A gorilla marketing style list of places to put up flyers and advertise your business
get your name out there
Marketing yourself is half the battle
Whether you are a realtor, lawyer, loan officer, car salesman, small business owner, babysitter, or dog walker you need to get your name out there. Marketing tips are easy to find all over the internet. So you buy some business cards, print some flyers, but what next? You have to get that information into people's hands. Most businesses have a bulletin board like the one pictured, where people in the community can post events, missing pets, and yes, business cards and flyers. Before you go all around town looking for these bulletin boards, let me save you some time and give you a list of the usual suspects.
Below you will find a few faithful locations that usually have a place for you to get your name out there.
find your poster
the list of places to take your information
Starbucks- look right above the sugar/creamer station.
small local coffee shops- near the front
Walmart- occasionally right out front, but often closer to the customer service area
Farm Fresh- usually right inside the entrance
Chik-fila- in the foyer of the restaurant
Arts and crafts stores- usually toward the back, but sometimes out front
Every college and university- look inside the student services building or in the main lobby of class buildings
Mexican restaurants
Rec centers
Community buildings
apartment buildings
barber shops
pet stores
marketing materials must be clear
final considerations
Make sure your information is clear. Before you post anything, make sure it has your contact information clearly laid out. It would be a shame to have a great flyer with amazing graphics and no phone number, or worse, the wrong number. Make sure your flyer, card etc clearly lays out the services you are offering. It should be simple, concise and to the point. People don't need to know about every award you've ever won.
Go where your target audience goes. If you are starting a house-cleaning service for upper class families, go to Whole Foods or a high dollar grocery store, not the Dollar Store. If you are a dog-walker, put your flyers up at large pet stores' bulletin boards. If you want to reach first time home-buyers look on college campuses, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Find your target group. If a place doesn't work out, don't waste your time posting there anymore.
Contribute wherever you post: It's always a good idea to buy something at a small local business before posting on their board. You want to form a relationship with the employees and owner of the small businesses in your area. They can give you lead after lead, if they know what you do. Never walk into a small business and post without buying or asking permission. At Starbucks and walmart, it's fine. It's not fine at Jimmy's coffee shop.
