Services ad in local paper worth it?

[jonny37]

Hey guys, im considering an ad in the local paper. They run 2 different papers during the week. An ad in their services section is $1,040 per year. Currently there are about 10 other company ads that run there. The other tree service ad has been there for years. Would it be worth investing in this ad? What has been your experience?

 

[ATH]

I think it depends on your community. What is their circulation? Who reads the paper? Is that your target client base? The paper should be able to tell you who reads it.

10 others in there...sounds like a lot. What does $1040 get you? Just a couple lines that blend in with the rest or something bigger? nobody will notice an 11th one added in.

I've never used the paper and the last phonebook will be the last yellow page ad I'll do. Not saying there is nothing there, just anticipate a lower ROI.

Do you have a website?

 

[KingBeee]

I would suggest you invest much of your time and money on social media ads and build your online reputation.

People nowadays just Google everything. If you can strongly build your company online (create a Google Business account, register to reputable landscaping website) people can notice and see what you do, what you can offer.
Also, in our experience, Instagram, Facebook and having an ad online is a great investment!

 

[David Gruber]

Newspapers are dying fast...but the remaining readers tend to be older, so they are less likely to be able to diy anything.. just remember thats a somewhat limited market

 

[rarefish383]

I was the fourth, of four generations in the tree business, so my circumstances are different if you are just starting up. We were getting rid of Yellow Pages and never did local papers. Our reputation was made in the Yellow Page days. Not long ago I Googled our family business and about fell over. There were 3 pages of stuff on line about us. News paper stories with pics of us taking trees off houses with cranes , 25-30 years ago came up. I'd get a website up and running. If you ever do some big work with cranes, call the local Gazette, or town paper, and try to get some free publicity out of it. If they publish it, it will show up on a search. I caught a record Rockfish on the Chesapeake Bay about 15 years ago, if you google my name, the pic that was in the local sporting goods store paper comes up with my picture. Once it's on line a search will bring it up.

 

[KingBeee]

I was the fourth, of four generations in the tree business, so my circumstances are different if you are just starting up. We were getting rid of Yellow Pages and never did local papers. Our reputation was made in the Yellow Page days. Not long ago I Googled our family business and about fell over. There were 3 pages of stuff on line about us. News paper stories with pics of us taking trees off houses with cranes , 25-30 years ago came up. I'd get a website up and running. If you ever do some big work with cranes, call the local Gazette, or town paper, and try to get some free publicity out of it. If they publish it, it will show up on a search. I caught a record Rockfish on the Chesapeake Bay about 15 years ago, if you google my name, the pic that was in the local sporting goods store paper comes up with my picture. Once it's on line a search will bring it up.

That's a great tip! Thank you.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I am surprised that more people have not responded to this issue. My take. Forget the newspaper advertising as it does not work. Ask your self how many people have phones that they carry around with them. How many people have newspapers that they carry around with them in their pocket. Here is what I am finding as I have recently been changing to a different approach. I am trying to direct customers to my web site as opposed to answering all the questions on the phone. When snow is flying I will get twenty five calls a day asking what the price of wood is today. Prices change from week to week in the winter. I get an easy $200 to $300 extra for delivering wood during cold weather. I can not afford to waste that income. At a moment I can plug in my updated price list and the customers can decide if they really need wood or not. At my web site it is more easy to line up customers as they log in and take them as they come. Most people just want to know that wood is coming. A big plus is many of the regular questions answered as to what size I have and that short stove wood is pricey. At this moment I am very pleased with the investment of about $500 for the year in media presence. Then if I really want to pop I can add more Google power at any time. Thanks

 

[farmer steve]

I used the local paper for ads when I had my farm market. I forget the weekly cost. It ended when I ran an ad with a coupon for something free. Tomatoes or corn I forget now. Never got 1 coupon. Fast forward to Facebook. I could post what was coming into season or what type of sweet corn I was picking on any given day. Customers would post pics of the produce they bought and comment on quality,flavor or whatever and all their friends saw it. . Everyone Facebook's now and I see ads for tree companies all the time. 1 other thing is get quality business cards. Hand them out and put some up on any bulletin board you see. Good luck in your venture.

 

[KingBeee]

I used the local paper for ads when I had my farm market. I forget the weekly cost. It ended when I ran an ad with a coupon for something free. Tomatoes or corn I forget now. Never got 1 coupon. Fast forward to Facebook. I could post what was coming into season or what type of sweet corn I was picking on any given day. Customers would post pics of the produce they bought and comment on quality,flavor or whatever and all their friends saw it. . Everyone Facebook's now and I see ads for tree companies all the time. 1 other thing is get quality business cards. Hand them out and put some up on any bulletin board you see. Good luck in your venture.

I appreciate your taking your time to comment on my question.
It helps a lot. I realized that publishing in the newspaper provides a different form of credibility. For me, it would really tell that the company is reputable and not taking advertisements for granted.
It may be old school but nothing can beat the classic way of disseminating marketing.

