Flyers

[moonscapes]

Few questions about flyers:
1. Where do you put them (mailbox, etc) or do you send them bulk mail?
2. What type of return do you get from them?
3. If in GA, when do you usually send them out?

thanks! Kevin

[mow2nd]

Start now........I picked up 60 new accounts last week with flyers. Post them bad boys on the mailbox, just don't put them on the door or the flag. Keep them away from the mailman and u'll be ok. Get it going now.................

[Albery's Lawn & Tractor]

60 accounts in one week, what are you offering a free month mowing up front? Good to see you got that many accounts.

[Whitey4]

60 new accounts in ONE week? Just how many did you put out? Generally, one can figure on a 1% return. Of those, how many do you close on? Even under the best circumstances, that's 6000 flyers with a 100% close rate. My area has houses rather close together... and I can do about 60 an hour. 3 hours, and I've walked 9 to 10 miles.

Are you mailing these? Because otherwise, the numbers don't make much sense. One person working 8 hours, walking about 32 miles, would get about 480 flyers out. At that rate, each one would get 2,400 out in a week, walking 160 miles. Call me skeptical.

[mow2nd]

I pass out 1,000 flyers everyday. I start around 8 and I'm done by noon. I don't walk. Depending on how close the homes are, I usually avg, 200-300 an hour. The accounts are picked up each day, and my crew completes the orders. My return is around 1%-2%, which equals 10-20 new accounts each day. The wording on the flyer also allows me to work on their lawn and get paid everyday. It's easy to be skeptical because when I started doing it this way I was unsure of the response. If you guys can think outside the box, and stop doing what everybody else is doing, then you can do the same thing. Why pass out flyers that say, He this is Joe Blow Lawn Care and here is what I do.......etc etc etc................................ How about saying, This is Joe Blow Lawn Care and we are going to be in your neighborhood Tomorrow mowing lawns for $XX and if you would like your lawn mowed, follow the directions.................Think about it fellas.

[des1477]

Is it best to advertise in the local newspaper, or hanging flyers.

[mow2nd]

Is it best to advertise in the local newspaper, or hanging flyers.

Flyers are the way to go because you can pin point where you want your business, as well as the prices you want for each neighborhood you do. Depending on the newspaper you can be all over the place. Gas prices are way too high to be all over the city when you can be in one neighborhood doing 10-20 yards. You can hire people to do flyers if you don't like doing them. I have been thru a ton of flyer people and it's a joke. I do flyers now, and hire labor to do the work. One crew is responsible for our regular accounts and I have another crew who attends to the new accounts collected each day.

[des1477]

Thanks for the info.

[Whitey4]

I pass out 1,000 flyers everyday. I start around 8 and I'm done by noon. I don't walk. Depending on how close the homes are, I usually avg, 200-300 an hour. The accounts are picked up each day, and my crew completes the orders. My return is around 1%-2%, which equals 10-20 new accounts each day. The wording on the flyer also allows me to work on their lawn and get paid everyday. It's easy to be skeptical because when I started doing it this way I was unsure of the response. If you guys can think outside the box, and stop doing what everybody else is doing, then you can do the same thing. Why pass out flyers that say, He this is Joe Blow Lawn Care and here is what I do.......etc etc etc................................ How about saying, This is Joe Blow Lawn Care and we are going to be in your neighborhood Tomorrow mowing lawns for $XX and if you would like your lawn mowed, follow the directions.................Think about it fellas.

I don't doubt the effectivenss of flyers at all. I think my door hanger is very well written, actually. Thing is, I'm a small operation... and I have to walk it. No budget for laborers to do it for me. How can you distribute without getting out of your vehicle?

[Precedence]

I saw this over at gopher haul and it seemed like a cool idea just staple a small bag of grass seed to it and then wrap the flyer around it with an elastic and you can chuck it out the window of your car.

You can get the .doc here: http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=31;t=3456;st=30

[Edge08]

Although 60 accounts in a week is pretty impressive, it sounds like you are talking about one-time cuts rather than long-term contracts.

I quit doing flyers or doorhangers years ago. Spending hours and gas putting out flyers to prospects that get 4,5 or 10 flyers a day in their mailbox is an inefficient use of time.

Direct mail is where its at. And I'm not talking about val-pak or any mass mailing to a zip code. I use a targeted mailing list to new homeowners who are ripe for landscape services and a kick-ass sales letter. My response rate is 5-15% depending on the time of year. I can send out 20-50 letters every week of the year and have a steady stream of new clients throughout the year. If you consider the time involved versus flyers, the cost of client acquisition is much cheaper using direct mail.

[Whitey4]

Although 60 accounts in a week is pretty impressive, it sounds like you are talking about one-time cuts rather than long-term contracts.

