How To Advertise A Small Business?

[rvalkass 5]

I'm starting to design websites for cash now, to fund myself through university, so I need to let people know I'm here. I'm looking for effective ideas for advertising a small web design business. For example, I looked at flyers, but are they a little out-dated for a web design business? And are they that effective - I know I throw a lot of flyers straight in the bin.Google AdWords and Yahoo! Advertising are also two options I've looked at, but are they that effective? How many people actually click the ads, and how much does it cost in the long term?What methods are people using to advertise their business? (Not just web design, anything). And how effective are people finding them? Would you say they are worth their cost? Are there any novel or interesting advertising ideas that are more than a silly gimmick?

[webishqiptar 0]

I would advice Google Adwords and expose yourself at forums such as Digitalpoint where a section of buy sell and trade is very famous. I earned several money there.Create a referral program and share your revenue. So other will have to find methods of advertising.

[zakaluka 0]

Who is your target audience?

(1) For large groups that are already online, you might get jobs if you are good. Most major businesses have entire departments dedicated to web development, so they are mostly out of the picture except for subcontracted work. This will only happen once you have a decent portfolio backing you up.

(2) Individuals may hire you for small jobs. I've never had much success with this market, except for tech support (a person may want to put all their photographs up on Flickr and have a small site to showcase them, for example).

(3) Small business are a very lucratice market. Advertising online is fine if your clients are already web-savvy. However, if they are regular brick-and-mortar businesses that want to develop an online presence (and most small businesses fall into this category), advertising online will result in a VERY low rate of return. Instead, you want to get a few clients in an area you are targeting (let's say your city / neighborhood), then use their sites to convince other small businesses that it is the right decision. Even if they already have a site, show them how your improvements to the site can make it better for them and their customers.

Having one-on-one meetings with small business owners is also critical, as they have very low resources to waste on something that may or may not turn out okay. By having samples and numbers ready for them, you will have a much easier time convincing them to go with you.

(4) Companies that know what they want and are looking for someone to do the job. Look for jobs posted online. As webishqiptar mentioned, DigitalPoint is a good place to start. Other tech forums are good as well. Sites like Guru ( http://www.guru.com/ ) will help as well to find ready-made jobs.

A lot of contract work also depends on word-of-mouth. Once you start providing good service, people will approach you for work, which is always a better feeling that having to go out and find it.

Regards,

z.

[kleong 0]

Who is your target audience?
(1) For large groups that are already online, you might get jobs if you are good. Most major businesses have entire departments dedicated to web development, so they are mostly out of the picture except for subcontracted work. This will only happen once you have a decent portfolio backing you up.

(2) Individuals may hire you for small jobs. I've never had much success with this market, except for tech support (a person may want to put all their photographs up on Flickr and have a small site to showcase them, for example).

(3) Small business are a very lucratice market. Advertising online is fine if your clients are already web-savvy. However, if they are regular brick-and-mortar businesses that want to develop an online presence (and most small businesses fall into this category), advertising online will result in a VERY low rate of return. Instead, you want to get a few clients in an area you are targeting (let's say your city / neighborhood), then use their sites to convince other small businesses that it is the right decision. Even if they already have a site, show them how your improvements to the site can make it better for them and their customers.

Having one-on-one meetings with small business owners is also critical, as they have very low resources to waste on something that may or may not turn out okay. By having samples and numbers ready for them, you will have a much easier time convincing them to go with you.

(4) Companies that know what they want and are looking for someone to do the job. Look for jobs posted online. As webishqiptar mentioned, DigitalPoint is a good place to start. Other tech forums are good as well. Sites like Guru ( http://www.guru.com/ ) will help as well to find ready-made jobs.

A lot of contract work also depends on word-of-mouth. Once you start providing good service, people will approach you for work, which is always a better feeling that having to go out and find it.

Regards,

z.

Since it is a big company, they are unlikely to hire a freelancer to do the bits and pieces. One way, you could try contact some web designing firms and tell them that you are available to do freelancing for them. If you have a strong portfolio, very likely they will engage your services.

[anwiii 17]

i like the idea of advertising offline AND online. combining both. small business ads in those freebie circulars. make sure you don't just put your ad in for a week and take it down though because the more times people see your ad, the more they will trust it. why business will be slow at first but will grow in the long run with small ads. flyers are good, but i would probably concentrate on asking owners of local businesses if you can put a flyer up in their store window or someplace visable. alot of store owners will let you do this. you can also buy some business cards from vista print(they offer free business cards 1 time and only pay for shipping). and ask if you can set 5-10 of them on their store counter. i suggest this idea becasue it's cheap and it works. also, some small businesses you go to may need a website and you kill two birds with one stone.

online advertising, i would still with making a nice looking website first, get it optimisezed for the search engines, and let it sit. once money comes in through the search engines, you can look towards adwords and other ways that cost a little money. other means are the forums and such but hardly worth the time to spend posting everywhere. you can pay someone to do it. or, just select 10 forums that are worth posting to and post once a day in them. craigslist would be on the top of my list.

and by all means....choose a catchy domain name and try to find one with the .com extention. you want something catchy and easy to remember and hopefully a domain with a keyword in it. the last thing you want is for someone to hear about your website and instead of typing .net or .org, etc....they type in .com which isn't even your extention. or someone hearing about your website and they don't even know or remembert how to spell it. domain names are advertsments in itself

i would also start creating a portfolio. some people will want to see one before they trust sending you money. if you don't have one, create one by offering your services for free on a couple personal sites and a couple business related sites. your time isn't wasted becasue now you have your portfolio....if you don't like that idea of doing something for free, offer half off or something.

lastly, i would combine your services with seo. if you are unfamiliar with seo, find someone who is and you two can partner up and trade leads.

goog luck with it buddy. it's not a piece of cake. get yourself out there and known. if you stick with it, you will soon see how word of mouth could by your best advertisment.

