Get the word out about your business through advertising. You have identified your target market so now it’s time to reach them. Here are a few ways to successfully advertise your business offline.

These advertising methods will work for a storefront and a website business. To make a sale, you draw in the people who are most likely to give you their money. That is the goal for all business.

1. Do a radio spot. This one will be fun. Who hasn’t dreamed of being on the air? A local radio program may want to highlight your business if you are doing something in the community. You can discuss who you are and what you want people to know about your business.

There is also advertising spots where you pay for time and an announcer reads your ad over the airwaves. With either choice, choose a time when your target market will be listening. The morning commute (between 7 and 9 a.m.) will reach most business types. They are in their cars fighting traffic. Also choose a radio station or radio show that is likely to be popular with your potential customers.

2. Advertise in appropriate magazines. By appropriate we mean magazines that cater to your target market. You wouldn’t spend money on an ad in Vanity Fair if you were trying to reach pet lovers. There are hundreds of magazines in existence that cater to all types of tastes. Evaluate the ones in your area. Don’t neglect local magazines that people can pick up for free. Your ads will be seen by all types of people including your target market.

3. Pass out business cards. A business card is like a mini billboard. It has your business name, logo, tagline, contact information, and website address. Within the confines of that card, the holder has all they need to know to find out more about you. Slip one into direct mailings, all business correspondence, and into your pocket in case you run into someone in need of your services.

4. Word of Mouth advertising. Nothing sells your products or services better than a glowing recommendation. Someone who has experienced your customer service, quick turnaround time, and useful product will pass the word on to their friends. You can sweeten that pot by offering credit or cash for referrals.

5. Local newspaper can bring more customers. Plenty of people read the newspaper. Your ads or press releases about your business will be seen by plenty of people. If your target audience reads the newspaper on a regular basis, advertising here can produce more business. A target audience of teenagers and young adults probably wouldn’t get much notice in the newspaper. Spring for bigger font and bigger ads so no one will have a hard time reading it.

Are you marketing your business offline? If not, now is the perfect time to begin. An entire city of potential customers is waiting to hear about your business.

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In any business, the first step is to find the customers.  Throwing open the doors won’t guarantee that anyone will come in.  And, if they do, it is no guarantee that they will buy from you.  The same goes for website businesses.  Use every opportunity to market your business on and offline.

Let’s talk about marketing and advertising.  Advertising is like those billboards you see from the highway or the commercials that air between segments of your favorite show.  Advertisers use images and words to get people to pay attention to them.

But, who is “people”?  That is where marketing comes into the picture.  Marketing determines the demographic of your target audience — who they are and where they are.  If your target audience is single working moms, you aren’t going to run an ad during the day or choose a 10 a.m. radio spot.  They probably won’t hear it.

When you market your website locally, you want to use the same marketing techniques that you used online to find your target market.  There are many offline places to market your business.

Go to the newspapers.  Newspaper ads are still good places to find new customers.  Depending on your business model, ads that introduce your business and give a website address for more information are seen by thousands of people a day.  Over morning coffee, the businessperson reads the newspaper.  Dads might read at their desk in the morning.  Moms might unwind with the paper after the kids leave for school (if she stays at home).

Press releases in the newspaper are larger than ads and garner greater visibility.  Place just enough information in the press release so that anyone reading it immediately wants to visit your website to find out more.  Use bold lettering for information that requires close attention.

Make use of business cards.  Keep a small stack of ten or twelve on hand at all times.  You never know who you might meet.  Don’t forget to include your website address on the business card.  Insert cards in any mailings that you send out.

What about letterhead?  If you’ve registered your business name or your website domain name, slap it on every piece of correspondence you send out.  When sending notes to family or friends, use note paper embossed with your letterhead.

Use promotional items.  Companies may gladly create samples for you in hope of future business.  Wear a t-shirt with your logo and website address to a family function.  Give out coffee mugs to friends and pens to everyone you see.  Functional items that people will use over and over again will have your website address front and center.

Just because you have an online business doesn’t mean all your marketing is done there.  There are people right in your sphere of influence that would be right for your products.

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Newspapers have always been a traditional form of advertising.  Before television took hold, the newspaper was the way that people found out what was going on in the world.  Today, newspapers compete with television, radio, and the Internet.  Is it worth the money to advertise in a newspaper?

That is a good question.  The newspaper still offers a classified section, but is the price worth what you get in return?  It depends on your target market and how important the local market is to you.

If your target market reads the newspaper, then you are going to want to advertise there.  Even so, your ad will have to stand out from hundreds of others to be effective.  This means using larger font and a larger ad space to include all of the pertinent information you’ll need potential customers to know.

Pros:

• Seen by hundreds of people every day

• Can establish your brand in the local market

• Enhances other advertising methods for storefront businesses

• Is less expensive than magazine ads

• Will reach all those within your circle of influence

People cut things out of the newspaper and save them.  If you find an ad you want to pursue, you cut it out or circle it to find it later.  A newspaper can be taken with you anywhere as a reminder to visit that shop or that website.

On the other hand, those same ads are so small sometimes that your eyes barely skim them.  You will look at the one that catches your eye with larger font or color.  It is easy for your ad to be missed by people.  With newspaper ads, you are paying to reach a large group of people — the entire city.  Your target audience may be within that group but the campaign is not focused as much as you probably would like.  The same thing that you can say in a newspaper ad, you can say on a business card.

Cons:

• Not targeted to one specific group

• Small size of font and ad; can upgrade for a fee

• Better return on investment with other options

The newspapers sensed the move to more digital media and now, newspapers can be read online.  If you have Internet access on your telephone, the hottest lead stories are at your fingertips wherever you are.  Does this work for ads?  It all depends on your newspaper and how you choose to view it in other media outlets.

Whether to use newspaper ads is up to you.  Business benefits from advertising but it benefits more when the people you are trying to reach respond well to the advertising medium.  For some, the money spent on newspaper ads doesn’t bring what they need.  Local storefront businesses can typically get better response with this method.

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