Some of my distributor friends are members of several chambers in their area. I would want to own all or part of the back page of the chamber directory. I would be disinterested in inside ads, but I would sure make certain I am listed.
Web presence? If you search this blog, you will find all kinds of info on how to do your website and a blog. You should be doing both.
Are you listed on all the industry lists? ASI, PPAI, Sage, etc. Join as many as you can afford. Don't worry about the politics. You want folks to find you. This is a good way.
Are there community web sites or other group sites that would help people find you? Could you set up a group? Start a blog about your city, or some aspect of your city that would be likely to draw business or non profits to the site. Of course 15% or more of the content could be advertisements for your services. Get a couple of non-competitive companies to help with the site. Get folks who have a unique story to tell about the area or who have excellent writing skills.
We learned this lesson in spades in 2005. We spent 100's of hours making our listings on ESP and Sage broader, deeper, and more complete. More than any other effort last year, we are seeing a big payoff from that effort. How can you increase your visibility by being on lists that people are likely to use to find folks like you?
So, are you listed? Do you have a decent sized ad in the yellow pages? The ad should be well thought out. If you are unclear about how to do a great yellow page ad, do the research in dozens of yellow pages at your local library or on line. My personal preference is to make sure my ad is completely different and more eye-catching than my competition. It is crucial to use the copy writing techniques discussed elsewhere in this blog: headline must say it all, lots of copy, promises, action statement.
Some of my distributor friends are members of several chambers in their area. I would want to own all or part of the back page of the chamber directory. I would be disinterested in inside ads, but I would sure make certain I am listed.
Web presence? If you search this blog, you will find all kinds of info on how to do your website and a blog. You should be doing both.
Are you listed on all the industry lists? ASI, PPAI, Sage, etc. Join as many as you can afford. Don't worry about the politics. You want folks to find you. This is a good way.
Are there community web sites or other group sites that would help people find you? Could you set up a group? Start a blog about your city, or some aspect of your city that would be likely to draw business or non profits to the site. Of course 15% or more of the content could be advertisements for your services. Get a couple of non-competitive companies to help with the site. Get folks who have a unique story to tell about the area or who have excellent writing skills.
We learned this lesson in spades in 2005. We spent 100's of hours making our listings on ESP and Sage broader, deeper, and more complete. More than any other effort last year, we are seeing a big payoff from that effort. How can you increase your visibility by being on lists that people are likely to use to find folks like you?
posted by Randy W. Kirk at 3:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home