Putting flyers on car windows...

[Mark Riddle]

Charles,

Your great illustration of getting at the heart of what people are really looking for is a powerful lesson for anyone wanting to expand their local business.

Its not everyday that someone can take a concept and develop it into something that not only is appealing, but is also affordable to get started.

Thanks for your example.

Mark Riddle

[Allurre]

In such times, you never know. If your advertisement SPEAKS to them, and connects immediately to their needs, you may just have found yourself a customer -- desperate.

[JohnMcCabe]

i like the idea someone had about putting post-its on the driver side window! can you automatically print onto post-its, or do you have to handwrite on each of them? if it's the latter, it wouldn't be worth it. but if i could find a way to feed them through a printer....?? or if not, maybe invest in rubber stamps so I can just stamp the info on each post it? i could hire my daughter to do that...

Talk to your local quick printer and see if they offer pre-printed pads. Otherwise I think VistaPrint does them. Much higher quality than a rubber stamp.

If you want to go the home-made route, get a decent paper cutter at the office supply. Add in a glue stick using the same adhesive 3M uses for Post-Its. Triple check that it's the right adhesive.

Then print you notes on colored paper and use the cutter to get clean edges. When you want to put a sticky on a window, give it a swipe with the stick, and there you go...

[MarketingMama]

Originally Posted by charlesburke

A number of people have PMed me asking for details about my non-flyer method. Apparently there's enough interest in offline marketing, so I'll post it here.
Charles

wow those were great stories! thx for sharing!

i really like that idea of making the pads. i wonder what my logo could be...

could i ask, how long ago did you do that, and how much do you estimate it costed you to put it all together at that time?

also, all you had on there was your logo, name and slogan? i'm not sure i could find a way to reduce my business to THAT...

yeah i'm hearing a lot about not selling but simply meeting needs. i guess there's a difference...?

i'll definitely have to give this one some more thought for the future!

[Michael Oksa]

Originally Posted by forestmarie

You don't need a flyer to write that off. Just write the mileage and eat with someone and ask if they have any leads for you...and quite frankly, that's about all it takes...

Not necessarily true. The purpose of the trip has to be PRIMARILY for business. You can't plan a trip to the mall with a friend, spend the day there, go to the food court and ask some "business question" and then expect to write it off.

However, if you were to meet a prospective client at the mall, then you could maybe write it off. As long as that was the promary reason.

Also, you can only write off the portions of mileage and meals that are business-related only.

Of course, be sure to check with your tax professional to see which deductions are covered in your jurisdiction.

All the best,
Michael

[AtomicFlipper]

stand at a railway station exit and hand out the flyer on a Friday morning, fridays most people are looking for something to do other than work

[hunty]

Hi
I have just read your thread and would just say be carefull when adopting this method of advertising,I had a neighbour who promoted a major health and nutrition company using this method,The shopping mall she went to is one of the biggest in Essex(UK).
She did not get any response for the products,But she did get a fine from the council for littering (from the dicarded flyers) and an insurance claim for a broken windscreen wiper, And as her name,email address and telephone number were all over the flyers she could not do anything about it.

[successtony]

I reckon you just go for it.Any marketing idea is a great one.What can happen.They may come along and tell you not to do that,but if you are inconspicuous they wont even know.If you get caughtjust do the old oh im so sorry i didnt know trick.Then leave in a hurry.
I once posted on the poles in a big plaza and got tons of traffic.The security kept taking them down and you just follow them and put them up.Do it for a hour .Its a real laugh.Then take a week off so they forget and try again

[MarketingMama]

Originally Posted by successtony

I reckon you just go for it.Any marketing idea is a great one.What can happen.They may come along and tell you not to do that,but if you are inconspicuous they wont even know.If you get caughtjust do the old oh im so sorry i didnt know trick.Then leave in a hurry.
I once posted on the poles in a big plaza and got tons of traffic.The security kept taking them down and you just follow them and put them up.Do it for a hour .Its a real laugh.Then take a week off so they forget and try again

you're a mischevious little devil, aren't you?

i thought i posted an update on this thread a few days ago but it's not here...? anyway, i ordered some pre-printed post-its. and i'm going to hire my daughter and maybe her friends to put them on car windows.

question: are all parking lots considered private property? and if a car is parallel parked next to a curb on the street, is that public property?

