Hi,

I own a cleaning business and am also an internet marketing consultant. Currently all of our business comes from the internet. I want to expand into other advertising mediums and was wondering if anyone has used flyers or door hangers before. I see that there are companies which print out door hangers and I can print my own flyers.

So my question is, what works better? Which ones gets more people to call generally?

I've heard from a couple people who were in the industry that the response rate is like 5 out of every 100 flyers put out there. Any thoughts on that would be very appreciated!

Thanks,
Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,
Having passed out, or been involved with passing out, what has seemed like 10 million flyers since 1995, I can answer your question. By the way... although it seems like 10 million flyers, in reality it is probably about 250,000 flyers.

First, it depends on the flyer. Flashy usually gets about 1 call per 5000 flyers. So don't be thinking that because the so-called 'experts' might say to put cool pictures all over the flyer... don't do it.

Nice heading... full even body nicely spaced... phone number and name of business at the bottom.

On the norm you SHOULD get 1+ call(s) per 400 flyers passed out. But that doesn't mean pass out 400 flyers and expect a call. It means that if you pass out 1500 flyers you will get about 4-6 calls. But then again that depends on the area you pass them out in and many other things that would take hours to explain. It could be 0 calls. I've had 35 calls from 750 flyers. I've had 0 calls from 2500 flyers. My sister passed out 100 of my flyers and got 5 calls. She just got lucky but she thinks it's easy cuz she got 5 calls from an hour of walking. lol

The reason we do well with flyers is because unlike others.... we just roll it up and put it on the door handle. We don't make it a 10 minute hassle to read the damn thing. No rubber bands or clever ways of tyiing it shut. No putting it in or on their mailbox illegally or putting it in a baggy and driving by and throwing it in the driveway.

I'd think you should have the same luck with a door hanger... only difference is the door hanger costs MUCH more. If you're thinking you might have better luck because the door hanger looks better... wrong. In printing flyers I've used every color paper.... every color ink and every color people passing them out (last part was a joke) anyway.... color only did 1 thing for my flyers... take more money out of my pocket. I have several reams of pink paper in my storage closet right now... it did no better than white paper with black ink.

Not to mention that with flyers if you print up 500 and decide you want to change something... you can. With door hanger you must order them (2500-5000-10,000)... wait for them to come in... by now hopefully you haven't changed your mind about how you want it to look... now all you can do is hope for the best because you are STUCK with what you got.

Good luck!

By the way... for those that know me... I got rid of my business a few years ago but am really bored so I'm back with all new energy. Starting July 30th I'm taking this thing to new profit margins like never before!

Hi,

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond in such detail. I appreciate the advise. So in the end, I have more than enough laser printers in my office to get them done myself. I will just save money (thanks by the way) and get regular flyers our there.

One question though, you say you roll them up and stick them in the door handles. What if a door handle is a knob? Where would you stick it then?

Thanks!!!

-Jonathan

P.S. What business did you previously have that you're now getting back into?

Getting back in the house cleaning business. I got out for a number of reasons. I've been working at it lately but only about 12 hours a week but it is just too boring. So, we are going to spend a week in Memphis for 4th of July then head to Destin, Florida for a few days at the end of July then I'm going to set my plan in motion. By the end of the year hopefully I'll have 40 customers... that's my goal. Then by the end of next year to have 150 customers.

Not to be mean but I hope Utah is FILLED with those types of doors. lmao Not just you but I have had that question asked many, many, many times and my answer is this... you want to be a business owner and have actual problems all day long every day yet you can't figure out how to put the flyer on a house with a knob only? Consider this your 1st problem to solve.

Speaking of door hangers... I just got home from a job and the lady was bitching because they put a door hanger on her door with a rubber band! People HATE rubber bands. They are a pain in the ass!

Hi,

lol. Well I do what I can. And thanks for the tip about the rubber bands. Have a nice trip and I wish you well in your business!

Thanks,
Jonathan

Very good thread. I didn't realize their was such a low return on flyers / doorhangers.

Low return? I'm all for better returns... what can I do today that gets me customers by next week?

It usually costs me about $100-$150 per new customer. I try to come out even on marketing and labor on the first clean and all profit there after. Before we go further... not all profit... I gotta pay the workers and all that stuff... but I'm not still paying for marketing after the first clean.

Are there certain neihborboods that you would void doing business, or should you hqnd flyers and attach doorhangers ro any door?

Heck, I'm still waiting on an answer from MagicExteriorCleaning


Well, I'm not sure what you have in mind. I mean, go to a crack-head neighborhood and the odds of getting any house cleaning jobs are probably slim to none. Give me the zip code and maybe a street name and I'l check it out for you.