Improve Your Promotional Flyers And Improve Sales


Admittedly, I have not seen your advertising flyer. Then again, I probably don't have to. I have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of advertising flyers for small businesses. After 30 years I have found that nearly every small business ad flyer contains the same mistakes and missed opportunities. Avoid these seven common mistakes, and your advertising flyer - and your marketing in general - will be stronger for it.

Advertising flyer mistake #1: A Blah Headline (Your Company's Name)

Remember, your flyer is an ad. It needs to SELL. Your potential customers aren't interested in your name. They're not even interested in what you do. Sounds cruel? Well, it is but that's life. Get over it!

Prospective customers are interested in their own needs and wants. So, hit them with a headline they can't ignore, because it addresses their needs.

Instead of:

Sheri's Pet Grooming

Try: Smelly Pet Stinking Up The House?

Or:

We Treat Your Cat Like The Royalty They Are!

Or:

Man's Best Friend Deserves Something Special!

You get the idea. Figure out what's important to your potential customers. Then, use your headline to immediately answer their question: "What's in it for me?"

Advertising flyer mistake #2: Not Solving A Problem!

Although your ad flyer copy should include your key features or services, each feature or service should be attached to a clear, customer-oriented, benefit that addresses a problem, or hassle, or pain. Also, tell - or, better, show - how those benefits prevent or solve problems for your potential customer.

Think about all the problems, both real and potential, that could stem from not using your product or service. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Talk to them. Listen to them. Learn what their problems are. Identify benefits about your product or service that make a difference to your potential customers.Emphasize in your flyer the problems and solutions that set you apart from your competition.

Advertising flyer mistake #3: Be A Friend!

People buy from people they like. One key thing your potential customer needs and wants is to feel good about you. Are you knowledgeable? Are you trustworthy? Do you understand my problems? Am I comfortable doing business with you?

The more comfortable someone feels about buying from you, the more likely they are to do so. That's why I recommend that you have an "I" section - a section where you talk about yourself, your qualifications, your values, your personal commitment. Help them understand who you are and who they will be doing business with (hopefully).

Advertising flyer mistake #4: Going Quietly Into The Night!

This is the typical close to a flyer: "for more information, call 555-5555." Instead, create a "call to action". Here are three basic, proven closers:

• Buy before (DATE), and receive $10 off. This closer is effective at getting immediate action, and works especially well for one-time purchases or regularly purchased items.

• Act before (DATE), and get (VALUE-ADDED PRODUCT/SERVICE), FREE with your purchase! This closer offers an incentive for fast action. It also works "free" into your flyer. "Free" is a very powerful word.

• Purchase before (DATE) to take advantage of our slow-season! This closer attaches a negative consequence to any delay or hesitation. Note the more believable the reason for the limit, the more powerful this closer becomes.

Advertising flyer mistake #5: Forgetting There Are Two Sides!

With an advertising flyer, the printing or photocopying is but a small part of the overall expense. The larger expense, in time or money or both, is distribution. So, distribute a two-sided flyer, for twice the opportunity to make a sale! Just make sure your second side doesn't compete with your main message side.

The second side could be used for:

• A comprehensive list of your services

• A map with driving and parking directions

• Customer testimonials

• Relevant tips or advice

• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Use the second side to support, expand upon, or enhance the message on the main side.

Advertising flyer mistake #6: One Good Shot!

One-time advertising efforts are seldom effective. It is a rule of thumb among marketing professionals that you need to reach people at least eight times before they really notice you. Your prospective customers need to see the your ads over and over.

So, plan a series of distributions as part of your strategy. I recommend that you plan to hit each household at least eight times with an ad flyer. Mix the message up a bit! Change the color of the paper you use. Change the headline. Keep track of which flyer drives the most business.

If possible, combine your flyers with other localized advertising, so you reach those homes through a variety of media channels. At the very least, combine door-to-door distribution with posting in public areas where allowed. Community centers, schools, stores, and libraries often offer public bulletin boards.

Advertising flyer mistake #7: Flyers Gone Astray!

You should keep two objectives in mind when targeting neighborhoods for your flyer distribution.

• It's much more cost-effective for you to have clients in convenient clusters instead of scattered all over town. Concentrate your ad distribution within and around your existing clusters of clients.

