I've been looking at various advertising items for the various things I do but I'm puzzled about how many actually work.
My choices are car window stickers, postcards (to be displayed anywhere I can put them) or business cards, to put wherever I go.
What draws your attention?

I'm attracted to simple but effective design.
I have done a little menu design in my time, and I am sooo picky with the fonts, and how I display what I want etc. It's almost like interior design, there is a style which you associate with the product that you're trying to sell.

Most people use a template type approach which says

Fred Bloggs Painters & Decorators Ltd
Est 1928 Sheffield
Quality service & free estimates

No one will reply because there is nothing to reply to...

How about

Decorators that actually turn up on time
Guaranteed (or we do it for free..)
Call today to see how we can help youu
Bloggs Decorators etc

Much more likely to get someone to respond

(have you seen my marketing partner thread?)

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=358378

Business cards, in my opinion, are little reminders that you might pass to customers with whom you have already dealt, A) So they have your basic details and its more professional than scribbling them on a scrap of paper B) for them to pass on as an act of referal.
I would never rely on them as an advertising tool. With this in mind, I generally print a couple off dozen myself on the computer whenever I need them. This also has the advantage of being able to tweak details when necessary.

Like the idea of the postcards. The window stickers...do you mean large ones for your own vehicles or little ones to distribute? I'm with Andy on the business cards. I have distributed loads as an advertising medium, but they're just not enough by themselves.

The best kind of ad i find is on the back of a bus! always seem to be behind one and always notice the ads really

I'm attracted to simple but effective design.
I have done a little menu design in my time, and I am sooo picky with the fonts, and how I display what I want etc. It's almost like interior design, there is a style which you associate with the product that you're trying to sell.
:hihi:

This actually seems redundant if you're asking about what advertising sells.
Well, I think that, depending on the industry, and your customers. It isn't the design of the advertising medium, but the reputation of the product, or service to start you off going first.

Advertising budgets are spent by larger companies to reach a wider audience, or to fight their corner in the market. For new start-ups, I would say, think of one or two effective ways to reach your customers, and stick with that, and don't spend too much, but buid up good customer relationships, cos word of mouth sells well.

Though, for some industry, you do have to think about the image of your product or service. i.e. dining, graphics business, design businesses, drink businesses (for the all important cutting edge marketing ploys for branding) .

Don't overspend on marketing though when you first start. Some companies get themselves onto the radio, or even wider medium like that to get the publicity in order to be acknowledged.

I'm thinking of the community projects I work on. Though not a business they all have to be treated as such in order to make them a success.
Jellytots for example, a central project for the whole of Sheffield. We have to make it available to everyone but how do I reach the people?
Car stickers are probably redundant on that one. Business cards seem exceptionally formal but are very cost effective and many of the local businesses don't mind having a pile of them around.
Postcards are not so cost effective but much more noticeable and the local businesses do sometimes object to having them around.
We've gone through no end of flyers and yet the parenting part of the forum draws in more users than the flyers.
If I stand inthe city centre handing out flyers many people ignore me but those who go into the local bakers, library etc might pick up flyers, postcards or business cards at their leisure.
I deal with several other initiatives too so the overall marketing feedback is really handy.

Okay, so I've got my business hat on...and I'm brainstorming.... and I think about the friends who I know that are parents and feel unsupported. I've scanned your website about Jellytots too.

The only critique I can say is, parents may not travel that far to a drop-in centre which is quite a distance away from their own homes. Plus, even if they travel to a drop-in centre, a 2 hour slot may not benefit them in any way.

I've got two friends who are mothers. One live in Hillsborough, and she is inundated with 2-3 kids. She can't travel that far away just to be in a place for a few minutes and then travel back home to do the daily chores.

Another friend lives in Bramley and is so isolated, but should benefit from a drop-in centre like this, but because she is so far away, her only main contact is to her mom on the phone. I don't think she knows of any places like this, and even if she does, it'll be hard for her to come out all this way etc. I think her journey time will be a hour, and the other friend in Hillsborough will take similar time too, that is if she is okay to spend that amount per week on travel alone. With the credit crunches, I think all families will feel the pinch.

