Advertising Your Beading Business By : Lisa Crook Before you decide how you want to advertise your work, you will need a logo. You also need to make up some text best describing your work. Photographs of your product are also recommended (make sure these are professional photographs ‐ you want to show your work off to it's best advantage). It is very important to remember that your ads always display your name (logo), address, phone number and website (if you have one). There are many medias for advertising your business: the most common ones are radio, television, the Yellow Pages, brochures, direct mail, magazines, newspapers and specialty advertising. Radio is good because commercials are very difficult to avoid listening to; however, there are so many radio stations and commercials can be prohibitively expensive. Television is generally the most effective medium, but it is the most expensive: usually out of reach for a small business. Another con is that you cannot show your work on a radio and also the time is very limited. Whereas the Yellow Pages is your most basic type of advertising, the ads are mostly ignored. You would think that because the Yellow Pages reaches a huge portion of the population that it is worthwhile; however, it very rarely brings any clients. Brochures are an effective way to advertise as they can be relatively inexpensive to produce and fairly easy to make. They can function as a portfolio for your work; they have the most space for detailed text. It is worthwhile showing off your work in full color, even though this is more expensive. Direct mail can cost a lot and be time consuming, but it can target the correct market for your work. You can also have photographs showing your work and plenty place for text. One of the major cons is that clients today are flooded with junk mail and therefore sometimes don't even look at your ad. It is very important to make your envelope stand out from others and also to address it personally to the client (preferably in handwriting). Magazines can be effective because their target marketing is most precise; however, there are usually so many well‐designed, color ads that the client skips over them all. Rates for magazine advertising are also rather high. Newspapers remain among the most used media for localized advertising; however, they are expensive, short‐lived and their quality is usually poor ‐ doing a disadvantage to your work. Specialty advertising includes promotional items such as pens, magnets, etc. (anything with your logo on it). Clients love receiving free things, but many are overwhelmed with the same type of things (how many mugs can one person own!). This can be an expensive way of advertising as there is usually a
minimum amount for purchase. If you can think of an original way of promoting your work, then go for it! The best advertising is free: word‐of‐mouth advertising. It is passed on by clients who know you and your work, have worn it and recommend it. It is the kind of advertising that your good reputation gets. As the saying goes ‐ the client is always right. Work on your person skills and it will always pay off.