• Reaching the right people within the target area is also critical. An advertising flyer for a landscaper is largely wasted if it's delivered to residents of an apartment building. The added advantage to walking your "territory" house-by-house will be giving you a better understanding for what services or mix of services you should offer.

Promotional flyers are one tool in the small business' marketing arsenal. Learn to use them well and you will create customers while saving yourself time and money.

Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a "Corporate Freedom Fighter" dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc., authors a marketing blog, and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to "Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time".


More Resources

The Forgotten Advertising Tip
I'm sure while you have seen many tips on advertising, many that talk about testing and tracking your ads, I'm sure that this one important tip is rarely mentioned: Running more than one ad at a time isn't the greatest idea.While it seems like a good idea to spend your monthly advertising budget all at once at the first of the month, is it really gaining you the best exposure? Even if you are running ads on various websites and networks, there is a pretty good chance many of those that see your ad on one site are going to see them on another.
Advertising 101
Advertising has truly become a part of all of our lives as consumers, as business owners, as parents, as concerned citizens. We simply cannot escape from its presence no matter how hard we try.
Advertising Through Moms
Moms have a very powerful influence on what their families eat, drink, wear, do, and buy. Moms are not only the driving force behind their families, but also the economy.
Buying Radio? Read This and Dont Waste Your Money
Pay close attention and make it work the best for you.No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from your local radio stations.
How to Make Your Claims Believable
When you hear claims like??Best Lawnmower in the country?Absolute Lowest Prices In Existence?Leaves your hair cleaner than any other shampoo?do you believe them?Or is there a certain degree of doubt in your mind about their credibility? Or whether they are 'hyped up'?Think about it. Everybody expects advertisers to exaggerate their claims.
How To Make Your Resource Box Sell
Ezine Articles - they're everywhere!And little wonder. They're one of the fastestways of building traffic to your website.
See How to Advertise and Gain More Money to Blast Another Project
We have a Great News that we think that may interest you as a Business owner. It is about a Advertising Agency that are preparing to launch and incredible system to help business to earn constant cashflow.
Advertising Copy: What's Really Important?
You labor long and hard trying to create the perfect advertising piece but only about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned.
Attention-Grabbing Fixes that Make Your Yellow Page Ad Leap Off the Page
Stand Out in Ways that Matter to Directory UsersA Yellow Page directory presents a difficult challenge foradvertisers. All the competitors are packed together, withinthe space of a few pages.
Direct Mail Catalogs & Brochures: Write Captions That Sell
Many prospects skim through catalogs and brochures, glancing at the photos and reading the accompanying captions only when a particular image arouses their interest. That's when you have their attention.
Magnetic Signs: Where Do They Work Best?
Recently, a woman called to ask about replacing a magnetic sign she had purchased from another company. Her original sign had actually blown off the side of her car.
Tips On Writing a Successful Ad
When knowledge is based on truth it is powerful!When it is critical knowledge, its presence can drive our success, while its absence may contribute to our failure. I will attempt to convey in this report some useful and practical knowledge about how to write awesome ads for the World Wide Web.
Predictions for 2010
2005 puts us at the mid-point of the first decade of the new millenium. What will things look like at the end of the 1st decade of the new millenium in the world of advertising? I thought I'd project where the ad industry is headed and what 2010 (or sooner) might look like.
Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads
Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.1.
When Advertising Wears Out
One of the challenges facing marketers is determining the most effective level of advertising exposure for a brand, while maintaining a given budget. Conceptually, the media planner could choose continuous advertising (even exposures spread over a period of time) or follow a strategy of pulsing ("on" for some months and "off" for others).
Do Your Adverts Get You More Sales?
Philadelphia retailer and US Postmaster General, John Wanamaker, once said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."If you're spending $10,000 a month on advertising $5,000 is going straight down the tubes.
100 Excellent Words and 70 Action Getting Phrases for Ad Writing
100 Excellent Words Absolutely. Amazing.
Cross Cultural Advertising
"Culture is a like dropping an Alka-seltzer into a glass - you don't see it, but somehow it does something,"Hans Magnus Enzensberger.Culture affects everything we do.
Do Your Radio Ads Work?
Most small businesses don't have a high poweredadvertising agency to produce selling radiocommercials for them and end up with somethingakin to a high school play, or with the businessowner reading tired copy.The radio salesperson knows that by suggesting theowner be the star, visions of Dave from Wendys orthat guy with the talking dog who says "roll thatbeautiful bean footage" come to mind.
Diamonds Are For Evil
The task of executing successful advertising campaigns for products made exclusively for women is understatedly tempestuous. Any Average Joe consumer would relay the message that feminine product commercials put him under a great deal of stress and discomfort.

