My question of the day......

OK, I have been in business since about 1993. I have always stayed pretty busy and never really advertised that much, most of my work is word of mouth or people ask/call me when they see my trucks.

The last couple of years, like everyone else, it has gotten competitive and harder to get calls. I have been wanting to start advertising in some way.

I have thought about SM or one of the other lead services...but that can get expensive and I am not sure how well it works.

I may finally get a Yellow Pages ad this year.....but it wont help until next year, and that's only if I have a decent start to this summer.

What are some other, inexpensive ways of advertising. Does Website help you guys? SM anyone? Direct Mail advertising? Thanks for any ideas.....I just need to get some calls coming in so I have a shot at bidding work.

Thanks

Randy

Steve, Yes sir...I did sign up with your site. Thanks man...I will keep that website deal in mind. I definitely need to get a website, but I just don't know where to start yet.

Randy

I'll tell you one that works.....selling metal roofs in rural areas.... and the way to advertise is just to nail a small sign on as many telephone poles and trees as possible. The sign needs to say "metal roofs installed" and have a phone number.

Try it...go hang up 100 signs, and you will not believe the calls you get.

You might get some call from the police departments saying that you had better come take your signs down, but they are usually nice about it.

I'm not kidding this works...I've seen 2 different guys start from scratch, and go to doing 2 to 3 roofs a week in just no time at all.

I sell the metal to them, so I know.

Thanks guys! How about you guys post some links to your webpages? I have seen Twill's and it is nice. Tinner has a ton of info on his site as well.

I want a site but I am unsure how to do it. If I buy a domain from Frank's site....do I also need to buy email and host? Is some places better the others? How much does it cost to just have someone make me a simple webpage and what are them people called? I am such a hippie, born 10 years too late....lmao.

Thanks again for the advice gentleman...I really appreciate it!

RandyB1986 Said: OK, I have been in business since about 1993. I have always stayed pretty busy and never really advertised that much, most of my work is word of mouth or people ask/call me when they see my trucks.

The last couple of years, like everyone else, it has gotten competitive and harder to get calls. I have been wanting to start advertising in some way.

I have thought about SM or one of the other lead services...but that can get expensive and I am not sure how well it works.

I may finally get a Yellow Pages ad this year.....but it wont help until next year, and thats only if I have a decent start to this summer.

What are some other, inexpensive ways of advertising. Does Website help you guys? SM anyone? Direct Mail advertising? Thanks for any ideas.....I just need to get some calls coming in so I have a shot at bidding work.

Thanks

Randy

Tinner is the man and has great advice.

I'd like to add that it's also relative to where you are regionally. Some areas might be more tech savvy than others. You might have better luck with direct mailing or newpapers or Pennysaver type publications. The answer would have to be what works for others might now work where you're at, so you're best bet is to dip your toe in all types of marketing and see what works best. Then, nurture that while trying other things from time to time just to stay ahead of the curve.

:)

If you do it yourself, a website can't be beat. Domains are less than $8.00 per per, and hosting $3.99 a month. It and referrals are all I run on. Many others here and there are doing the same thing. Go to CT forums for all you ever wanted to know about SM and other companies making a living reselling leads to many roofers at the same time. Then, reselling the same leads later. It's a win-win for the lead companies. They make millions.

You can get a domain, and build a free site on the wordpress platforms.

DO NOT POST THE NAMES YOU ARE LOOOKING FOR ONLINE ANYWHERE!!!!!!!

Domainers search for posts like this and reg the names to resell to endusers every minute of the day! Not just that, but to NOT search for domains without registering right away. The web has eyes, and if you search for domains and not register IMMEDIATELY, they will disappear from availablity in as little as a few hours.

Put the names on notepad. Leave OFF the .com, .net extensions. Go to your registrar when you want to buy. Look around for register domains, and find the drop down menu and select "Bulk Register", or something similar. C &P your list there and select your extension, then enter any code needed. Register ALL that are available! There is usually a discount offered too. Use the shortest one for your site and 301 all the others for SEO purposes. Seriously!! NO searches until you are ready to reg! And only do it at the site you're regging from! The bulk reg tools let you search for many name combos at once, and let you reg only the ones you want, within minutes, of your search. Examples: Type in slateroofspecialist.com to see what I mean by type in traffic and SEO.

Give me a call at 804-833-6418 and I can explain in more detail.