[mrusk]

To take my business to the next level i need to be put in front of the clients that want to spend the big dollars. I have no interest in doing 20 ft walk ways.

I have been watching several of the high end magazines for years now. The same guys have been in it for as long as i can remember.

I feel this would be a great place to advertise my business. I have talked to three other contractors in other trades that have had exceptional results with their ads.

Now would you do a 1/2 page ad in 1 mag, or a 1/4 page ad in two?

Matt

[stoneridge]

What magazines would you be advertising in?

[Greensmith]

In New Jersey we have several current living high quality magazines. They are geared for the higher end clientele living in the city burbs. Expensive stuff, but the margins have to be high on the return because I have also noticed those mags have the same landscapers yearly.

[agla]

Remembe that these magazines also need articles and pictures to capture the interest of their readers. If you have some good stuff out there you might want to prod a client or two into "sharing" their home and/or lifestyle with the magazine. If the home and people are interesting, you might get some free press out of it as well. Then you could reinforce it by advertising in it at the same time.

If the house is really nice, you could approach the mag and suggest that they cover the architect. I don't think you will do so well to try to get them to cover yourself directly. I think it is a better tact to be brought along for the ride, at least on the first one. Then they might like your stuff and look to do a feature about your company if it is unique or otherwise interesting enough.

[Nathaniel Carr]

I decided that the pictures I take of my jobs the day they are finished just aren't cutting it. I ran across an architectural photographer who has been doing GREAT work for her clients and on a whim I hired her. She not only takes pictures but she does something like location scouting for home and garden magazines too. I don't want to be really aggressive with the advertizing, but if they want to do a story about one of my projects then I am all for that.

Last fall Better Homes and Gardens called me to offer a spot in a special supplement that they were putting in all of the magazines that they were sending to my local zip codes. They were going to do up a page on me and a page on a pool guy and on and on. I passed at the time, but I might be more receptive now.

I have seen those glossy mags that have a page for each contractor. It is almost like a catalog, but reallly slick. No content at all. Just highlites of projects. If I were thinking about broad advertizing, I would call a few of those guys, see how it worked for them.

[LandArts]

We've been doing magazine advertising since last Fall. They are really good about working us into articles. Only a few calls have come in but the resulting projects have been worth it so far.

[Rex Mann]

Check with your local manufacture and see if they have any co-op advertising money. Last year we spent 25K on print advertising and only paid for 1/2.

You will have to commit at least a year before you start getting a ROI. I find, many people rip the ad out and hang on to it, then call us months or even years later.

Peace,

Rex

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