Advertising!!

[shooterjim]

Ive taken the plunge and invested in some adverts in local papers! Doing 2 weeks in each with largish ads which will hopefully stand out. Just dont seem to be getting any sales! Anybody else finding things slow?

[Daniel Jiggins]

Not sure where you are? things are far from slow down here in Essex on log sales, try taking small nets of your logs to local pubs etc and offer a bag for a FREE sample for them to try, worked well for us and got in with several local pubs within a 20 mile radius of our yard who regularly order 2 cube at a time and was far cheaper than using newspaper adverts.

[Pat]

You might find two weeks is no where near long enough. Go for much longer as people need to familiarise themselves with your brand. Also, get a website as younger more PC literate clients will not look in the local papers. I advertise non-stop in the local papers and have done so for the past 3 years. I also have a website. Leads are running at 25% advertising, 25% web site and 50% client recommendation.

[gensetsteve]

Its too warm and too early. I have found the cheapest adverts are often the best. The local paper is £45 for a business card size ad and it was a waste of time. The local free mag £30 for the month but brought in at least 7 new customers ea time. We stopped advertising 3 years ago as we cant keep up when its cold so it seems daft to pay for adverts. We are slow at the moment but thats how I like in November.

[shooterjim]

Based in Leicestershire. Could do with selling a few bags to recoup some of the costs ive had so far!

[windfall]

I am all ready to go with local radio advertising and newspaper adverts but they are expensive and the weather is still too warm for me to see a decent return on the outlay i recon. So at present i have two 13yr olds out doing flyer drops in the posher areas and i am advertising heavily on facebook which is bringing in crazy results!

 

The number of clicks and hits my website gets on a sat evening as a direct result from facebook is bonkers, people seem to be on line gossiping about strictly and xfactor but also willing to order in logs online!

 

My very simple and basic word press ecommerce website is really working well.

 

WindFall Logging Firewood and alternative eco fuels if your interested in having a look, it cost me £300 + the domain name which was £60.

[Alycidon]

Forget newspapers, they are looked at once and are tomorrows chip papers. If there is a local village directory then that is kept and continually referred to by householders, thats what to go for. A decent sized sign in a field is also worth doing.

 

Sounds like we can all learn something from Facebook, I always thought is was kids and women, maybe it is but if they are ordering then listen.

 

A

[ash_smith123]

I have tried local free papers and magazines, arbtalk directory, flyers in shops and got nothing.

Done a leaflet drop to 20 houses a mile from the farm and had 5 new customers!

Also free "local advertising" websites are great because they usually come up on the first page of search engines if you type in anything to do with firewood or logs in your area, and don't cost a penny!

[morten]

You might find two weeks is no where near long enough. Go for much longer as people need to familiarise themselves with your brand. Also, get a website as younger more PC literate clients will not look in the local papers. I advertise non-stop in the local papers and have done so for the past 3 years. I also have a website. Leads are running at 25% advertising, 25% web site and 50% client recommendation.

 

And in addition to a website, register yourself with a link to the website with Google Places Google Places That way, when people in your local area searches for the products you offer, your listing will get up amongst the top search results. And the best thing: It's free!

[morten]

 

My very simple and basic word press ecommerce website is really working well.

 

WindFall Logging Firewood and alternative eco fuels if your interested in having a look, it cost me £300 + the domain name which was £60.

 

If you are on a budget, and feel like having a go at rolling your own website, it can be done for next to nothing. Look here Welcome to Getting British Business Online