GET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS FLYING WITH A FLYER

Imran Rashid Khan--

One of the most cost effective and amazing way to market your small business is with a flyer. Flyers are simply full page ads that are distributed directly to your potential customers. A flyer can positively persuade a customer to buy your product, or to use one of your services. With the right approach your small business can yield a great return on investment (ROI) from this tried and trusted marketing tool.

Flyers are most direct form of marketing, because they get straight to the point. Flyers give immediate access to what you are selling. Flyers grab attention with their colors and visuals. Anyone from doctors to web designers are using flyers to market their services, even high end businesses use flyers to promote special events. Flyers are being more and more used as a brand awareness tool. Whenever your flyer reaches somebody your business is introduced to them. They may not make a purchase then, but you will increase your brand awareness, and likelihood that you'll be considered in the future.

The question now remains, should you hire a professional or should you do it yourself? The answer depends on how artistically inclined you are. It may certainly be cheaper, but if you are not experienced in visual presentation you may forget to add important components to your flyer. On the other hand hiring a designer may be comparatively costly, but it will be more efficient. As you will not need to worry about the design choices or color schemes. Whatever the decision may be, make sure that your flyer has a creative design; it is printed on good quality paper and the design abides by theses 9 guidelines so that whatever you are offering will look impressive and be noticed.

1. COLOR

Colors instantly grab attention and communicate your message emotionally, as it affects behaviors. Use the right color to further ingrain your brand message. Below are some examples of what color represents:

RED - Energy, Excitement
GREEN - Freshness, Money, Health
BLUE - Trust, Confidence
YELLOW - Warmth, Cheerfulness
ORANGE - Fun, Optimism
PURPLE - Creativity, Luxury

Whatever colors you choose, make sure they complement each other. Visit ColourLovers  and Visually for more information on colors.

2. FONTS

Selection of a suitable font is very important for a flyer design. Ensure that you select a font which is easily readable from a distance, for example sans-serif fonts.  Font size is very important, so make it large enough for the reader to read it from at least 2 feet away. Use one font for headlines and the other one for details.

3. YOUR LOGO

Logo is part of branding your small business, so make sure it is placed strategically on your flyer. It can either be placed on the top or at the bottom corner, near your business name and address.

4. YOUR CONTENT

Make sure whatever the reason you have the flyer, be sure to spell it out and explain to the reader what is important. Get to the point straight away, but still give them enough information to get them attracted.

5. YOUR VISUALS

Include images and illustrations that convey your message with the text. Be careful as less is more; don't clutter your flyer with too many images, as it will distract the attention from your message. Choose a large image to match your content's message.

6. WHERE TO FIND YOU

If you have a shop then add the address, contact number so that you’re potential customers know where you are located and are able to find you easily. Be sure to add directions or a small map that shows your location at the bottom of the flyer near your address information.

In addition to that add your email address and your website address. Create a welcome landing page of the flyer on your website, to further explain your offerings.

7. CALL TO ACTION

Create a call to action space on your flyer to entice the customers. Make it clear and bold so that the reader will respond to the offer sooner rather than later.

USE FLYERS TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Imran Rashid Khan

Whether you're a restaurant owner, retailer, dentist or any other small business owner, promotional flyers are the most cost effective and popular way to market your small business. Flyers are a great way to get attention of your target audience. When done right, flyers can be the easiest way get your name out there and get new customers and boost sales. Flyers are used to acquire new customers, increase sales, highlight a special event or promote a new service or product. Flyers can even be used to launch a new venture.

To make your flyers standout they must be well designed and professionally printed.

Follow these 7 tips when creating your flyer to make the most of marketing your small business:

1. LESS IS MORE.

Try to keep things simple, and don't try to fit every product or service on the flyer. Try to focus on just a couple of your main services or products.

2. USE CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS.

Add testimonials to add credibility to your small business. Highlight comments of past satisfied customers. Be sure to include their full name and photo if possible.

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Keep your design simple and don't use too many colors and fonts. It will not only confuse people, but also make them lose focus on your offering. Include a photo of your product or the service you are offering. Your call to action area should be bigger and bold then the rest of the text on the flyer.

4. USE FULL COLOR.

Full color flyers stand out with compared to black & white ones. Full color ones look more professional and catch the eye easily. If full color is not in your budget, don’t use the standard white paper, use  a color paper to get your flyer stand out and bring out the message you are trying to convey.

5. AVOID PHOTO COPIES.

As flyers are your first impression on your potential customer, get your flyers printed instead of photo copying them. Photo copying your flyer will give a cheap impression and won't look professional. Get an impact for your first impression. 

6. GIVE AN INCENTIVE.

You will get a much better response by give a discount on your product or service, as people love a good discount. Even offering an extra free service on redeeming the coupon can impress them.

7. MAKE IT EASY TO FIND YOU.

Make it as easy as possible to find or contact you. Include your full address (with the nearest landmark if necessary), your telephone and cell number, email, and web address.

FINAL WORD.

