Does press advertising really work for small business - final conclusion

This is our last press advert in the chosen 'test' publication. We haven't had a sausage - not so much as a tug on the line let alone a nibble! Not a single enquiry.

What did we do wrong?

The answer is in the detail of course. Market conditions, the nature of the work we do at Whype, the proliferation of suppliers in our area etc. etc. I think that probably the publication may be wrong for us too.

We dipped a toe in the water of press advertising and it was cold! Oh well, onwards and upwards. So far it seems that the best methods of marketing ourselves is getting out to networking events and meeting people face to face.

We'll keep trying new things to see what floats and of course let you know how it goes. The next thing we are considering is a local business exhibition. Fingers crossed.

If you've got any ideas for marketing a small web and marketing design company do let us know, we'd love to hear about some positive experiences.

IDEA DNA - the secret to creative thinking

Designers don't simply produce designs, they create ideas.

And what are ideas? They are new combinations of old elements which you may not have considered before. The process of coming up with these new combinations is accessible to anyone who wishes to pursue it. It's not a walk in the park but I firmly believe that anyone can do it and should be encouraged to do so.

Does press advertising really work for small business - follow up

The second advert that we created has yet to be published - should appear in the next few days.

The first advert which asks 'do you need your website to attract more business?' and offers a FREE report to help you understand how to win more business through your website, has generated one response! A small company asked for a free report which we are happy to do but come on! You would think that there would be a bit more of nibble on the old fishing line than one.

The response actually came from a second publication we put the advert in. I visited a networking event in Bristol called Only Connect. Whype took out a full page advert in the delegate handbook which only cost £55. The company who contacted us were at the same event and asked for the report mentioned in the ad.

So far the answer to the question 'Does press advertising really work for small business?' is probably not. Obviously this depends on what you business is and where your customers are. As a business we have yet to find anything better than networking and developing solid relationships.

a Din design experiment

minimalist design communication using the Din font

How to make sure you are found on Google

Getting a good rank on Google is like gold dust these days - so many people fighting to get to the top. What do you do to get found? We have just posted a potted 'how to' on our web site. Follow the link:

http://www.whype.co.uk/articles/google-seo-olympics

We know that it's a complicated science but this link tells you about some simple things you can do to get started on the path to being found on the world's biggest search engine.

Does press advertising work part 2

Further to my previous entry about trying out press advertising to see if it really works for small businesses we have had to send out the next ad to the same publication. Click on the link below to go to the previous article.

Does-press-advertising-really-work-for small business?

We booked a series of adverts through the year. The next issue will be out in March and the copy deadline for the advert is Friday 5th Feb. We decided to take a different approach - change the message and the whole flavour of the ad to see if it had any impact on the response.

Does press advertising really work for small business?

It's true that with the proliferation of online advertising choices, that traditional advertising has become much more cost effective, and therefore easier to access for the small business.

BUT does it work?

The jury is still out so far as I'm concerned. I know that there are many factors involved in whether an advert works or not. Target market, publication, message, product or service, social influences, economic pressures, style of presentation - the list of excuses goes on and on. The 'need to know' is, does press advertising work for small businesses?