So, if you do want to make people come more often and benefit in some ways, then maybe have things which will attract mothers to travel this far out for, for those mothers that can travel. i.e. steamers for bottles or washing facilities. So that they don't have to worry if they got everything needed etc. I also think an outing is tough for a mom because it means she has to pack everything ready for an outing, which itself is a chore. It'll be nice if moms can swap tips and tricks etc. Or where is the current best buys for clothes or things about employment after pregnancies etc.

For marketing, I think leaflets are good enough. I would contact other similar setups like Jellytots in other areas. i.e. Hillsborough, Mosborough, Woodseats... etc etc. Just so that you can let other moms know the existence of you if they need to drop in while they are shopping?

I think for a drop-in centre like this, you're looking at people who live near the city centre and who also happens to have kids. The chances of people with kids in the city centre is quite small, because family types tend to live out in the suburbs. So, if you want to target families and young moms like that, then it's best to throw out leaflets around those areas in the local church or corner shop or even supermarkets. Even if they don't make full use of it, then they can at least make note for future references? Think about where all the nurseries are, and also consider contacting them and ask if you can leave leaflets or details this way.

There is a nursery near Heely, and then there is also Ecclesall Rd too. Plus, you can target other places where they sell baby things in the city centre. Do they have a notice board like the supermarkets, and can u leave a leaflet or a permanent card there?

I would just use the cheapest type of advertising since it's a charity organisation. i.e. B&W leaflets. But definitely state what you can offer to moms, and why. I would also think about having a longer afternoon than just 2 hours. Cos it's hard quite to hit that time slot. Say a day a week at 12-5pm? Or 11am-4pm. If moms have partners in town, then they can get a lift home or something like that. I understand that it's a church, so it may be even harder to get the time slots as well, but it's definitely something to think about.

Oh, on extra thoughts, you can also write the details on those cards which supermarkets slots on the advertising board. Plus, use the same logo, or set of leaflet designs so that they know you're legit. Cos the first thing I will think of as a mom will be if this place is safe for my child etc. So, I guess design is kinda important in this respect. A set logo, or a set leaflet design will benefit.

Some good ideas here but Zebra please please dont make it once a week I think you might have a rebellion on your hands,also Bago I travel for just over an hour to get to Jellys as do quite a few others it is the only baby group worth travelling to.

I'd never reduce it to once a week, I know that part of the attraction is the multiple sessions (our feedback tells us so :) ) but I'd consider lenghening one of the days, which might be what Bago means.
Though with that comes a large jump in rent so we'd have to secure more funding first.
We've done a lot of black and white leaflets and for a while I used to stand on The Moor handing them out, now the group is busier I'm needed inside to actually run it but I do have a volunteer for a while right now so perhaps I could ask her.
The ideas I had were on vista print, so low priced anyway, P&P only technically and although I've got a lovely design for car window stickers I can't bring myself to order them cos I don't think they'll work.
I was thinking of asking the ladies who love us to distribute a few flyers in their local areas, shop windows, churches, docs surgeries, dentists etc but it seems a big ask at times. They're all busy mums.

We do need to do redesign and create a good looking logo which is unique to us rather than a word art job which is on all our paperwork. It did us well to begin but perhaps we do need a more uniform view. Which then costs more money on websites instead of the pro forma types. And of course, money is something we lack.

Ahh, yes I see now ,sorry quick panic attack there for a minute.

Spot on. I know as a charity, you'll be stuck with funding.

......snip.....

The ideas I had were on vista print, so low priced anyway, P&P only technically and although I've got a lovely design for car window stickers I can't bring myself to order them cos I don't think they'll work.
I think because it is not a product or that you need to mass market to the nation, then the right information in the right place is what you require. I would really just stick to simple, cost effective designs. Colour printing bumps up the cost. PLUS... try to be frugal with the B&W printing.

I have actually scoured in the city centre once before of all the places that I can find cheap B&W printing, and you know what, the Oxfam near The Moor provides the cheapest of B&W printing I could find. I can't remember the exact cost now, but it was either 1p or a maximum of 2p per A4 sheet. It also is a place that doesn't require you to increase the number of sheets to reduce the cost per sheet.

