I knew a guy that lived in a castle (literally) here in Philly from the money he made advertising his business in the classified section. He has since lost the castle because he failed to pay his income tax, but that’s a different blog. The point I want to get across here is that classified ads are still a great way to advertise on the cheap, but there are some tricks to it. But do it right and the upside is huge. So here are the 5 things you want to make sure you do when marketing for your construction company in the classified section:
1. A phone number that is indigenous to the local market-Not only the area code, but the prefix too. Your brand new cell phone number with a new area code isn’t going to cut it!
2. An interest-creating remark-What’s in it for the reader? Classified ads are all about them, and nothing about you!
3. A Offer-People are looking in the classifieds for a deal. If you don’t have one in your ad, why did you place it in the first place?
4. A Call to action-As I always say, people are sheep, they need to be told what to do. As a matter of fact, they WANT to be told what to do.
5. Answer the phone when it rings – If I have to teach this one, then we are not communicating!
Now, do this in as many papers in your market as you can afford. And make sure you do it repeatedly since booking business with classifieds is based on people who have a specific need at a particular moment in time and are looking in the classifieds to hire, not tire kick. So make sure you are there when they are ready to buy!
