Starting my own business whats the best way to advertise?

Think where your potential clients will be looking. If you are a local service only, find out about advertising in local directories, yellow pages shop windows, leaflets through doors. If you are more widespread, think about home magazines perhaps or something similar.

Hello; The best way to get new business is to create a website about your business. The reason for this is so you can use flyers and business cards to send people to your website and there they can get ALL the information to hire you. Make sure you use customer testimonials on your website to help build buyer confidence. God Bless, Patty

Hi Poppy I run a business network for women www.1230.co.uk - we have groups round the country. We have a member who set up her cleaning business about 2 years ago. First time she had run a business. She networked at many of our monthly meetings in different areas - got incredibly good value from the membership fee! She is a good listener so found out what fellow networkers wanted in way of cleaning for business and home. She made special offers to fellow members. She now has a very successful business and employs quite a few people all this with very little advertising. Now everyone who knows her and has used her cleaning services spreads the word about her business because they have good cause to recommend her. Big businesses can afford to advertise but small businesses need to network. Take a look at our website. If there isn't a group near you email us and we will let you know as soon as there is. New groups are starting up all the time now. You could subscribe to the 1230 blog by clicking on the RSS feed button. Our blog is aimed at helping small businesses like yours to grow. Penny

personally if i wanted a domestic cleaner i would be looking in my local free papers, i may be persuaded by an eye-catching leaflet which came through my door, but only if i needed the service. my best advice to you is to get a copy of the cobweb business opportunity profile for domestic cleaning service, your local business link office should be able to give it you for free, but if not you can buy it here for just £5.99 http://www.scavenger.net/product.php?productid=1869&cat=132&page=1 it really will be useful, and will tell you who your customer are likely to be, what you should charge, laws affecting your area of business, who you competition will be, and it will tell you which methods of marketing and advertising will work best for that type of business. it really is worth getting it.

Flyers are good, but will be lost in the sea of the hundreds of flyers put through people's doors! If you do have flyers made up, have an offer that will draw people in. Think about who you want to target and imagine a day in the life of that person. Where can you get your name seen by that person that will have an impact? You should try to think of a reason why you think people should choose your business over others. Good Luck!

Small ad in bottom right hand corner or classified in local newspaper if you are a small town. If you are near or in large city the city newspaper with classified ad that runs on Sunday only would probably be very cost effective. That's what I do . More people read Sunday paper than during the week. Be sure to include reasonable rates. Satisfaction guaranteed. Then screen calls when they call you. You can talk to them on the phone long enough to figure out if they would be pleasant to work for or not.

as your on the computer i presume you have one at home. why not make up some A5 leaflets on your computer and post them round bungalows, as this kind of work is more for the older people. also, advertise in the local paper and post some ads in shop windows. id go as far as 5 miles in as many windows as you can. but does all depend on how far you can travel.

Both newspapers and the post office (atleast Canada Post does - not sure of U.S. Post) offer programs where they will deliver your flyer with their material for pennies per unit. Get a banner ad in your civic website and try swapping banners with business websites in your area who offer consumer services. Get listed in a local business directory website - most cities have them. It's also important to be listed in your local business directories and phone book so consumers looking for your specific service will find you right away. Have a referral program where you offer a discount for new customers and referrals. Referrals are one of the most powerful ways of generating new business. Why not have a neighbourhood "Home health and safety" party and invite people to drop in to see your presentation on home safety and why it's important to have a dirt-free, mold-free home. You could talk about how to remove various kinds of stains. It'll take some research and preparation on your part but it won't cost you anything but time. Make sure it's fun and informative. At the end of it you can mention that you can drop by people's homes to provide the service. Put some decals on your car... it's free advertising space. Another effective method is find out what your competitors are doing and do the same but better. Join your local chamber of commerce - many of the people there are all small business owners like you and can offer advice, help and you may even find a few customers. When you can afford it, run ads in local magazines and newspapers.My point is, you don't necessarily have to do any of these things but you do need to be creative in your thinking and approach to be visible to your market. The more creative you are the more likely you are to have great success.