More Advertising Information:

Related Articles

Non-profit Coupon Books and Coupon Mailers for Small Businesses
Many groups like the Chamber of Commerce, ASB at the local high school, etc. will ask if their members can get a discount if they shop in your store or use your service.
Humor in Advertising
Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product.
Outdoor Sign
Many business organizations that needs to disseminate late-breaking information to a large number of people. Out door sign boards are the perfect solution for them that command the attention of all who pass underneath.
Books, Bibles and Fast-Talkers
Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who rollinto town with a clever idea to sell to people inbusiness.
What Do Your Ads Say?
Make a list of everything you think should beincluded at one time or another, in one of yourad, be it radio, newspaper or Little Jimmie'sclass play program.Everything.
Advertising Costs Getting Too High?
Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business. One problem that small business owners have always faced is the high cost of marketing.
Effective Promotions Through Local Classified Sites
Today's online marketplace is extremely competitive. People want to market their products and services with the most cost effective manner possible.
The Secrets To Successful Radio Advertising
Ask some businesses about radio advertising and they'll tell you it's the greatest investment they ever made while others will tell you it was a complete waste of time and money. So why does radio work for some and not for others? What's the secret to successful radio advertising?Know this: Radio can be a major player in your advertising mix if you know how to do it and I'm about to give you the secrets to successful radio advertising so read on.
The Principle Of Advertising Online
Advertising online is very similar to advertising in any environment. You really are trying to get your message or your product out there by the most cost effective means possible.
Understanding Internet Banner Advertising
Banner advertising is an effective way of getting your advertising message seen on the Internet. Banner ads should not be your only online form of advertising, but they are an essential part of your online advertising mix.
Information To Include On Your Business Card
The logo and graphic elements that you include on your business card are quite important, but having the right text and contact information on the card is equally important. Here are our tips about the elements to include:Your name - Consider whether you want to include your middle name or initial, degrees or professional credentials that are unique to your field.
Cable Ads 5 Bucks!
Cable has grown from 13 houses connected togetherin 1948 to coverage of nearly 70% of allhouseholds in the U.S.
Business Cards: Why Waste Valuable Space?
So many business people neglect this valuable asset that may be used for a multitude of messages.Don't fall for the trap of supplying a "scribbler" for others that virtually guarantees your card will be in the "round file" sooner rather than later.
Consider These Pressing Facts Before You Renew Your Yellow Page Ad
Your Yellow Page Ad Deserves More than 10 Minutes of Thought a YearBefore long, your Yellow Page directory rep will be paying you a visit. It's an annual event that happens several months before next year's directory goes to press.
Advertising That Annoys: The Real Story
Critics conclude that entertaining or "creative" commercials sell better than those that are bland. But liking the commercial may not really be that important in the scheme of things.
What are Text Adverts?
Not everyone is aware of what are text adverts? Text Adverts are a form of low cost advertising used by website owners to promote their website and services to a quality targeted audience.Online advertising offers an outstanding opportunity to efficiently and effectively target your desired audience.
Dont Be a Secret Agent
This tactic of the game was hard for me to master and at first I failed many times. I carried my business cards only in my briefcase, because I thought they were only used in business.
Cinema Advertising is Big Business, So Mergers are a Natural
Cinema advertising has always been an effective marketing tool for some advertisers, while for others they have yet to see the benefit of this unique form of media. When an advertiser hears the term "Cinema Advertising" automatically they think the slide that is shown on the big screen with the soothing music played in the background.
10 Ways to Advertise Your Business For Free!
At some point many small business owners are left with no or a small amount of capital to promote their business. But many entrepreneurs utilize these free or low budget yet effective tactics to promote their business online and offline.
LED Moving Message Displays
LED's are becoming more and more popular in all kinds of lighting fixtures. For simpler, slimmer design, moving message displays utilize Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) as the display technology.