I have seen 3p or 5p per A4 sheet from places like Staples, the printing shops in Division St, the library, Stationary Shop, but I ended up going to Oxfam near The Moor. You can double-check again to see if the current price remained the same. I recall from memory that some corner shops provide printing facilities and they can say something like 1p printing. So if the one in The Moor doesn't work out, you can check such places out while you're out and about town.

So forget the stickers, or anything which cost more yet until you got the budget to spend. Any extra money can be spent on increasing the facilities in Jellytot if anything, in order to attract more moms.

I think word of mouth spreads, which is a good thing. If the ladies that frequent it can maybe spread the word, then that is also helpful. I think many ladies may not go that often, or that they may go only at the beginning of their pregnancies or if the kids are older etc. So, I would also consider the type of facilities that you provide.

I was thinking of asking the ladies who love us to distribute a few flyers in their local areas, shop windows, churches, docs surgeries, dentists etc but it seems a big ask at times. They're all busy mums.
Why not? I mean, they can't move away from home to do it for you asap, but you can give them a set of leaflets just in case if they pop into their local supermarkets, or their local mothercare, or other places similar. I mean, give them 10 A5 B&W sheets. They don't have to deliberately go out and stick them in these places, but placing them when they happen to go out saves you time too. Obviously, ask those moms that wish to help first. Some may not need the stress, but for those that don't mind then it's easier to approach their local supermarket to put it onto the notice board?

If you do use this method, then do state on these particular leaflets what you can offer in Jellytots. People can then decide if it is something that they find useful or not and wish to frequent it etc.

We do need to do redesign and create a good looking logo which is unique to us rather than a word art job which is on all our paperwork. It did us well to begin but perhaps we do need a more uniform view. Which then costs more money on websites instead of the pro forma types. And of course, money is something we lack.
If you have a PC, then you can do this very easily.

Many fonts you can download, as with little pics or jpegs to add to the design. Or if someone has a digi-cam, they can take a pic of the manual design work and scan it into their PC so it retains the copyright, and then you can minimise it to become your logo, and therefore can use this to every document that you have. Et vio-la. A set of business logo.

All you need is MS Word.

Also, you can stretch your printing by printing leaflets of A5 size. So 1 A4 sheet can become 2 leaflets. @ 1-2p per sheet, say, you want 200 A4 sheets, gives you 400 leaflets @ 4-8 pounds.

If you want help in the design and manipulation of the documents and leaflets, then let me know. I can help. But I need to discuss with someone what they want from it, the info etc etc. I am still in Sheffield for another week before I move jobs, so I'm fairly free now up until then. Just PM me.

I just remember you guys being the central distributor for the clothing when we were helping out with the flood thing. :)

[Added] Btw, an Eureka moment, if you want colour leaflets, you can get pictures and let the kids colour them in. Child labour! :hihi: Just kidding... but it certainly something that can amuse kids to let them colour inside lines and practise co-ordination etc. I say this only cos my nephew went through a phase like this too on painting.

May I add that, I don't really know what is your current "business" model, or what your aim is. I wrote those things from the little information that I myself know and can find from the website. Depending on what the group does or is trying to achieve, you may attract different people. The time slot was one thing that popped into my mind. You don't have to change it if the current slots meet the needs of current moms. I can understand your constraints with it being a church as well, so that's what I can think of, off the top of my head. Sorry, if this offended the moms that are reading.

I do know that it's very hard to keep any charitable things like this going, so being frugal is pretty important I'd say. Oh, I meant the offer for the design. I already have fonts etc, so it's down to you guys what you want to do etc.

Have you thought about networking? There are lots of networking events for small businesses and I find them a great way of meeting people and spreading the word. Try the Met Club - they meet once a month in Sheffield usually at the Leopold Hotel. They also meet in Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds and Harrogate. You can go along once for free if you're someone's guest. Give me a call and I'll put you in touch with one of the members. Another good one is UKB2B. They're taking a break in July and August, but will be meeting again in September. I know the guys who run this and would be happy to take you as a guest.
The people who attend these events are business people, but many of them are also parents. Don't be daunted - I promise you'll meet some really nice people and because they've all got to promote themselves, they should be able to offer some good advice.

