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

Randy have you submitted your free listing on my needroofnow.com site??

I also have an inexpensive website option

click the banner at the top

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.

http://www.advancedroofingnewyork.com ,supplemented by a presence on twitter,and a Business page on Facebook where I am in the process of buiding an informative gallery. Everything you do on the web should list your web addresses,and all answers to technical questions Can work as SEO for your sit as usually technical terms work as keywords ,Usually keywords/phrases can be looked at as what a customer will type into a search engine(google) when trying to find an answer to their problems,These things working together with your web addresses connected to them will create backlinks to your site, and help lead the customer to your door .

Now call Frank,I do it everyday,Frank has keen insights on what works,what doesn`t,and the absolute necessity of having a site that helps educate your customer,and helps them-

My Facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Advanced-Roofing-Contracting-Corp/301513316169?ref=ts

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!

You might try door hangers. I haven't done it myself but have heard a lot of people say they have worked for them. I would visit with past customers and ask them for referals. Maybe give them an incentive of some sort. I would get a web page set up as soon as possible.

---A webpage is a must. I am referral only. Many tell me they read my webpage and then called me. The web is today's world. And my webpage is very outdated and I need to do some work on it and still people compliment it. Vaa in New Zealand has the best webpage I have ever seen. People like education and information. ---If you do any advertising be sure to track your leads. It is important to know what is causing people to call you and what is not. I once did a money mailer and did not receive even one call. That was important to know so I did not continue to waste money doing it again. ---I joined Handyman Online for a year and did not get one job. Another waste of money. ---Talk to real estate agents who have to complete works orders on houses that sell. I do a lot of those. Find some agents who do not have a regular roofer. You must be prompt with agents as they want someone who makes less work for themselves not more. Give agents high priority in responding, bidding & scheduling. If you make it happen they will send you more work and tell other agents. ---I used to canvass door to door. I chose older neighborhoods where roofs were likely to be needing replacement. These neighborhoods were also higher end houses where people likely had money. I used to average 1 job for every 1 1/2 hour of canvassing. I tried to go on weekends when the homeowner was home. I went in the Spring and simply asked if they were thinking of a new roof this season. I was there ready to give them a written estimate on the spot. More often then not they said to go ahead because they WERE thinking about it and wanted to know what it would cost. Roofs are very visable from the street. One can easily guess when a roof is on its last legs. Some of those jobs led to as many as 1/2 dozen of the neighbors. Good luck. Lanny

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.