spreading the word locally

Brassedoff

Free newspaper, Thompsons search, free index, google listing, yell.

That ties most of those route up. Leaflets are not worth it for your point to result costs.

Then as someone else mentioned, local a schools etc

Lighthouse_in_the_dark

parish newsletters would be far and away the best way, talk to them and see how much they would charge you for a front page ad,

these little newsletters recieve very little funding and so long as your business is ethical (i sometimes have problems with this) then they will welcome you with open arms

nickj_2

Brassedoff wrote: »

Free newspaper, Thompsons search, free index, google listing, yell.

That ties most of those route up. Leaflets are not worth it for your point to result costs.

Then as someone else mentioned, local a schools etc

i doubt people in a village would use this to find someone doing ironing
word of mouth will be the main source of new customers

rickyroma

nickj wrote: »

i doubt people in a village would use this to find someone doing ironing
word of mouth will be the main source of new customers

Maybe. Probably depends on who they are.
I would look on the Internet ( I have my yell advert already online)
But a pensioner maybe would use more traditional means.
Maybe I have given the wrong impression by saying village. There are quite a lot of modern dwellings with lots of people there with incomes obviously way above mine!

It's the end of the first weeks leafleting and I haven't had a single response. I have done about 4-5 hundred drops. Is this normal, to get not a single call?
The leaflets give the basic info needed with contact details, website address etc and were designed by a professional graphic designer ( although at no cost to me!)
My prices are competitive compared with other firms.

Charityworker

I have a small business doing manicures, make overs and glitter tattoos. I delivered about 1000 leaflets to houses in my area. I only got 1 enquiry from it that didnt lead to a booking and a few people added me on Facebook that night.

I've put a 4 week long advert in the local paper and received no phone calls from it at all. I've also put adverts in shop windows and received no response.

By far the 2 best ways for me to advertise have been Facebook. I have my own page where I answer nail care queries for free.

My other best way is getting involved with local events. So craft fayres, school fetes, Xmas fayres etc I do mini manis and glitter tattoos for £3 each. People take my leaflet and because they have met me I stick in their mind more. It's amazing how many people who book me say they saw me at so and so event. I also enjoy doing them.

Brassedoff

nickj wrote: »

i doubt people in a village would use this to find someone doing ironing
word of mouth will be the main source of new customers

There's a village up the road from me that has 1900 homes, over 6300 population, spread over 7 miles. Bulkington in Warwickshire is one of the country's largest villages. It has three Schools, one Comprehensive. So, as its that big, I would not ties it to the Hamlet style places with one church, pub and a dozen houses.

Savvy_Sue

Lagoon wrote: »

I personally would never put leaflets on cars. When that happens to me I feel they shouldn't be touching my vehicle, and it's an invasion of 'my' property. I would never use a company that did that. However, I'm happy to look at the leaflets that come through the door. Most end up in the bin, but I'll still remember the companies, and I save any I think will be useful in the near future.

I agree with this, I find leaflets under my car windscreen wipers very annoying, and they usually get binned without looking at them.

Agree with parish or village magazine, and also find out when local schools / nurseries / playgroups are having their Christmas fairs. If they print a programme, they'll probably let you pay for an advert. If they're running a raffle, they'll probably let you give 'a basket of ironing' as a raffle prize.