[A+CleaningService]

Hiya,   Has anyone used postcards has flyers?  Instead of a standard flyer.  I was told that they are not thrown in the bin so quick, people are more likely to hang on to them. Any truth to that?

[Joe H]

Thinking about it at the moment. So interested to hear the thoughts of others who may do it.

[markpowell]

i have used postcards with great success, yes you are correct that people do hold onto them sometimes, wher as the cheaper leaflets may end up in the bin on delivery. With the leafleting it is a numbers game so be prepared to give it 100%, no point in putting 500 out then sit waiting for the phone to ring.
Mark

[JandS]

Just got my postcards, double sided shiny on one.
Put 230 out Tuesday, nothing yet but then didn't expect
much in this weather.

John

[deep-cleaningukltd]

I use double sided glossy cards. Easier to put through letter box if nothing else. Return varies at different times of year but being consistant is key. Have had people phone months after the initial drop having "just found" our card in their draw.

I would go further than markpowell and say there no point in putting 5000 out and then waiting for the phone to ring. Better to put 1000+/wk out for consistant returns; but then your costs also mount. Like Mark I will say it's just a numbers game. In general, and I'm sure some will disagree, leaflets will not give the return of a well written and well placed ad. Leaflets are about hitting the right person at the right time. Ad's are about being there for the one's who want your service but have not been lucky enough to have received your leaflet.

Also, a cheap tacky flier will give the impression of being a cheap tacky business although it depends what your market is. We often receive a flimsy bit of yellow paper from a local cleaning service offering full room clean's from £15, Suites from £30. Look's cheap and nasty and I have had the joy of recleaning some carpets just a few week's after this "Service" has been round...not that I'm bitter.

Adi

[Hilton]

Yes we use A5 post cards my advice would be............... target - target - target .

What you heard was correct people do hang on to them for longer but you must still repeat the process on a regular basis.

We obtain mailing lists from a professional company that ensures all the correct checks have been carried out such as mortascreen etc.

By target I mean ask them to provide you with a list in a particular post code or codes of all consumers in the ABC bracket aged 25 -60 (or what ever age your aiming at) then you can break it down and post out your cards on a weekly/monthly basis.

Take your time over the card content and you might want to put something on it with an offer that can be used while they have the card in their possession obviously this encourages them to hang on to it.If you send them another card with another offer on it in the course of your marketing then make sure on the new card it states, that this offer supersedes the previous one.

They work reasonably well but are just part of our marketing mix.  

[Mike Halliday]

 I've tried postcard size and the problem is its hard to get your message across, a flyer or postcard should be 'salesmanship in print'. A postcard will have enough space to sell 2 ideas ( 1 on each side of the flyer) so if you want to talk about multiple things eg;
 stain removal,
upholstery cleaning,
carpet cleaning
free estimates
100% guarantee
local company...etc...etc...etc

then you don't have enough room and you just end up listing them with bullet points, which is'nt ideal.

also the cost of postcard is double that of a flyer so taking into the account the delivery cost (which will be the same) will postcards  bring in 30% more work, I don't think so

[Shaun_Ashmore]

If I were posting them myself I would want greater return for less shoe leather so a card should be better, if I were paying for them to be delivered I would go paper every time as it is on mass, the idea of paying for delivery is that you are out cleaning and picking up the work as for personal delivery it's more of a message not an advert.

Shaun

[Hilton]

I've tried postcard size and the problem is its hard to get your message across, a flyer or postcard should be 'salesmanship in print'. A postcard will have enough space to sell 2 ideas ( 1 on each side of the flyer) so if you want to talk about multiple things eg;
 stain removal,
upholstery cleaning,
carpet cleaning
free estimates
100% guarantee
local company...etc...etc...etc

then you don't have enough room and you just end up listing them with bullet points, which is'nt ideal.

also the cost of postcard is double that of a flyer so taking into the account the delivery cost (which will be the same) will postcards  bring in 30% more work, I don't think so

Not 30% more work but over 30% more value if targeted,

there is more than enough room on a A5 post card to get your message across, we make a point of not bullet pointing, don't think this works at all at least not in our experience just wastes valuable space.

Definitely not delivered yourself posting them is much more profitable in the long run and is more likely to have the desired affect.

But hey, what works for you is what counts.

[neil55]

The quality of your leaflet and the weight of card used are two critical factors.

In a previous life stage I have been involved in producing and issuing 10s of Millions of leaflets - so my views are based on experience.

We only ever use 300gsm card - this gives the leaflet/card a good "hand feel" and it immediaty stands out.

We only ever use 4 colour - again for impact and quality.

The design/content is up to the individual - its what works for you!We take great care with the copy content - the rules are mega simple ...

Tell em Who ur

Tell em what u do

Tell em why they should choose/call u!

All this in a few seconds!

