We
keep getting asked how someone can get the word out about their company
locally. Of course the next statement is “but I don’t have any money.” So this
post is all about “How To Get The Word Out For Free.”
We
see so many small businesses facing ruin because they spent their money on ads
in their local papers but didn’t get a return. They burned through their cash
and are facing disaster, is it the newspapers fault? No, it is a fundamental
misunderstanding of how things work.
I
know I stated this before but it is worth stating it again and again: Your
blood is vital to your life, bleed too much and you die. Likewise, your cash is
the blood of your business, spend too much and your business dies – don’t
forget this!
Why
didn’t the newspaper ads work? It could have been a lot of things, maybe the
way they were written or the day(s) they ran, or maybe it was the wrong paper.
I had this happen once many, many years ago. I ran an ad in a paper in New York
for something we were doing but nothing, not a single call!
After
sweating it out as to how I was going to figure this out I received one call, one
call that changed everything!
A
very nice lady told me we were running our ad in the wrong paper, the paper
where I ran the ad was a huge paper but for what we were advertising we had the
wrong audience. This sent me on a journey to figure this out; thankfully we
did.
What
happened in the end? We changed the paper we were advertising in, ran the same ad
and were literally amazed at how much business we received and the calls came
in 24/7!
What
does all of this have to do with you? Let’s look at what is going on when you
run an ad. Let’s say the paper that you are advertising in has a certain
circulation each day. You run your ad and wait for the phone to ring, but
nothing happens. What is actually happening is that you are limiting your
reach.
You
see your ad is for a certain person with a particular need. That automatically
reduces the audience that you have. Now, you are running the ad on a certain
day which reduces your audience further. This keeps happening until you get
down to a few people that saw your ad and have a need for your product or
service at that exact moment – pretty slim pickings!
How
do you change this? First off, start cultivating a friendship with your local
papers reporters. They are like everyone else, they need stories all of the
time. They are under pressure to have something on a regular basis and this is
where you come in.
Rather
than pay for an ad that may do okay at best, why not call the paper and let
them know about something that is happening at your business that will be
newsworthy? Things like:
- A new contract
- New employees
- A new location
- Something unusual
- How you saved the government
xyz
- How your company and your
employees are raising food for the local shelter
- How your company and your
employees are raising funds for a certain cause
- A donation you are making to
a particular charity
The
list can literally go on and on and it should. As you come up with these
things, make sure you keep a list so that you are constantly in the news. Only
give the paper one or two things (if they are related, if not save them for
another article), at a time. You want to drip feed the information to them so
that you are always doing something to be written about in the paper.
Now
when people read the paper you don’t have to hope they see your ad, they will
see the article (with pictures), and it will keep you in the forefront of their
mind as you will be able to explain what you do and why you are doing the
particular thing in the article. This is “How To Get The Word Out For Free” and
build your business at the same time!
Until
then, subscribe to our different sites and start to get a world-class education
that is far and away better than anything you will get in any school. Why?
Because this really works, no theory, no psycho-babble, just real, hard-learned
knowledge that will launch your business!
Important:
If you know one
person that would really benefit and could change their circumstances with this
information; be their hero and share this post with them right now!
If you would
like help with this or any other business, sales, marketing, social media
issues and more, contact us at:
Or leave us a
comment below!
Until our next
post – we wish you all success!
Dean Marchese
The
Dean of Success! ©
