When I was there, I figured out something that may REALLY help your advertising.
See, when I talked with several cleaners at the Roundtable, I found most of them weren’t using Google Adwords. And the few that were, weren’t using it the most profitable way possible.
Some are paying $6 per click. YIKES! If you’re spending this much on all your clicks, something is wrong.
Pay-per-click campaigns like Google Adwords can easily be one of the most profitable advertising media for you. Lots of cleaners are getting up to 15 to 1 returns.
But you gotta set your campaign up correctly. Using a few tricks won’t hurt either.
So I want to know exactly what you want to learn about Adwords.
- What don’t you understand about how pay-per-click works?
- What’s keeping you from making lots of money with Adwords?
- Are you having trouble getting it set up?
- List any other question or concern you have…..????
Give me your comments. Tell me what you’d like to learn about Adwords.
Win a FREE one-hour consultation…
I’m going to give one person a personal ONE-HOUR consultation to help get your Google Adwords campaign making you the most money possible. This is a $200 value, but you can win it FREE just by making a comment.
Any comment can win as long as it’s a thought out question. The winner will be chosen randomly.
Tell me what you want to know about Adwords by seeing the “Comments” link below.
This is an excerpt from our most recent Ad of the Month Coaching Club webinar. If you’d like to see the entire video and get all the ads and training to stay busy during the holidays, go to www.Hitmanadvertising.com/coaching
We’re coming up on one of the best opportunities for making money in the cleaning business. But it will only happen if you market yourself well.
Start with these Four Items Below and Plan NOW!
Send a newsletter or postcard to your current clients for Thanksgiving.
Use newspaper advertising. This is the BEST time of year.
Use Google Adwords. Turn off your campaign when you get too busy.
Contact those who refer you and ask for referrals this holiday.
Thanksgiving Newsletter/Postcard
Create a Thanksgiving Newsletter or Postcard to mail your current clients. If you’re in the Ad of the Month Coaching Club, you’ll get a nice oversized postcard/newsletter you can use in your own company.
Mail them either on Monday, November 2 or Monday, November 9. Mondays are the best day to send a mailing for our industry.
In the postcard, thank your clients for their business. And give them some type of gift if you choose. Or, just wait until right at Christmas to give the gift.
IMPORTANT: Tell them to book their cleaning appointment early because you normally stay booked up.
If you’re new in business, do the same thing with your “neighborhood”. Simply thank them for their business for the year and tell them you LOVE being their neighborhood cleaning company.
At the beginning of December, you’ll want to mail another newsletter/postcard.
Newspaper Advertising
Now’s the best time of the year to test newspaper. Use one of the ads in the member section that put a bit of a spin on holiday cleaning. Remember that newspaper is timely, so make your ad holiday driven.
Above is an example of a good holiday newspaper ad.
Google Adwords
Use Adwords to get more website traffic. And the great part about Adwords is you can turn it off when you get too busy. Consider trying the “Appointments Available Today” or “Same Day Appointments” headline.
Then when you get busy, turn your Adwords campaign off until you need it again.
Contact them and thank them for the referrals they’ve given you. You may want to bring a box of donuts or candy along with you if you go in person. Or, send them a restaurant gift certificate in the mail. You don’t need to give them something huge, just give them a little thanks to get their attention.
ASK FOR THE REFERRALS! This is very obvious, but it can be easily forgotten. Make sure you ask. Tell them that their clients are going to be looking for someone to maintain their floors before the holidays. And then tell them you’d love to be the person they recommend. Then ask, “Will you please refer us?”
There is a psychological trigger in asking this question. Make sure you ask!
Here’s an article I recently wrote for ICS Magzine on using social media online. I HIGHLY recommend you set up these FREE sources for your cleaning business NOW before your competitor takes all the good keyword phrases.
Are you getting cleaning jobs online? Maybe some, but not as many as you’d like? Here are some ways to get free cleaning jobs with social media.
Each year the internet becomes more social. The amazing feature of the Net is the ability to interact with your favorite shows, movies, actors, friends, and businesses. That’s where social media comes in handy.
Are you an online socialite? It isn’t difficult. Here are some ways to increase your online social status:
Merchantcircle
This is one of the hottest sites for local online traffic and social networking. You can blog about your company and leave links back to your website. Go towww.merchantcircle.com to sign up.
Facebook
First create a personal profile at www.facebook.com. Then create a fan page for your company at www. facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/create.php. After that, put up link on your blog or home page that allows web surfers to become a fan. Also, send a message to all your Facebook friends asking them to become a fan.
Hot Frog
Now here’s a great way to get a free listing that may show up in the top ten of searches for your city. Go to www.hotfrog.com and register now.
Squidoo
Here’s a hot new social media site. The best part about Squidoo is you can add Youtube videos on your lens (Squidoo calls your webpage a “lens”). Your Youtube videos will rank higher and may even show up on the top of your search results. To create your lens, go to www.squidoo.com
LinkedIn
A great way to interact with other businesses is LinkedIn. If you do commercial work, Linked In can be a huge way to get to know prospects. Start by befriending other business manager and owners in your area. Then attach your cleaning blog to your profile page. It’s an easy way to get testimonials from clients. Set up a profile at www.linkedin.com
Twitter
Use Twitter to interact on a large scale with dozens or thousands of people at a time. Here’s the trick though, you need a free application called Tweetdeck to make sense of Twitter. Tweetdeck helps keep track of your comments and posts. Otherwise, you get lost in the posting insanity. Get a Twitter page at www.twitter.com and then www.tweetdeck.com/beta for your Tweetdeck.