I'm starting to design websites for cash now, to fund myself through university, so I need to let people know I'm here. I'm looking for effective ideas for advertising a small web design business. For example, I looked at flyers, but are they a little out-dated for a web design business? And are they that effective - I know I throw a lot of flyers straight in the bin.
Google AdWords and Yahoo! Advertising are also two options I've looked at, but are they that effective? How many people actually click the ads, and how much does it cost in the long term?

What methods are people using to advertise their business? (Not just web design, anything). And how effective are people finding them? Would you say they are worth their cost? Are there any novel or interesting advertising ideas that are more than a silly gimmick?

[CrazyRob 0]

BEST way to advertise Is word of mouth!Get some business cards printed and contact all the local businesses... network with other people etcYou dont want to use Google Adwords... it eats up money!

[Hajj 0]

as someone mentioned earlier, it is important to decide on a particular market segment first. Although you say small business, what businesses would desire or need your service. I would create a matrix of local business types in your area and figure out what their needs are. I personally am delving into the same business. However, website development is just a fraction of the product offerings. The point is, you have to know what you are trying to sell and why they should buy it. Once this is solved, just use the type of communication tools that industries business usually uses/.

[ashutosh_malguri 0]

check my blog maybe you find what you are looking 4 : http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Who is your target audience?
(1) For large groups that are already online, you might get jobs if you are good. Most major businesses have entire departments dedicated to web development, so they are mostly out of the picture except for subcontracted work. This will only happen once you have a decent portfolio backing you up.

(2) Individuals may hire you for small jobs. I've never had much success with this market, except for tech support (a person may want to put all their photographs up on Flickr and have a small site to showcase them, for example).

(3) Small business are a very lucratice market. Advertising online is fine if your clients are already web-savvy. However, if they are regular brick-and-mortar businesses that want to develop an online presence (and most small businesses fall into this category), advertising online will result in a VERY low rate of return. Instead, you want to get a few clients in an area you are targeting (let's say your city / neighborhood), then use their sites to convince other small businesses that it is the right decision. Even if they already have a site, show them how your improvements to the site can make it better for them and their customers.

Having one-on-one meetings with small business owners is also critical, as they have very low resources to waste on something that may or may not turn out okay. By having samples and numbers ready for them, you will have a much easier time convincing them to go with you.

(4) Companies that know what they want and are looking for someone to do the job. Look for jobs posted online. As webishqiptar mentioned, DigitalPoint is a good place to start. Other tech forums are good as well. Sites like Guru ( http://www.guru.com/ ) will help as well to find ready-made jobs.

A lot of contract work also depends on word-of-mouth. Once you start providing good service, people will approach you for work, which is always a better feeling that having to go out and find it.

Regards,

z.

Wow, I want to say thanks for that post. A lot of things you put in there I haven't even thought about yet. I've been dabbling in the idea of possibly doing web design for others but I'm still not quite sure what my stance is yet.

Regardless, that information will greatly assist if I do end up doing it.

[The Simpleton 2]

I wouldn't depend entirely on google adwords and such other services because most people rarely click on them and even if they do they are only partially interested. In my opinion, you should try out a bit of everything, if you have the time and money to spare. Flyers may not be very effective, but you never know who may get attracted by it. An attractive flyer is glanced through thoroughly before it finds its way into the bin and that glance could get you some clients! I too throw a lot of flyers but sometimes I do stop and look at some of the bright ones. So if you can use your designing skills on paper, this could be a good idea ;)Since you're at a university, you already have a large audience at your end! Someone in my college once started a social service campaign and they got 600 members in one hour just because they called out for members only in the college and nowhere else. So this is the best place to start looking for clients, as these days everyone wants to get a snazzy website done!Advertising through sigs in forums is not a bad idea but you have to see if you can juggle your time between so many forums. That depends on you of course. Getting through so many media will naturally give out the best output. This are just my insignificant thoughts - hope you can make something of them. Do tell us how your business gets going

[freshpub 0]

I agree with CrazyRob: word of mouth is best. But in order for this to work, you must put your name out there.Leaflets are good. They can be created cheaply enough and still look good. Sure they often get straight to the bin, but many people still read it before they throw it away and so know of your name...If you are web designing, why not create yourself a web portfolio. A place on the net for your potential customers to see what you can do.Many local business directories are coming up, both online and offline. And some do not charge to get listed with them. Don't forget to claim your free standard entry in the yellow pages either. This is still used by those who can't access a computer and they also have a website for those who are connected.If you do decide to target small businesses, I would say that your best bet is to contact your local Business Link and ask them of networking events in your area. Print some business cards and distribute them there. This way many business people will know of you and what you do.Otherwise try eLance. They always have lots of people looking for web designer. However, competition can be quite fierce and definitely drive the prices down. Google Adwords is good, but many big companies use it, and consequently prices can go up very quickly. However, it does put your name out there as well. So my advice is use with caution.Hope this all helps

[mahesh2k 0]

@rvalkassSome of the ways you can try. 1) Hanging around forums related to forum, CMS development. Other than professional developer forums, writers/bloggers forum, threads are perfect place to advertise. 2) Freelance jobs blogs, forums and auction sites are good place but you've to lower your prices while bidding at start.3) Advertising using small ad networks would also be beneficial. Adbrite/Adwords/Performancing or OpenX ads could help in this case. There are plenty of other ways. but for that i guess social networking and establishing contacts could help more than advertising.

Edited August 19, 2009 by mahesh2k (see edit history)