Need some advise on promoting my business

[Jason1]

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of starting a Light removals company. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how promote or make people aware of my services. Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

[meme]

target relevant newpapers in your area and write a press release sending it to the relevant journalists.
you could also try direct mail, such as a leaflet drop in the area you've targeted. If you want to monitor the effectiveness of the leaflet drop, it might be an idea to add a reference number or colour strip along the bottom, that way you can evaluate the effectiveness of it.

[LisaTalkingTots]

Gumtree.com is always a good ( and free) starting point! Good luck, Lisa.

[www.infoebookstore.co.uk]

Gumtree is a great idea, what about speaking to your local estate agents and letting agents, you may be able to strike up a deal with them so that they recommend you. They might just be happy for you to leave some flyers in their offices.

In terms of web based, get yourself listed on as many sites as possible, ie. helpiammoving.com ranks very well for "removals"

Good luck

[Jason1]

Hi,

thanks for the responses! I have been placing some ads in gumtree and I have had some good responses. I think i will try the estate agents as well. I was thinking of putting ads in local newspapers and maybe the loot. Someone suggested supermarkets and in local libraries.

[Mendip Ironing]

I think Gumtree is a great idea. More and more people are using it and they are slowly adding more and more regions to it.

Good luck.

[dotwhack]

Hi,

Online local business directories seem to rank quite highly on Google and other search engines - plus a lot of those are free.

I know I use the the internet to search for everything - Im in the process of moving house & started with searches such as 'house removals' and the location - mainly directories came up.

Have you thought about Google Adwords - you can target ads by geographical location. As long as you know what you're doing with Adwords it can be quite cost effective. I run campaigns for a couple of different brands - some of their adverts are run within 50miles of their locations. Works quite well.

Hope that helps

[MrCat]

Here are some ways to do it:

Free methods:
Submission to SE's and directories
Article marketing
Email campaign (opt-in)
Classified ad posting
Forums, blogs and board postings
Social Bookmarking
Etc. etc.

Premium ways: (Should require a budget)
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Targeted Link backs
Professional SEO services
Ad spaces
Offline campaigns
Etc. etc.

[roy]

Networking
Get out and meet people through the Chamber of Commerce breakfasts, BNI and any other local networking event that gets you in front of prospective customers. Don't hide in the corner, get to speak to as many people as you can, give them your card, collect theirs and follow up to see if they need you services or who they know who would need them.

[jim_gold]

I second Roy on the Networking avenue. You just have to find out about all your local business events and go armed with your 'elevator pitch' and business cards.

Gumtree is great, craigslist has a small presence now in the UK, it's free also.