What do you guys think about handing out bussiness cards to random people on the street instead of Flyers? I think that Flyers are too expensive to be used effectively and people can't put flyers in their pocket and thats important because I want to advertise my website.
Handing them out to people on the street? Bad. Handing them out to people in a given event ot show? Good.
Well, instead of giving business cards you could give flyers size of a business card. Biz cards usually have your name, contact info etc. - but you could simply handle cards that say "Free pizza - go to mymightyurl.com!"
The 3ft rule often works. Give a card/flyer to everyone within 3 feet of you. It's a numbers game the more you tell the more you sell.
Have done this in the past - Just printed the url on the card centered and in lower case (fluorescent orange or green card stock with black lettering) - I would leave 2 or 3 at each Starbucks on the bar - put them inside gaming magazines at wal-mart, leave one with a tip at a restaurant - breakroom at work. Even one put one in the envelope of bills I had to mail. You can also bribe a pizza person to tape one to each pizza box for an evening while they are at work (it's risky somestimes they do sometimes they don't actually do it) - My best advertisement is the url in big letters on the rear window of my pickup truck - it stays parked in a busy parking lot for 10 - 12 hours a day. There is a guy here in Houston that bought an old used UPS type delivery van / truck and had it painted with his web site info on the sides and he parks it in parking lots like at Frye's electronics, Wal-Mart, etc all day on the weekends and by a busy gas station on the feeder of hwy 59 during the week. If you just put the url - it peaks their curiosity... hope this helps you.
Thanks for the tips marm, have you tried to randomly passing these cards out to people? am outside alot and would just want to pass these out to as much people as possible.
Sure you can do this, they are called "drop cards." I have a bunch I leave around town when I'm out and about. It's just a catchy phrase and a url. Mine says "This card is worth 250,000 per year" and has my url on it. Tell me if you wouldn't be curious about that!
Dealing with street advertising is not an easy task to do...becuase people nowadays are pretty much fed up about getting banged by every sort of people on the street. Unless you have got an entertainment business well do not opt in for street advertising. Use magazines, local newspapers, radio or tv advertising. Buy traffic to generate leads to your site. Use CPM to start covering your advertising costs.
Gas Stations.... Every time I fill up (EVERYONE Needs Gas...) I leave my cards on each and every pump. Then, if there are people filling up at that pump at the same time, I hand them a card also. Another one (depending on your niche.... ) drop them off at the local restaurants restrooms. A Few on the Urinal (what else are men looking at while we piss?) and some on the mirror (between the mirror and frame - they stay pretty well.) ALWAYS Make Sure you have business cards on you, or in your vehicle. Offline Marketing for an Online Business is minimal results (compared to SERP and good Advertising), but they are results none the less. Cashmonger
I've found it really hard getting people to visit my website with un-targeted offline promotion. Giving away business cards or flyers to everyone on the street is a bad idea for most websites. But if you still want to do it, here is an idea for you: promote your website on flyers. But crumple the flyer before giving it out. More people will read crumpled flyers because of curiosity - they'll want to know why you're giving them crumpled paper.
It all depends upon your niche. It would be a bad idea for one person but could be an excellent idea for another. If your site appeals to the "man on the street" then by all means pass out business cards and flyers. I do this with one of my sites. I put up flyers whenever I get the chance (Laundromats, shopping centers, bulletin boards, etc) I also carry business cards for that same site and hand out or drop off cards at various places. I say go for it
I agree with kentuckyslone in that you want to get your flyers or cards to people who would be interested in your website. There is little point giving out cards on the streets if only one person in a thousand will be interested in your website. Having said that if you have a website about classic cars then handing out cards at a classic car show could give you a massive boost in traffic.
lol these card ideas are great! Especially the one in starbucks etc. Thanks for the great tip! I'm gonna try it out!
I just posted an article about using business cards to get referrals. The tips there might help you, and might be more effective than just handing them out randomly.
Vista Print. Very Cheap, and worth it. Quick shipping and recieving of them, and you can build them online to your liking. I Have not had a problem with them yet. Just ordered 2,000 more yesterday. Cashmonger