Offline advertising for your online business?

Hi there, here is a thread I just found, that can help you get the answer you are looking for: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...er-flyers.html

I use a clever billboard ad for my ptc business.

I know many people in this forum don't like Fiverr, but if you go on Fiverr you can automate this method and pay someone 5 bucks to hand out like 50 flyers in a busy town.

I've done direct mail for my online business and have seen a fair amount of success with it. But I'll tell you right now, if you don't have a fleshed out backend with many high priced items to sell customers later on, I wouldn't touch it.

The reason being is you need to bring your lifetime customer value as high as possible, because the cost to acquire a customer in the offline world is much, MUCH more expensive than online. That's why you need a fleshed out backend to even play in that field.

But if you're at that stage in your business, direct mail can be amazing. The volume you can do is limitless. Buyers from the offline world are better quality (usually the lifetime customer value is much higher from an offline customer vs online). Plus, it's just another marketing avenue to so you're not so dependent on your other channels.

I've used quite a few channels:

Radio - To fill seminars, and advertise public events - Worked, but you better have all your ducks in row, and account for the fact people are in their cars unlikely to remember anything more than a memorable URL or jingle. Have a lead capture mechanism such as SMS and pay extra for DJ sponsoring. (Credibility) Also, have enough bankroll to run a 2nd campaign or even a 3rd to tweak - May take some tweaks to get it right.

Billboards - This one flat out nosedived for me... I believe it had to do with the colors chosen by the billboard company - I provided the layout, but let their experts choose the colors... Problem was, I did not go see the physical location in person at the height of the day -- The sun cast a nasty glare over 2 of my billboards for about 6 - 7 hours of the day and made it difficult to see. (The light colors they chose made the problem far worse) My mistake, lesson learned - Always see the location in person - Don't trust the company to handle this - It's your money not theirs.

Direct mail - Oh geez yes this can work BIG time... I have had repeated success with lumpy campaigns - Get creative with low volume mailers if you have a high ticket product or service... Enjoyed a 97% open rate for one of my mailings, and ROI of nearly 30 to 1. (Very high ticket item)

Magazine/Newspaper - Print is tricky... I have mixed feelings about print when it comes to newspapers, but at the same time I've enjoyed some excellent results in niche specific magazines. Make sure you know the demographics like the back side of your hand - And assume NOTHING... Ge this right and you just may have a steady source of new business each month.

Hope some of this has helped.