R. Goodale wrote: > > Thanks for all of your perspectives. It has all been quit interesting on > hearing different perspectives. I had another idea that came to mind > which perhaps someone could share regarding successes/failures: > > What about placing an ad in the program of the local symphony > orchestra? We have a rather impressive symphony here that regularly > hosts many well known pianists. Has anyone placed this type of > advertisment? Any kind of worth while response??? > Rob, I have and usually it was partly in consideration for work done on the piano you were about to hear. It is important that the particular venue have a good piano. Otherwise, your labors may not be so well considered. No one has ever said that they saw my ad in a concert program but probably I managed to build some name recognition. As a basic rule of thumb, every time you put your name out there, it has got to be having an effect, on some level, and the more consistantly you do that, in any particular medium, the more effect it will have. Some people have taken the trouble to guage what kind of response they have gotten out of which kind of advertising. I can't say that I've done the same, but a certain percentage will report where they got my name and I think that, after a number of years, I have a pretty good feel for what works and what gives the most bang for the buck. I once eschewed the Yellow Pages, thinking that it was expensive, it mostly brought price shoppers and, besides, the best kind of advertising is word-of-mouth so why waste my money? That was back when I had all the school/college/university business, with the attendant referrals, and I didn't really need more work. Later on, I dropped most of the educational tunings and became more dependant on advertising because doing private tunings requires a certain amount of clientele replenishment which word-of-mouth alone doesn't afford. So I began with a small column ad in the Yellow Pages, which has grown into an eighth-page display ad in two phone books. I became aware, over time, that having a Yellow Pages ad puts me on the map. Not having a store front to visit nor having the resources to pay for expensive air time or ads in many different places, the phone book is the ideal place for prospective customers to get a second impression of my business after getting referred by a friend, business or school. A word of advice: pay the bucks to hire a graphic artist if you plan on doing a display ad. Well worth it, IMHO. FWIW Tom -- Thomas A. Cole RPT Santa Cruz, CA
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