Local Bulletin Boards
Find a local bulletin board and make posts about cleaning when appropriate. Just do a Google search for “Bulletin Board (Your city)”.
Blogs
In addition to your regular website, you should have a blog website. It’s best to have a blog that is on your own separate domain name. Your web designer can easily set this up for you. Use your blog to tell about what’s going on in your company. Routinely ask for comments to your blog posts to encourage social interaction.
Myspace
Don’t worry about Myspace. It’s not geared for our target audience.
Don’t use social media as a stage to sell. Remember, people who get on social media sites are looking for ways to interact. Instead, use it as a stage to allow your prospects to get to know you.
Sure, you can make sales offers on occasion. But don’t turn it into a sales pitch every time you make a post. Social media is best when you use it to tell the story of you and your company. Give informative tips. Occasionally let them in on some special offers.
If you use it right, you’ll gain new cleaning clients. Plus, your website ranking can be improved when you create a link from a social media site to your website. It’s free, so use it!
A few days ago I returned from my trip to Vegas attending the Connections Convention (see pics). I talked with lots of cleaning entrepreneurs about their marketing.
Some motivational type guys are saying things like, “Just don’t participate in the recession.”
To some extent, it’s true. You shouldn’t get down in the dumps just because the economy isn’t the best.
Yes, if you’re in the cleaning business, lots of people are spending money on restoration and maintenance instead of replacement. But how do you reach them?
The fact is you need to do something RIGHT NOW to assure you’ll stay busy.
Here are 3 quick ideas…
Idea Number One: Send out a sales letter or card to your current clients with a KILLER offer. I like to offer an extra freebie like FREE fabric protection or FREE pet stain removal. Giving away a small freebie can be much kinder to your bottom line than discounting your service.
Idea Number Two: Contact your inactive clients. If you have clients who haven’t used you in over a year, let them know you miss them. Send them a simple postcard with a special offer.
Idea Number Three: Use the Internet like crazy! The internet is seriously the best bang you can get for your advertising buck right now. If you’re not using it to the max, you’re losing out BIG TIME. Lots of companies are getting dozens of calls every week for next to no advertising cost.
Do something different! Do it now!
Until later,
John Braun
P.S. If you want mentoring to help you get the most profitable advertising, consider my Ad of the Month Coaching Club at www.Hitmanadvertising.com/coaching
What other ideas do you have about trumping the bad economy? Leave your comments by clicking the comment button below.
I just made a video on how to use blogs to get more jobs booked. My company and several of my clients book many high-end cleaning jobs every month from blogging. I’ll show you how you can get a blog FREE.
You’ve heard how mechanics have neglected cars, carpet cleaners neglected carpets, and website people neglected websites?
Well, it may be true. I’ve spent so much of my time sprucing up websites for other companies, I’ve neglected my own.
But NOT anymore. I just gave my site a facelift.
And I added several things you’ve asked for over the years:
* Previews of actual ads and postcards (click the “See Some Ads” button)
* Links to examples of cleaning websites (click “Website Services” button)
* Response mechanisms (like a Peelback Ad) to add on a cleaner’s website
* Twitter and Facebook links to my member page
The page you may want to check out right now is the “See Some Ads” section because it won’t be up very long. I normally don’t show these ads. But it’s something I’m testing out for a short time. I recommend you to test different offers and triggers on your website.
Well you ought to find out right now! It’s one of the more important things going on in your business. If your site ranks well, your cost to gain new clients goes WAY down.
So watch this 4 minute video I made for you. It’s easy once you see how.
To get coaching to improve your internet advertising::
***LIMITED OFFER*** Become a member now and get a FREE Wordpress Blog set up and hosted for your company at NO CHARGE. This offer is only available to the next 12 new members.
It’s pouring down rain in Pensacola. Tropical storm Claudette is here (what’s left of her anyway).
I had to wade through the Office Depot parking lot this morning to purchase labels for my client postcards.
Hey, I’d swim in shark infested waters if I needed to. Keeping in touch with your clients is the smartest thing you can do in your business.
Yes, calling your clients or stopping by to see them would be very effective. But do you really have the time? And if you did, do all your clients want you calling or stopping by? Probably not.
Here’s a simple postcard my company is using right now for a “back to school special.” Click the small postcard to see a larger version.
I’ve recently used oversized postcards as a newsletter styled postcard. I call them postcard newsletters.
These postcards use articles like a standard newsletter. With the extra space of a large postcard, you can add articles, pictures, and create something unique that stands out from other “junk” mail.
And what about email newsletters? During a week like this in Pensacola, I rely on email newsletters.
Email is the BEST way to deliver a timely message. This rain storm crept up on us over the weekend. So there was no possible way I could have gotten a postcard in the mail. But an email would do the job nicely.
So I sent out an email to all of my local clients letting them know we are here for them in the event they (or their friends) need water restoration. Only email can get this message out quick.
Here’s how to get a customizable postcard newsletter and email newsletter created for you every month…
Each month, I create a new postcard and/or newsletter for you to use in my Ad of the Month Coaching Club.
Starting this month, you’ll also get a template for your email newsletter. In addition, I teach you how to use internet marketing to get #1 in Google and more. The internet is a HUGE opportunity.
I just got in 3000 full color (front and back), full glossy (front and back) 4×6 inch postcards from Overnight Prints. They only cost $119 + shipping. They look GREAT!
Take advantage of their special offer right now before it expires.
Newspaper Advertising
It’s time to face reality.