[StephenDavies]

Originally Posted by MarketingMama

i know most people think it's annoying, but maybe that's cuz it's usually just an advertisement of some kind of promotion or discount or something.

That assumes that your offer is really different to the others that are using this method.

I would guess that the other advertisers who were using this method also think that their offer is something that the car owners would want. Otherwise why would they waste their time leafleting?

[bizideas]

You know I read somewhere a long time ago that flyers have an average life of 7 seconds before they disappear into the flyer abyss. Maybe flyers are the predecessor of spam?

Junk mail may rank higher though.

Eric

[petelta]

These things are always on my car and I've only looked into 1 out of about 200. I think flyers on cars are extremely annoying, but I also hate when a opt in form pops up on someones home page and blocks me from reading the page for a few seconds. Annoying things sometimes work.

[tsboss1]

I had a few kids that attended my old high school to do it for me...I sell clothes/shoes and my target market is kids anyway.....They handed the fliers out and posted some on cars....Didnt have any problems, I made alot of money off of it in that one week I had them post stuff on the cars in the parking lot but I learned alot of other ways to promote since then....This was about a year ago

[charlesburke]

Originally Posted by MarketingMama

i wonder what my logo could be... could i ask, how long ago did you do that, and how much do you estimate it costed you to put it all together at that time? also, all you had on there was your logo, name and slogan? i'm not sure i could find a way to reduce my business to THAT...

This was when I was in my 30s, so it was over 30 years ago. I didn't have much money at the time so I spent about 3 hours drawing a cartoon figure over and over till it gradually improved enough for me to use it. I'm definitely not an artist, but if you draw one thing enough times, it eventually gets better.

I could get the head right but not the body, or the body right but not the head, so finally I just took scissors and rubber cement and pasted together the best of each - worked fine once the size was reduced. These days you can probably get something drawn online for cheap - and save yourself 3 hours.

I drew a little painter guy with a big smile so that it'd project a feeling of friendliness and eagerness.

Cost back then was about $10-$12 for the business cards, sepia ink on buff stock, and then another $10 or so for the 200-300 8-1/2 x 11 sheets, same colors, cut and padded. Altogether, it took maybe 4 days start to finish.

On the card I had my little painter logo guy, my name, catch phrase (The Careful Painter) and then at the bottom corners were the address and phone number. No email or URL back then.

I presented the business very simply - no lines and lines of services. Everybody knows what a painter does. He paints. Inside and outside. He hangs wallpaper. But you don't have to say all that.

I know that a lot of marketers suggest filling your card with information, but in that particular case, simple was powerful (it worked because everybody already understood "painter"). I don't know if keeping it simple would work quite as well if I were offering to build websites or to design marketing campaigns.

Still - it might. For example, if you offered - "I'll put your business all over the web" or "Why doesn't your website make you any money? Call me... I'll fix it".

There's always a way to boil an offer down to a core feeling and a few core words. Again, you're not trying to sell to everybody. You only want the attention of the few people who're starving for your service right now, today.

Originally Posted by Onslaught

Charles, that is some good advice to get people thinking about marketing an offline service.

The important thing is not how many to put out, it is the ad itself. It must create interest and a reason to react to the interest.
Paul

Paul, you're absolutely right. There's no magic in the flyer. It's all in the thoughts - in your understanding of your customers - that you put into that flyer. Now, this may sound a little "woo-woo" but I've noticed that the ad that works best for me is always the one where I get a gut feeling of connection (with my prospects ) as I'm putting it together. If I have that feeling of connection, the ad works and if it's missing, it won't work.

