Jump to content

fireandrain

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    453

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by fireandrain

  1. Posted · Edited by fireandrain · Report reply

    Daniel,

    I target my 10,000 addresses, the same 10,000 address every round of advertising. The addresses are what I would refer to as 'premium', that is, million dollar + homes in my area. As I mentioned, I believe that the heart of any direct mailing strategy is FREQUENCY. I realize that my targeted client receives a mountain of mail each day. Important people receive important mail, and LOTS of it! Your postcard is your 'billboard' in a way...You need to get your branding committed to your target markets' memory.

    Same $6K advertising "wad", continually re-generating into my market. Again, I can't stress enough how important it is to have your postcard PROFESSIONALLY designed. I think that too many guys just sit down in front of their computer with photoshop and slap something together that 'seems to look professional'... I always encourage people to gather their local competition's advertising, i.e. their yellow pages ads, postcards, coupon mailers, etc... Then, and only then, begin designing YOUR mailer. If it looks a bit like theirs, RE-DESIGN IT! Unique layout, simple message, articulate catch-phrase... an your outta there...

  2. Posted · Report reply

    p.s. My season runs from mid March-October. I like to get 2 ad campaigns out p/month. So, in a typical season, my advertising schedule goes something like this:

    Late February (weather permitting): 1 Campaign

    March: 1 campaign

    April: 2 campaigns

    May: 2 campaigns

    June: 2 campaigns

    July: 2 campaigns

    Aug: 2 campaigns

    Sept: 2 campaigns

    Oct: 1 campaign

    Frequency is the key to any guerrilla advertising campaign. I keep $6K in an advertising account, replenish IMMEDIATELY when jobs roll in. Gotta stay on top of it. Thats the key for me.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Dan,

    Your right on. DEAD ON. Period. I've marketed my business like this for the last 10 years. Price shoppers need not apply. I'm lucky that I have a boounty of million plus dollar homes in my market here in SF Bay Area. My marketing is 100% guerrilla. I spent years locating the highest end neighborhoods in my service are, created a database with appx. 12,000 addresses, and direct market via distinctive, high quality 6x9 postcards with eye-catching well layed out color photographs. I spent many a nights visiting various high end spa and fashionable hair salon websites in attempt to create a piece of advertising that my target market would WANT to read! Key to the postcard design is simplicity. Clean, sophisticated fonts, minimal text (my prospective clients, the ones Im after, don't have time to read through endless promo mumbo jumbo...looks cheap and bound to land in the trash can before they even realize that what im 'selling'... Clean, well articulated, I repeat, WELL-ARTICULATED and concise. Thats the kind of guy my high-end prospectives want to do business with. They don't have time for BS and have no problem parting with the cash it takes to do business with me.

    Distinguish yourself. Period. Forget about the "10% OFF" approach, your just ensuring that you'll be doing business with price shoppers. Find the neighborhoods where your "ideal" clients live, create a database with these adresses, and ONLY advertise to these folks DIRECTLY via distinctive LARGE (6x9) full color postcards that include photographs. Thats my approach. I say, if your local market only has 500 homes that qualify as 'higher end households', then hit these homes with your mailers every week of the season!!! Forget about the other areas.

    This approach has worked for me very well...

    Dan, you are definitely on the right course for 09'. Great posts.

    Matt

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Your all gonna' really hate me... Just completed a split-level redwood deck yesterday out here in N.California... We've been blessed with no precip. high 60's mid 70's for the last week and a half!!! Unbelievable. First time in 5 years that I've done a complete restoration in January. Great client, great decks (views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge). I'll be posting some pics later this week.

    The deck had NEVER been sealed..15 yrs. old. mixed heartwood construction. Carpeted with moss, but the wood cleaned up beautifully.

    Sealed with AC Redwood Tone. My first experience with AC. Long overdue, as Jake set me up with a couple pales during the summer. Because the deck was suspended and on a sloped hillside with million dollar homes flanking AND windy weather, AC was applied 100% by hand, no spraying. I was very pleased with AC. 1-Coat on verticals, 2-coats on floor. The floor was as thirsty as a lion, and it really drank it up.

    Because application was by hand, didnt get a chance to evaluate over spray clean up issues, a big reason why I love my RS. My helper follows me with a bottle of Simple Green and takes care of over spray as it happens.

    Big positive with AC over RS? Single coat application potential. Cancels out extra cost of AC. Also, can pick up AC two blocks from my house at the B.Moore paint store. Customer service? Jake and Peirce are both superb, so that doesn't really figure into the equation for me. Looking forward to working with some of the other AC colors, the cedar tone looks real nice as well.

    I have an IPE to clean and seal next week, may work with AC again for that. Reading all of the posts lately, I just feel SO incredibly lucky to be in production in January... Planning on launching first round of '09 advertising in late February if weather cooperates.

    p.s. Got a nice tan yesterday as well! :D

  18. Posted · Report reply

    The Bush administration inflicted terrible damage on the health of this great country. However, the spine of this country is too strong not to be able to stand back up again! I think we are closer to becoming the UNITED states again. This election has inspired the world. Certainly on par with the defeat of the Nazis in WW II.

×