Your flyer should be clear, with a call of action. It should have a coupon or a discount offer to attract customers. You should remember that your flyer will be competing with others, so make sure to engage a professional in designing and printing your small business flyer.

Start distributing them in target areas, once your flyer is ready and printed. Post your flyers on Public Bulletin Boards. Hand them out outside of targeted buildings, in Parades and other public events. You can even distribute flyers door-to-door.

Have a Successful Marketing!

5 Esstential Tips for Freelancers

1. Market Yourself – Network, Network.

You need to tell people who you are, what you bring, and how you could be service to them. You have to constantly market yourself for success and build a referral network.

Internet is a valuable tool for freelancers, especially if you have website. It serves as a point of contact between you and your potential clients.

You have to present yourself as to who you are and what you do and the skills and values you bring. Market your business as it is the key to a steady flow of new and repeat clients. Market on how your freelance business is better then similar business.

It’s not enough to what you know but, who you know. Use social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedln and other online communities like freelancer.com to meet, greet, and expand your network, and get your business in front of prospective clients.

Through these networks get feedbacks to fine tune your product or service. Not only that, you can get your first break through these networks and referrals. These sites can also be used to develop and maintain relationships with clients. 

2. Get to know your competitors.

Study and research your competitors in trade journals, social sites, freelance forums, and visit their website.  Pay attention to what your competitors do. Learn from them, they may be doing something right which you can be implemented in your business. Understand that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches for your business success.

You need to know who all your competitors are, not just the obvious ones, but the ones who are meeting the needs of your customers with products/ services which you do not offer.

Resist the urge to compete on price. Trying to undercut every competitor is a losing race. Instead, focus on providing greater value.

3. Follow-up.

For a successful business it is very important to follow-up to maximise opportunities. Stay in touch with them long after the sale, puts you ahead of the competition. Customers will feel appreciated with a follow-up. People do business with people they KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. A committed follow-up strategy will increase your referrals with your customers and clients. By doing a follow-up you can remind them about your product or services you are offering. Follow-up can also be an acknowledgement for using your product or services.

4. Get Organised.

To be successful in any business it is very essential to be organised especially for a freelancer as he/she is responsible for everything. You need to have a good plan and organisational skills. Take your time and plan out all necessary steps to achieve success.

Make sure your work environment is conducive to maximise productivity. Keep it neat and tidy and minimise distractions. Schedule your work hours and set a routine. Being organised will help you complete tasks within time. Have a check list or to-do-list as you complete a task heck it off your list. Schedule your time; keep a calendar of meetings and deadlines. Set up a system for your workday; effectively prioritise email correspondence by using an auto filter.

5. Stay Focused.

You are not going to start making money the moment you start your business, it takes time so stay focused in achieving your short term goals. Constantly keep doing the things necessary to be successful, because success will not come in one night. Set goals so as to measure how well is your business doing, devise a plan to reach and achieve these goals. Always be on the look out for ways in improving your business and make it stand out from the competition. Keep a positive attitude, as a good attitude is a great asset for a freelancer. Believe in yourself.

Conclusion:

Starting and running a successful business can be rewarding and challenging. There are few things more satisfying than launching and owning your own freelance business. Starting a business is not complicated, but running it successfully requires focus, discipline, perseverance, and motivation. However, success will not come over night - it requires a long-term focus and that you remain consistent in challenging environments. Be prepared to adapt, innovate, and invigorate, so that your freelance business will break-out to the next level of profitability. Remember in business the only constant is change, so adapt and prosper.

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Finding Your Niche

A “Niche” is defined as a "situation or activity specially suited to a person’s interest, abilities, or nature". (American Heritage Dictionary 4^th edition)

Knowing that we want to start a business is not enough; the important thing is knowing what kind of business to start.

Your online business should be something you are ‘passionate’ about, it should be something which interests you or suits you nature. Working for something you are passionate about will yield great results. If you are passionate about something your commitment towards it will be very high. Your passion should dictate your ‘niche’.

Having a specific knowledge/skill or your work experience can also be your niche. I recommend grabbing a pen and a paper and start jotting down atleast twenty things which you are passionate about or have knowledge about.

While brainstorming for new ideas for your future online business, keep in mind that a successful business is the one which is providing a product or service that others will actually buy or pay for. Satisfy the need of your target market, and your target market will keep your business profitable.

Beware that an idea may seem promising, and destined to make you rich, but the real test will only come when you actually launch your online business. So what ever the idea/niche may be, it should be researched well before investing your time and money into it.

• Some of the questions which need to be asked:
• How big is the niche?
• How competitive is the niche?
• How profitable is the niche?

Google your idea/niche (in quotes) and look for these things:

• How many results?
• What kind of sites are in top 10?
• Who is your competitor?

If the results are few, then your niche may be too vague. If it is too many, then you need to zoom in on a tighter niche.

Action Steps

Gain the knowledge of your niche and what the market wants. There are so many online business ideas to choose from, so be sure to pick one that you’ll enjoy running and that will keep you motivated.

As always feel free to ask question or leave your comments below. 

Until next time take care!

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