I know that's hard to quantify, but I think it's sort of like this - when you're thinking about your future customers in the right way, with honest concern and kindness, that feeling just comes bubbling up and helps guide what you say and how you say it. I've known salesmen who claim something similar happens for them when they're "in the sales groove." It may be a little bit of a "peak experience."

You know how they always say "desperate money never wins"? Well, I think this is kind of the opposite of that.

Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
Charles

[thezone]

Originally Posted by Kay King

Do it where I live and many other towns, and store managers will turn them over to local police who will track you down through the flyer info and ticket you for littering or for solicitation.

"In the United States, solicitation is the name of a crime, an inchoate offense that consists of a person offering money or something else of value in order to incite or induce another to commit a crime with the specific intent that the person solicited commit the crime."

Just what kind of flyers do you get in your area?

[russellprisco]

As a side note.. if you do decide to do the flyer thing, make sure you use white paper... lol..

I had an experience with this years back and I got a voicemail from some angry guy telling me how it rained and my pink flyer had stained his brand new white truck....lol...

Don't listen to people that haven't done this before. It does work. It's just that you need to track whether it works for you in your niche. DO listen to people like the person that got fined 2G's from the mall though...lol Tough break.

They are right though in that there are other better more efficient ways to market.

Also, i only read through half of the posts, but if you're looking for a way to write off your trips, why not do something simple like advertise on your car with some vinyl or some magnets.

Good fortune to you,

~Russell Prisco =)

[truepers]

Add me to the list of crumplers. My initial reaction is that I got a parking ticket and am wondering what I did wrong. My second reaction, upon understanding, is annoyance. What's this debri doing on my windshield?

I never read them. I grab, squash and then get annoyed some more wondering where the heck I'm going to deposit this litter.

And yet, I could see the exact same flier on the bulletin board of a food market, school, or community center, and I might actually stop to read it if something draws my eye.

[Jillian Slack]

I agree with the comment that it's not targeted, so why do it?

There are exceptions, of course. I mean, if you were going to try to sell tires or windshield wipers, it makes sense because the person obviously has a car (or at least the use of a car).

When I get a flyer on my vehicle, I just shake my head and throw it away. It tells me that the person doesn't know enough about marketing to bother to learn who their own customers are.

Look at how much time it would take to cover the cars in a parking lot.

Why would you want to waste that much time when you could be doing other, more productive methods?

I see ideas like this on a lot of the work-at-home-mom message forums.

They have crazy, time-consuming ideas like leaving your business card in the credit card slot each time you are finished pumping gas, so the next person will see your card.

Remember the old saying, "Time is money and money is time"?

Exactly!

If you're looking for a reason to write off your mileage, plan your trips so you can stop at the post office, the office supply store, the bank, the copy shop, or have a meal or coffee with a friend and discuss something business-related. Then it's just the time you've spent driving, when you needed to make that drive anyway, vs. a special trip to the mall PLUS the waste of time going to each car, lifting the windshield wiper, putting your literature there, scouting to see if someone is watching you, worrying if they're complaining to the mall security or calling the police, being chased, etc.

Plus, in this day and age, I'd be concerned someone would see what you're doing, pull out their phone and take photos or video, grab your biz info, and post something negative online about how people shouldn't do business with you because you broke local laws.

Or, possibly worse, if people toss your flyers all over the place, someone might film the mess and show your business name and contact info. I've seen it done, and it doesn't paint a pretty picture of you online.

[HelenS]

granted i'm new to all this but as a suggestion,

stick to driving traffic from the comfort of your own computer and buy 2 coffee's while your in the mall then you can 'right it off' as a meeting or networking

[jasonl70]

Originally Posted by kadensnga

50 years ago it would have worked. Today though the only people who do it are the ones who are clueless about how to market and they cant think of anything more creative to do.

I would imagine you might get a 1-3% response rate if your ad is apealing, but it's really not worth all the hassle.

Nothing wrong with a 1-3% response rate.. direct mail does not do better, nor do most websites.