Bear in mind that this is a numbers game - deliver 1000 leaflets get 3/4 orders - the ecomomics work - they must work  or do not do it!!

hope this helps!

Neil

[Mike Halliday]

Hilton A5 is not a postcard its a leaflet, so you are using a thick leaflet not a postcard (which is A6)

so you are correct that there is plenty of room on A5  but my comments were based on a postcard being half A5 which is A6 (the normal size of a post card)

[paul moss]

Mike, this far down the line  , are you still marketing with flyers?

[Mike Halliday]

got 40,000 going out this month & Feb, doing a deal with my local Furniture clinic franchise he is on  one side me the other.

but it still brings in 8-9 new customers every week and reminds my existing customers to give me a call.

[Mike Halliday]

just to clarify I've doubled my leaflets this month and Feb to combat the normally slow start to the year. I usually only do 20,000

this week I have booked 2 big jobs that will pay my leaflet expense for the month,

I love leaflets, they always make money

[paul moss]

Mike thats amazing ive known you market like this now with leaflets alone for nearly 7 years. 9 new customers a week from that is an extra 400 per year.

You must have a megga customer data base now

It must be about 18 months now since i stopped marketing leaflets in that volume.

Whats your costs on dist these days? are you still delivering a percentage yourself or is it 100% out side dist.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

What is your average job ticket Mike?

Your distibution company realy look after you compared to ones around me they charge far less than mine and also your target area is Beverly where as i get a share of Sheffield good and bad bits, some negatives but I have tested it and that's why I don't leaflet.

BTW my annual average job ticket £140-£150 although it does change quite abit through the year.

Shaun

[Mike Halliday]

just had 40k leaflets delivered today cost me £312 from printcarrier, plus £600 to have them delivered so that's £912 for 2 months so £456 a month so £118 a week between 2 of us so I pay £55 a week to get 8-9 new customers.

it was still worth it with out the deal I did with F/C

average job price? not too sure but evened out I'd say £110ish

[Neil Williams]

Thinking about it at the moment. So interested to hear the thoughts of others who may do it.

Find out shortly, if and when they arrive.
Tried A5 glossy leaflets and what a waste of time and money that was.
I'm expecting a better responce than the 1% or less that leaflets produce and 1% is considered good isn't it?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Not a lover of glossy leaflets I expect them to have 12" pizza meat feasts or chicken tikka meal deals on them.

Shaun

[kinder clean]

I use A4 tri-fold, put plenty of information in there and make it look professional, offers are important as well.

I designed a new one and had 10.000 printed, they have special offers with an expiry date of 31st January just to try and jump start the quiet period.

I took Marks advice and I try and put them out late afternoon, I will let you know how things go.

I would advise you get yourself a piece of software that lets you get a bit creative yourself, I spent a lot of time learning how to use mine properly ( cant teach an old dog new tricks ) but I enjoy it and you can keep it fresh, plus you never seem to get exactly what your trying for when someone else does it for you. ( and you save £75 design fee each time - thats for a tri fold A4 )

* Get software that will publish to PDF.

Paul

[Jim_77]

Exactly Paul!  You can get hold of a copy of adobe photoshop at, ahem, "minimal" cost   This is the professional industry standard, it does everything you need to.  Just set up all your projects in CMYK at 300dpi and bob's your uncle

Once you spend a while using it, you soon get the hang of it.

[Hilton]

Hilton A5 is not a postcard its a leaflet, so you are using a thick leaflet not a postcard (which is A6)

so you are correct that there is plenty of room on A5  but my comments were based on a postcard being half A5 which is A6 (the normal size of a post card)

If its on card its a post card, but I take the point that A6  would be too small and so would the the impact, A5 post card is much much better and the difference on cost is negligible.

You do blanket coverage which obviously works exceptionally well for you on both cost and results, in our area most of those leaflets would end up in the large bins or dumped down alleys, targeting in our situation is far more productive.

[A+CleaningService]

Which software do you use? I am using  publisher at the moment. 

[Daria Taylor]

Which software do you use? I am using  publisher at the moment. 

Best software is an Illustrator, InDesign or Photoshop and even better to have all of them to hand. I mainly use InDesign as it allows to create brochures books leaflets postcards and you can save them as pdf or a picture format. However it cost few bob unless you have other sourses to obtain the  software from and it then requires training but can learn on internet the basics and that will be enough to create a good leaflet.

As regards to thickness of the leaflets, to us it made big difference, first ever leaflets we sent out was thick like a post card only a6 one side full colour, and brought in about 3-5 per 1000 and last once which was cheap and thin hardly brought in 1 per 1000, could well depend on the area distributed to time of year etc, but all i know is we have 15000 left and i dont think they will be going out anywhere other than bin as they waste of time and money. I will never ever buy cheap water thin leaflets again.

dash t

[Robert Watson]

If you want to learn Photoshop I would recommend, Sam's Photoshop in 24 Hours.
It`s really good fun if you get into it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=photoshop+in+24+hours&sprefix=photoshop+in+24

Rab

[Mike Halliday]

Rab which one?  there's about 5 what the difference betreen photoshop 7, CS & CS4

[kinder clean]

I purchased Serif Page Plus 9 ( there may be a newer version now, but 9 has PDF publishing ) think it was under £20.00, very impressed with it.  ( Just google it )

Tried attaching an example I made but it wont upload.

