Advertise your free stuff

Advertising is a funny old game.  We live in a society that is bombarding us with adverts every minute of every day.

Some advertising is useful and informative.  Some advertising has even become part of our culture and language – think of the Heineken “Refreshing The Parts” campaign and Martini “Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place” (apologies for showing my age!).

But on the whole most advertising is useless and a complete waste of time and money for most of you reading this article.

Many business owners get confused with the terms “advertising” and “marketing”.  It is easy to believe that spending money on advertising is marketing your business.

I still remember the Business Link advisor who asked me the question “so, how are going to advertise your business?”

The question should have been “How are going to market your business?” as advertising is only one small part of an enormous marketing mix that you can choose from.

You will often hear me say that I don’t believe advertising works for the majority of small businesses. But as many of you see your competitors advertising, it is eaasy to feel you must be seen alongside them in the local newspaper or business directory.

I know I break the mould when I say “Don’t advertise.  Leave advertising to the likes of Coca-Cola and Persil Automatic. Spend your money on other marketing activities.”

And this not because I am anti-advertising.  It is because most adverts that many of you use just don’t work.

Poor copy writing, no call to action and bad designs are all reasons for an advert to fail.  As well as poor positioning and bad choice of publication.

So, if you are certain that advertising is a course of action you want to take then I would like to share with you my secret to successful advertising.

That secret is to advertise your free give away.

“You What?” I hear you cry.

Yes, advertise your free give away!

And this is especially so if you are selling a service such as interior design, beauty treatments, life coaching, nutritional therapy or corporate training.

A customer making a purchase cold from a single advert is highly unlikely.

People buy from people they like, trust and feel comfortable with – and this is why a bulk standard “buy me” advert fails time and time again.

Why does advertising your free give away work?

1. People like getting something for nothing so are more likely to contact you
2. Getting someone to contact you is the most valuable first step to building a relationship with this person
3. You are always asking for the person’s contact details for example email address to send them the report, address to send them the discount voucher, phone number to arrange that consultation

Building your own database is the foundation to your business success.  And far better to advertise a quality, free give away to encourage potential customers to contact you and give you their contact details, then try and sell them something when they know nothing about you.

The next step is to build a relationship with your potential customers and the rest is easy ;o)

Quick Tip: depending on your give-away, you may attract a percentage of “freebie-hunters”.  Make sure you automate this give-away by using web based opt-in forms and autoresponders where ever you can and this will take up less of your time to deliver what it is you are offering.

Other articles you may be interested in:

1. Cancel your advertising and throw away your leaflets
2. Cancel your advertising and throw away your leaflets
3. 6 Common Mistakes Made When Marketing Events & Workshops