Brochures and Business Cards – How to Get the Most Use of Cheap Advertising
Tips for Advertising with Brochures and Business Cards
Business Cards
Business cards should be considered miniature billboards for your business. Every time you hand one out you are working on sales and marketing. This form of cheap advertising is also one of the most effective because business cards will always serve as a reminder of you and your business as long as the card is intact. It may pass from person to person, but this is what you want. If someone is handing off your cards to other people, they are essentially spreading the word about your business.
How do you get people to spread the word? Hand out cards to everyone you meet. Yes, it seems tacky but you don’t know if the man on the bus you just met might be related to the head of a firm you could service, or he just might be the man running the company whose car broke down that day. Talk to everyone you meet, and end the conversation with a business card in their hand. You only have to mention you are in business – let the card do the rest.
Your business card should have all the information on it that you would want on a billboard or ad. Your name, location, contact information, and why you are different. Maps, coupons, bullet points, or hours of operation are good ideas for the back of the card. Make sure you use both sides to effectively market your business. The print should be easy to read and get to the point. If you are in a service business, use a professional positive head shot of yourself to make yourself more memorable.
Brochures
Using brochures in marketing and sales also makes sense. This cheap form of advertising can present your entire sales pitch in capsule form. Brochures can be thought of as having a meeting with the decision maker multiple times, without you having to be there. You are presenting all of the facts and resources needed for the buyer to choose you instead of the competition.
How would you use a brochure to continue your presentation efforts? Once you have made your sales pitch in person, you will want to keep your top selling points in the minds of the buyers. Having a brochure for them to look at will keep you “top of mind” or the first person thought of for a situation. You can also use a brochure when there is little or no time to make a personal presentation. Brochures are also effective for presenting multiple angles, programs and services.
The best way to create a brochure is to make an outline of what you would want to say to a potential customer in a 30 minute presentation; then format the outline into a sales message on paper. The front should be attention getting, with the back having all of the needed information to find you. The middle sections, as with presentations, should tell people who you are, what you can do for them, and why they should go to you. Make the words easy to read and understand. Use bullets to get directly to the point. Remember that people will only spend a few minutes reading.
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