I run a web design company and most of my work comes from Digital Point and other Forums but I am looking to try and get some work locally and just wondered how people market for things like that. What is the best way to find local businesses? Is sending an email to them saying in effect their website is useless and they need a new one? (Obviously in a nice way) If they don't have a website, what is the best way to tell them they need one without sending out mail shots etc? Just looking for a bit of advice really. Thankyou very much Nick
i want you to use classfides for this like craigslist and also offline paper cutouts. Also writing press releases is a very good option which will eventually give you what you have expected.
Do you know where about the paper cutouts are? I have had a look but cant find anything on there at the minute I have done press releases but again, this is mostly online I want to target people in my area directly
Clipod has dished out some good advice. Go to classified sites like Craiglist, ePage to advertise under the Services section. Also, list yourself on free lancing guilds like GetaFreeLancer, ScriptLance, RentaCoder. Get started small first to get some credentials and let word of mouth advertising spread about your company. If I were you, I will carry out some SEO to boost my website ranking for the web design services and also use article marketing to target long tail but targeted keywords like "cheap website design services" etc. This will get you good traffic.
Make sure you have a quality sales page showing samples of your work. Then try running three to five different small classified ads in local newspapers. These are inexpensive to run and can give you an idea of which adds draws better than the other. As you begin to work set up a testimonial page and ask for referrals. This is a huge market that has unlimited potential and one that I've considered getting into myself. There are literally millions of small businesses around the world that do not have a website, but you will find there are many eager ones right in your own backyard too.
In your area there should be a "Chamber of Commcerce" where people meet up for breakfast meetings. There are a few that are normally ran for Start-ups. Find out if there are any going on, sign up, meet up and then go from there. I did this when I started up my poker company in Sussex and I met up with a printer who does all of my work. The other way is to mailshot a few new startups PM me for costs etc
Thankyou for all of the great advice. The Craigs List and Gumtree suggestions were great and I am writing a mailshot to send out to people without it being "spammy". I have been thinking about advertising locally and I think I will place a small ad in the local newspaper with an eye catchy picture to see if this helps. Thanks again and keep the advice coming as I am sure other people are in the same boat as me.
The best way to target local small businesses is to visit them in your local area. You should ask them if they have a website? I know a lot of my friends who make over $10,000 a month designing websites for Local businesses.
I wa sin the exact sam situation as you and i also live in the uk... Anyway, that i di was i put some ads in some local shop widows(very cheap) £5 a week max. The response i got from this was ok, about 4 people and i got 1 job from that. Another thing i woudl recommend is printing some business cards adn handing them out to local businesses and giving them to some 'printing' friends and other relevant businesses to give out. I still get customers from this system offline Hope this helped you.
Craigslist, Google, Yahoo. Print postcards/flyers and distribute in your area. Direct Mail campaign. Local newspapers. Graphic artists in the area that only work print, but not webdesign. Hope this helps.
I agree with the methods he has said, plus you could get some deal with printing companies so they do them for free.
You should create some local websites, like an events calendar, a photo gallery and more. That way you have a local presence online and you can offer 1 month of free advertising on your local websites and other deals.
Offline networking and recommendations are the best source. Go to anything you can stand - mixers, conferences, etc. Then be religious about following up and checking in. When people have a need you want them to remember you. Also look to partner with related service providers. The money from the freelancing sites isn't too good because you're competing with the entire globe. You might want to work as a sub-contractor if you don't enjoy the client interaction much.
I am developing a new offline advertising technique. At my new site, http://www.unlimitedbusinesscards.com, you can advertise on the back of other people's business cards. You can target your ads by geographic area, among other things.