Originally Posted by petelta

These things are always on my car and I've only looked into 1 out of about 200. I think flyers on cars are extremely annoying, but I also hate when a opt in form pops up on someones home page and blocks me from reading the page for a few seconds. Annoying things sometimes work.

I think this is the crux of this discussion - a lot of people thinking that because they do not like it or find it annoying, it must not work - similar to the "I never read those long sales letters" posts

If it's something that interests you, I say test it out. Make sure you aren't violating any local laws of course.

[Cash37]

You'd be better off paying a kid to stand on the corner in a funny costume and wave your URL around on a sign

[RB Riddick]

Yes, I think putting flyers on car windshields would annoy people and be bad for your business.

[RB Riddick]

Originally Posted by BlueSquares

Take your flyers and staple a rubber band to each of them.

Hey BlueSquares,

That's a great idea!

I wish I had known about this ^ a few years ago when I was distributing flyers door-to-door.

Riddick

[RB Riddick]

Originally Posted by Ricky Parker

And have been ... chased.

Hi Ricky,

Did they catch you? ^

I haven't been chased yet, but I have been barked at a few times.

Riddick

[stephperez]

Being a marketer...when I get flyers, they intrigue me. I like to go home and look up the website to see what someone local could be up to! It's crazy to me to think of someone local doing something like what I do...so I find it interesting and I actually do read them...but again, I am a true marketer, so I love to see what others have going on.

I totally believe that if I found something that totally grabbed my attention I would take action on it!

So on that note, I believe flyers work!

Also...I think just like online...you have to attract them...I think your offer on your flyer has to hurry up and get their attention and make them want to call, look up, go online or take whatever action you need them to take for more information!

I have been kind of thinking of doing local flyers too...if I do, I will let you know exactly what I used and how it went!

[Doublejm]

carefull.. A friend did this to promote a workshop and in CA they can give you a ticket. He got lucky and just had to take all the flyers down. They were going to charge him with littering...

[josh123]

Even if they are legal I don't see any point in it. The biggest part of marketing is knowing you target market and tailoring your message to them. You can't do this if you are trying to sell to anybody and everybody.

[yaji]

May consider doing this to my own car windows...

[midasman09]

Holy Schamoly....this reminds me of a BIG Money-Maker a buddy of mine did back in the "Dark Ages" where you would call a certain phone number and be charged for the call (to your home phone #) and the promoter of the program would get 50% to 80% of the charge as a "commission" on each call to THAT certain phone number.

So...when my buddy heard of this program his first thought was, "How do I get a whole LOT of people to call MY Phone #?"

Well...he figured out a way. He made up some fllyers with a pretty, young gal, scantilly clad...with the words;

"Hey, Big Boy! Lookin' for some excitement? Give me a Call!
Wanda...555-705-1212"

He'd pay kids to put these on car wind shields in parking lots of Health Clubs, Movie Theatres, and a few other areas where he thought there'd be a lot of "Young Males".

He made a bundle.

Midas Man

[Andrew Stevens]

Telemarketing,
pop-ups,
spam,
junk mail,
door to door salesman,
flyers on windshields,
flyers on your doorknob,
commercials on TV and Radio,
Ads taking up 50% of a magazine,
people selling stuff in front of stores,
etc.

All of these things are annoying to people..... and they all Make Money.

Advertising is annoying unless the advertisement is advertising something that interest the individual. This is the minority of the time. That's why marketers don't have 90% conversion rates.

[jrmnlitt]

I believe it could work depending on what you are offering and how you set the flyer or card up. Is there a call to action with the benefits clearly shown?

[freudianslip27]

I've heard people doing fantastic putting up flyers wherever, and heard of people doing terrible. Just like everything else, it comes down to your:

1) sales approach
2) ability to speak to the type of people who will be reading your pitch
3) ability of your back end to convert to those people

[TimCastleman]

Here is a great story.