Josie G
Freshaire Business Services
Tel: 0114 2330672
www.freshaire.co.uk

Whatever you choose to do, always remember to promote the "afters" as opposed to what you actualy do, ie, we are builders, we're realy good, and been established 12yrs, we will build you a good conservatory.....who cares, always make sure you tell them what they are left with, thats what people care about.....we will create you extra living space, a nice place to sit and look at your garden, we'll clean up every night, we won't leave a mess, we will add vakue to your home.

People want to know what value you will add and leave them with - buy a boom called the Jelly effect by andy Bounds, its good at explaining obvous things like that that we always seem to forget....

Some cracking advice there and ideas I'd never thought of, thanks:)
Josie, frankly that idea does terrify me, it makes me feel like a small fish with an insignificant group in a large pond full of pirhana :D I know Jellytots has value to those who attend, we have people commenting on how they dread not being able to come due to work constraints and they hate when we're closed for Bank Holidays etc.
Our feedback asked for us to be open even more!
How would we actually benefit from networking? It's something I do by accident with many people I meet, I'd be stupid not to tell people obviously but I've never done it formally.
ovationgroup - good thinking, I feel I should have thought of that. I shall keep it in mind.

Bago, thanks for the offer, I have had another offer from a graphic designer and if everything works out I shall probably leap at the chance to really co-ordinate our image and get smarter.
We distribute flyers with varying regularity, right now I have a really helpful volunteer who will be distributing weekly for me so the timing will be ideal.

Lots for me to chew over there, thanks all.

Hi Zebra
I know exactly how you feel. The first networking meeting I went to was a very formal affair and I felt like a fraud! Just like you, I felt like I was in a room full of experienced and professional business people - then there was me!! I did join that group and learned a lot from being part of it, but I didn't renew my membership after the first year due to the cost.

But the two organisations I'm talking about - UKB2B and the Met Club aren't like that. They're completely informal and a lot of the people there own new companies and are just getting off the ground. Plus I've actually spoken to several people at these meetings who've been representing charities - The Children's Hospital and Bluebell Wood Hospice to name but two. Going to this type of network meeting is a bit like going to a get-together, where you're free to talk to anyone in the room and just chat about what you do. You don't even have to join UKB2B, you just pay £10 for any events you want to go to. With the Met Club there's a £50 joining fee, but you can go to one event free if you're invited by a member (I'm not a member yet, but am seriously thinking of becoming one). I know two people who are members (they're also clients of mine), and I'm sure they'd put you on their guest list if I spoke to them. You can also attend a second event for £20 before you decide whether or not to join up.

As I mentioned in my previous reply, UKB2B are having a couple of months off, but will be meeting again in September. If you fancy coming along to that meeting, just let me know and you can come as my guest - I'll introduce you to anyone I know and also to Darren and David who run the event. I think you'd really enjoy it.

Give me a shout if you're interested.

Josie Gregory
Freshaire Business Services
Tel: 0114 2330672
Email: josie.gregory@freshaire.co.uk
Website: www.freshaire.co.uk

Zebra Call Rob on 2011490

To promote your charity or business on the low budget end then leafleting is good, just very time consuming.

Word of mouth, community meetings, website links and just about anything where people come to you or a meeting place is more productive.

Whatever you are promoting your message needs to be about the benefits to the customers of what you have to offer; as Ovationgroup nicely put it, stress the "afters" of what I like to think of as the "what is the customer left with once I've done?"

Advertising can be extremely expensive or cost effective - it all depends on the route to market you take, the appropriateness of the medium and whether or not your message a a "call to action" to which your target market will respond.

As a basic rule of thumb try putting yourself in the shoes of your potential customers. Ask yourself where would you go to find out about a service like yours? Where would you see information about it and who would you listen to as a referral agent?

For the small and relatively new business a direct approach to your target market should provide better returns. Focus directly on who you want to influence and what you want them to do. PR should be something you consider in the early days as it is far more cost effective than paying for a single ad or a blanket direct mail/leaflet campaign.

I've worked in the social enterprise sector for some years in South Yorkshire and it's an interesting environment with lots of challenges and many returns. If you want to give me call to chat stuff over please do - 07977 448 306

Graham

Wow, thanks. I might just do that :)