 

[farmer steve]

@KingBeee. If you go the news paper route check to see how much more to have your ad in a different color than the other guys that may have an ad in there in black and white.

 

[67L36Driver]

There are about four lawn/tree service providers advertised in the daily paper 7 days/week all year.

Joetown is population 70,000.

 

[ATH]

I appreciate your taking your time to comment on my question.
It helps a lot. I realized that publishing in the newspaper provides a different form of credibility. For me, it would really tell that the company is reputable and not taking advertisements for granted.
It may be old school but nothing can beat the classic way of disseminating marketing.

I don't know...I think that the people advertising in the newspaper as not taking advertising seriously...they just go with the lazy thing they have always known. I think your comments about marketing via social media tells me they are up to date and taking it more seriously. Updating social media a few times a week with relevant information and an obvious plan takes a lot of thought and dedication (not talking about snapping a few pictures of a tree or their equipment....).

 

[OM617YOTA]

35 year old homeowner here. I have never bought a newspaper in my life.

Make sure your company shows up on the first page of Google and answer every single time someone calls or reaches out to you. You get one shot to get that right.

Forget the paper.

 

[John Hackwood]

Am 5 years too late to the party since the original OP. Nevertheless, I agree with the general thrust of the thread which indicate that there are several more effective digital options nowadays that are working better in the tree service marketing mix. On the general topic of non-digital marketing, there are still many viable options. Here's my top 5: https://marketingdirector.com/blog-2

 

[Ted Jenkins]

A few months ago I researched an option to advertise in several newspaper type venues. I discovered that the average cost was between 20 and $50 a week. There are about 15 communities with in 60 miles of me. So with a very specific target I could reasonably address about 5 communities for a cost of $800 a month which seems like a very reasonable approach. In doing so I would have some visibility to about 5,000,000 people. However not all those people look at newspapers so maybe I would reach 1,500,000. For most part those people want a phone number to call which I can not respond to so it boils down to my money was wasted. Could I hire some one just to answer the phone and take orders yes, but what will they do in the summer. From past experience whom ever I hire will need to call me often confirming availability and schedule so what is the point of me hiring them. With a media presence I can reduce the need for me to talk to many customers over the phone which is win win. This past week we had some sleet and rain with a continuation in the forecast. So I needed a way to raise all prices at least $100 or $200 a load in minutes so it was done. As a result of my planning I was able to add to my net profit for this week alone $500. Then consider how many people carry a newspaper in their pocket then consider how many people carry a phone in their pocket. My conclusion has been to avoid newspapers completely gain more sales with out having to talk to customers with better scheduling. Thanks

 

[TreeDoctorsoftheWorld]

Take advantage of social media now. A lot of people would go to Google to look for tree companies. We tried newspapers, magazines before and it was a waste of money. Lead generation is faster if you establish a good online prescence.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I have been getting web info recently. Last season I logged about 600 calls that I turned away. This season I have turned away 500 at this point in time and the year is not over. When I last checked I received 4400 media hits from the web. I have not spent one penny on any newspaper presence. I do have a yellow page listing which I plan to discontinue mostly because it is so un reliable. So convince me that newspaper works. Thanks

 

[OM617YOTA]

Still never bought a newspaper, don't even know where I could buy one. Don't even see newspaper boxes on posts with the mailboxes anymore. A newspaper ad doesn't convey the legitimacy of a company; it doesn't convey anything because nobody is going to see it.

Paper is dead. Don't waste your money.

 

[rarefish383]

People that shop most things like FB, CL, and local papers are cheap skates that call every add they can find and take the lowest one out there. Some guy in an 85 F150 with an old Wild Thing. We had to start charging for estimates for new customers to keep the bottom feeders from wasting our time. If we got the job, we took the estimate charge off the bill. Repeat customers were free estimates. Sorry, I don't have any good advice for new guys just starting out. We were 4 generations in the business and had a good clientele base. I guess I'd get a cheap website with all of my license and insurance info, make sure all words are spelled correctly with proper punctuation. Over the years several people have posted their adds for review by us, and they looked like a 4th grader compiled them. The last thing I want around my house is some one that can't write a coherent estimate. Good luck with your endeavors.

Dang, I didn't realize this was an old thread. You can go back and read what I had to say way back then, on post #5.

 

[MattBanchero]

I've been running an ad in a local free paper for about 11 years I guess. I've been in business for 14 years. The paper has a circulation of 300,000. The ad is about $200 a month.

It brings in probably 10-20 calls a month. So you could look at it as $10-20 per generated lead. (That's a steal) But it also serves as a reminder to the people who have worked with me in the past, that I'm still around. Most of my jobs these days are repeat customers or referrals.

Social media is targeted to advertise to people who are actively looking for a tree guy. It's never going to remind an old client that they should call you back.

Even if I had more work than I could ever handle or social media was giving me viable leads at a nickle each, I think I'd still keep the ad.