Every week I get flyers from local businesses and food places with offers. I throw them all away. A month ago I get a flyer taped to my door for curb painting. All I have to do is give him my info, he'll paint my house number on the curb and it cost $12. I needed it done, wasn't going to do it myself. So I do and he does his thing and was done in less than 5 minutes and made his money from me (you mail in payment).

It got me and I bet a lot of others. Thing is this guy has no overhead except gas and these flyers. If he does 10 houses a day he is making $120.

Great business right there. He caught me at the right time at the right price and made money.

Tim

[dsiomtw]

Do NOT put flyers on peoples' cars. That's lame. In many places it's also illegal. If I came out of the store and saw you touching my 100k car I'd punch you in the face (assuming you're not a 6'5" 230lb ripped MMA looking dude)

[AvidAZ]

1. It's annoying. 2 It's very damaging to the environment. Most people throw them onto the street or the wind blows them away leaving trash everywhere. Have some respect for your community, people, and try effective marketing tactics.

[MasonRamm]

Have you thought of putting a bumper sticker on your car
to promote your site/free offer?

I've seen many cars these days advertising this website
address/uRL on their fron and/or bumpers...

This method is alot cheaper and safer than doing fliers.

[Brad Gile]

I wouldn't do any flyers, door hangers or any other method like this until you contact your city office. Every town/city has regulations on using flyers, door-to-door advertisments and even road signs.

I used to be an alarm salesman for a few years. And sometimes I would use some of these methods. Not the car flyers, but all the rest.

When I first started, I almost considered not calling the city. I figured, why bring attention to myself. But good thing I decided to call anyways. I found out that every town is different.

Some towns don't allow it at all. If they find any, they'll slap you with a nice huge fine. Now, some towns want you to pay for a temporary permit. Also, sometimes they require you to be bonded before getting the permit.

Each town's fees and rules are different. When it came to road signs, some towns didn't care, some wanted to charge huge permit fees and other would charge a huge penalty fee for each sign they found of yours.

Again, don't run out and do this before calling your city/town first. I'm telling you, sometimes the fees can be outrageous. Even one town I called, the police officers would pull the advertisments and give you a ticket.

Again, not all towns are like this. My city doesn't care. The only rule they have is don't distract important road signs and if you're going to flyer, make sure to secure each flyer down.

Hope I didn't put a damper on anyone's plan. I just didn't want to see anyone get in trouble.

Just my 2 cents.
Brad

P.S. Don't even get me started on what can happen if you door knock someone that has a "no solicitation" sign on their door.

[kevin jackson]

The JV approach seems to work pretty well offline. I learned some methods from an emergency cash generator ebook I purchased a few years ago. Go to some local mom and pop businesses like gas stations, dry cleaners, strip mall merchants, etc and place your flyers in stacks around town. You can monitor any targeted interest by checking back to see how many flyers or displays have moved.

You can also ask local offices, factories or any place where people work and offer your free or discounted products or services to their workers there and leave your flyers. The local bulletin boards at colleges and grocery stores and other local places are great for garage sales and lost pets so you can add your free products too along with the other freebies on those boards.

The book had lots of cool ideas like joint venturing with local merchants where people get your product free if the customer bought a certain amount of that merchants products. You kinda have to You can take a simple thing like the flyer idea and expand that beyond the old school car windshield distribution method.

These are just some thoughts to brainstorm with.

[MichaelHiles]

For a good time, make up a batch of flour-based paste and glue them to the window.

{this is sarcasm... not to be construed as real advice}

[Ty Maier]

I have done it a couple times. But it was targeted. I co-own an auction company and we put flyers out at another auction company's auction (with permission) and actually had great success from it. ONLY because they were HIGHLY targeted customers that I knew for a fact would be interested if they knew about it. But advertising anything online like this would end in utter disaster I assume.

[TimCastleman]

I forgot about this until coming across this thread.

Back when I started my hypnosis business I has next to nothing money wise. So I made up a coupon for a 15 minute free consult. I printed them on bright orange paper and had them cut 6 to a page. Then I went around town and put them on any free place I could - billboards, coffee places, supermarkets, etc.