Paul

[specialised]

I've tried postcard size and the problem is its hard to get your message across, a flyer or postcard should be 'salesmanship in print'. A postcard will have enough space to sell 2 ideas ( 1 on each side of the flyer) so if you want to talk about multiple things eg;
 stain removal,
upholstery cleaning,
carpet cleaning
free estimates
100% guarantee
local company...etc...etc...etc

then you don't have enough room and you just end up listing them with bullet points, which is'nt ideal.

also the cost of postcard is double that of a flyer so taking into the account the delivery cost (which will be the same) will postcards  bring in 30% more work, I don't think so

I DO CRAP FLYERS AND CAN GET GOOD DEALS OR POST CARDS AND FLYERS I HAVE DESIGN ON EBAY AND ITS HIGH IMPACT TO CATCH YOUR ATTENTION THEN YOU CAN PUT ALL YOUR INFO TO SELL YOUR COMPANY ON THE BACK OF IT HERE IS THE LINK LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE DESIGN


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170429931835&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
 

[fresh]

dont like it

[deep-cleaningukltd]

Specialised.

Are you a c/c then or just promoting your business via this forum?

[specialised]

Specialised.

Are you a c/c then or just promoting your business via this forum?

I own a cleaning company that does a few things including carpet cleaning window cleaning and high pressure cleaning i just secured a national contract for a well known supermarket and will be sub contracting work out in certain areas down south so i will be posting the details when the contract rolls out down south at the moment im doing all the scotland stores then i will be rolling out downsouth in 2 months its weekly work and good money ill be in touch about it

[specialised]

dont like it

everyone is entitled to there own opinion everyone has different tastes and designs can be changed but i have been in carpet cleaning for years and i think its straight to the point high impact and its only basic just now but when people buy it i then personalise and populate it

[Joe H]

If your full stop and comma keys on your computer keyboard do not work I would suggest spending a tenner on a new keyboard.

[specialised]

If your full stop and comma keys on your computer keyboard do not work I would suggest spending a tenner on a new keyboard.

so what its a chat board not an essay what are you a teacher or a carpet cleaner

[Shaun_Ashmore]

specialized you should know us cleaners have short attention span when cleaning, if you want it read keep it looking short as we skip over bits as there's so much to read on here and other forums.

Just a quick tip for you.

Shaun

[Robert Watson]

"Rab which one?  there's about 5 what the difference betreen photoshop 7, CS & CS4"

Just different versions Mike. 7 being the earliest which is fine for the stuff we want to do.
Rab

[Joe H]

If your full stop and comma keys on your computer keyboard do not work I would suggest spending a tenner on a new keyboard.

so what its a chat board not an essay what are you a teacher or a carpet cleaner

If I have to make my own sentences up either I wont bother reading posts (so its a waste of time writing them) or I get the wrong end of the message you trying to get over. Simple really.

[specialised]

If your full stop and comma keys on your computer keyboard do not work I would suggest spending a tenner on a new keyboard.

so what its a chat board not an essay what are you a teacher or a carpet cleaner

If I have to make my own sentences up either I wont bother reading posts (so its a waste of time writing them) or I get the wrong end of the message you trying to get over. Simple really.

not everyone looks that far into a couple of lines of text

[specialised]

just noticed the moderators have edited my listing and put i do crap flyers and made my ebay link to be a penny on ebay how very professional cleanitup so fuch for this being a friendly forum are you just getting the hump because other forums are popping up better than yours

[specialised]

If your full stop and comma keys on your computer keyboard do not work I would suggest spending a tenner on a new keyboard.

so what its a chat board not an essay what are you a teacher or a carpet cleaner

If I have to make my own sentences up either I wont bother reading posts (so its a waste of time writing them) or I get the wrong end of the message you trying to get over. Simple really.

Also joe before you start bringing peoples grammar mistakes up have a think to yourself what if there is something actually wrong with this person im dyslexic hence my bad grammar and spelling!!!

[Joe H]

I noticed early on it read "crap", just thought it was your normal advertising jargon

as for the link to the penny - dont know who done it - but very clever.

As I said, dont know who done it, or why,  but maybe because you just using the forum to sell a product.
Its ok to recommend something, but frowned upon to sell something as in business selling, as opposed to "I am selling my wand".

As to the point what if someone was dyslexic, then I would humbly apologise. So if you are dyslexic I apologise, I have friends who are dyslexic and know how difficult it can be.