I quit doing flyers or doorhangers years ago. Spending hours and gas putting out flyers to prospects that get 4,5 or 10 flyers a day in their mailbox is an inefficient use of time.

Direct mail is where its at. And I'm not talking about val-pak or any mass mailing to a zip code. I use a targeted mailing list to new homeowners who are ripe for landscape services and a kick-ass sales letter. My response rate is 5-15% depending on the time of year. I can send out 20-50 letters every week of the year and have a steady stream of new clients throughout the year. If you consider the time involved versus flyers, the cost of client acquisition is much cheaper using direct mail.

If you can get a 5% minimum response rate on mailers, you are in the wrong business. You could be a millionaire with that kind of proven return rate. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm serious. Anything over 2% is rare, over 3% is unheard of industry wide... not just lawncare, but in the entire ad industry. I spent 10 years in marketing, so I chit you not. If you are that good, what you said would make you the Ad-Week executive of the year, sort of akin to the Newsweek man of the year award.

[moonscapes]

Edge 08- Do you use the USPS for direct mail or another company?

[Edge08]

It's all in the mailing list. You know that if you have marketing experience. If you can get a targeted enough list, that kind of conversion rate is easy. That's why you will never get more than 1% conversion on flyers. It's like sending a direct mail piece selling snow tires to a list in Arizona.

I'll let you in on my big "secret" to direct mail success with lawn maintenance. I get a mailing list of new homeowners who have just purchased their house worth over 300k. I get them a letter within 1-2 weeks of their closing, and then a second letter within a month.

Someone who has just purchased a high dollar house has either upgraded from a different part of the area or has moved in from out of town. If they are upgrading, they realize a more expensive house will require a higher level of maintenance. If they are from out of town they have no contacts and usually need service right away so they can make a good impression on the neighbors. They are also super-busy with the relocation and will jump on a convenient opportunity to get the lawn service taken care of right away.

The sales letter is the other variable in the equation. I have been testing headlines, envelopes, offers, and different copy in the letter for the last 3 years. My response rate has gone up a little bit each time I test and an improvement in the letter is made based on the results. Then I make another small change, test it again, make the improvement. And repeat.

Like I said in previous post, a targeted mailing list to prospects who are ripe to buy our services and a kick-ass sales letter will get you the excellent response rate. It's taken a lot of time to develop, a few copywriting books and seminars, but its a great marketing system. Blows flyers away.

Where do I pick up my Marketing Executive of the Year award?

[Edge08]

Moonscapes-
I do everything myself and mail through the USPS. Using a "live" first class stamp is a little known marketing tactic that will get your letter opened more often. Bulk mail postage just looks like junk mail.

I would recommend doing it yourself if possible. These days I only send out around 25-50 letters per week for my landscaping business and I get all the clients I need.

[moonscapes]

I'm sorry..but I still don't understand where you get the list of homeowners who have closed in the last 3 weeks with houses over 300k?????? Real estate people or what?

[moonscapes]

Does anyone have a direct mail company they use for fliers?

[Whitey4]

It's all in the mailing list. You know that if you have marketing experience. If you can get a targeted enough list, that kind of conversion rate is easy. That's why you will never get more than 1% conversion on flyers. It's like sending a direct mail piece selling snow tires to a list in Arizona.

I'll let you in on my big "secret" to direct mail success with lawn maintenance. I get a mailing list of new homeowners who have just purchased their house worth over 300k. I get them a letter within 1-2 weeks of their closing, and then a second letter within a month.

Someone who has just purchased a high dollar house has either upgraded from a different part of the area or has moved in from out of town. If they are upgrading, they realize a more expensive house will require a higher level of maintenance. If they are from out of town they have no contacts and usually need service right away so they can make a good impression on the neighbors. They are also super-busy with the relocation and will jump on a convenient opportunity to get the lawn service taken care of right away.

The sales letter is the other variable in the equation. I have been testing headlines, envelopes, offers, and different copy in the letter for the last 3 years. My response rate has gone up a little bit each time I test and an improvement in the letter is made based on the results. Then I make another small change, test it again, make the improvement. And repeat.

Like I said in previous post, a targeted mailing list to prospects who are ripe to buy our services and a kick-ass sales letter will get you the excellent response rate. It's taken a lot of time to develop, a few copywriting books and seminars, but its a great marketing system. Blows flyers away.

Where do I pick up my Marketing Executive of the Year award?

When you stop lying.

[Sammy]

..............Post them bad boys on the mailbox, just don't put them on the door or the flag. Keep them away from the mailman and u'll be ok. Get it going now.................

DON'T put them on the mailbox. http://thefamilybiz.org/ezboard/emoticons/cop2.gif

[Cutting 4eva 21]

Edge i also would like to know where you get your mailing list for new home buyers?? is it real estate agents or what?? And how do you go buy mailing them? doesn't get expensive?