The phone started ringing shortly after and money started coming in.

Followed that up with a well placed press release and a few days later had a few thousand dollars in my pocket.

Best of luck.

Tim

[DogScout]

Do not use flyers...
Print laminated book marks with a nice design at the top and a hole with yarn through it and tied. They will keep that, your ad goes under the nice design seen by their friends. (their friends will also see you ad.)

[JennyBizz]

I have seen several small signs around town at red lights. They state something about how to get out of debt and then have a catchy web address. I think they probably work pretty well because they've gotten my attention more than once.

[acedalright]

It Depends on the sales copy.

If you wrote a compelling letter, then it might work. Otherwise I'd be inclined to make a flyer that was more expensive, but had a more unique look to it.

I guess I'm thinking in online terms of conversion here.

[entrepreneurjay]

You would be better off making a classified ad in your local newspaper. Or even find a good telephone pole in the area and nail up a flier.

[rgrimes]

I know that this might not be the best of ideas but i heard once that someone had the idea of making a bumper sticker flyer, and then wait for everyone to go to sleep and basically put it on everyone's bumber sticker, and the publicity alone would be enough lol, even though I wouldn't recommend this at all, just think how many people you would piss off lol, the media just might get involved haha, as a more serious note, how many people actually look at their bumper every day?

I think that people get pissed off if they even get business cards in their window, so it's a touch situation, but i mean who likes watching commercials on their t.v., yet we are forced to watch something during a show, we own the t.v., but we don't own the station, of course this has no relation to the flyers, but just thought I would put it out there and advise against putting flyers on other people's cars...

also just be weary that if you do try to do this in malls and get caught security might ban you from the mall as it's seen as possible litter

[Irish Marketer]

Ok writing off you gas mileage. meet a friend for coffee, bring a survey form and fill it out with them. Then you are doing marketer research. Flyers on car windows, one you will more than likely get done for littering, because if people throw them on the street. You are responsible. Door to Door works better, but still they are better ways. Employ someone to stand and hand them out, get your local newspaper to do them as an insert. Go to the post office, they will drop for you

[DogScout]

"Always keep in mind, you don't always know what you think you know"

Words to live by... Test test test!

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by rgrimes

I know that this might not be the best of ideas but i heard once that someone had the idea of making a bumper sticker flyer, and then wait for everyone to go to sleep and basically put it on everyone's bumber sticker, and the publicity alone would be enough lol, even though I wouldn't recommend this at all, just think how many people you would piss off lol, the media just might get involved haha, as a more serious note, how many people actually look at their bumper every day?

I think that people get pissed off if they even get business cards in their window, so it's a touch situation, but i mean who likes watching commercials on their t.v., yet we are forced to watch something during a show, we own the t.v., but we don't own the station, of course this has no relation to the flyers, but just thought I would put it out there and advise against putting flyers on other people's cars...

also just be weary that if you do try to do this in malls and get caught security might ban you from the mall as it's seen as possible litter

Actually, there's a word for this marketing idea already. It's called vandalism. Comparing a TV ad to permanently affixing your message to a piece of personal property without the owner's permission may be one of the silliest things I heard in quite awhile.

A closer comparison might be if you owned the station and some vandal sneaked into your studio and programmed their ad to run continuously. Without paying for the ad. And making you pay someone else to remove it. Maybe even throw in a nice virus so your broadcast equipment is damaged when your ads are removed...

Fliers on cars are bad enough. Don't even think about bumper stickers.

[mr2monster]

Some cities have laws that can get you in quite deep, legally and financially.

I know that in Gilbert, AZ they have a litter law for this type of thing. If your promotion is found on the street or any public area due to you spamming a parking lot, they make you pay...... by the piece...

Times that by as many people that just throw them on the ground and you could be paying a pretty penny. (ask me how I know... )


Check your local laws if you're going to try this.