Advertising

[Tom Cole]

Martin,

Whether or not a Yellow Pages ad will work or not may have to do with
the quality of the particular ad. Mine has an engraved picture of a
Victorian-era woman playing on a grand piano. People respond with, e.g.,
"I like your ad, it's real classy." There's a line that says I've been
tuning in the area since 1974. Another part lists the institutions that
I work for (which draws frequent comment). There is the PTG logo and in
recent years, I added VISA/MC logos. Another important aspect is that it
was designed by a graphic artist. It costs less than 2 tunings a month,
for a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" display ad, and I easily pick up more than enough
to cover the cost. (Some of the above, though it might not work for you
at the moment, could be of interest for the future.)

I don't do any other advertising. Yellow Pages is the most important one
because, for one thing, I don't have a store front so the ad is my
"place of business". It's where people can "drive by" to get an
impression of who I am. Hearing about me from a friend, music store,
etc., is frequently how I get new customers but I'm sure that some of
them look me up in the book first before they make the call.

So I would consider the Yellow Pages ad, of whatever size, as an
integral part of the cost of doing business, not only to help keep it
thriving but to lend legitimacy, too.

If you're considering other forms of advertising, I would go about it in
a full way; a half-hearted ad or one that runs just a short time "to
test the waters" is a waste of money. 

Some miscellaneous ideas that occur: print up a nice-looking flier to
post on a lot of bulletin boards around town, especially colleges,
universities and music stores. Go to parties and don't be shy about what
you do for a living. If selling at a flea market is your cup of tea, be
sure to put up a sign advertising your services (this used to work for
me every time). Go into restaurants and bars where there are pianos and
offer the manager/owner a free inspection and quote them an attractive
price.

You'll come up with your own ideas to suit your personality, I'm sure.
Put some thought into what qualities you want to project and get help in
designing business cards, fliers, display ads and the like. I used to do
my own graphic design but when I hired a professional, I noticed a big
difference in the response that I got. It was money well worth spending.
(Come to think of it, no money changed hands. I tuned and regulated her
piano!)


Martin Dubow wrote:

> I'm pretty much just getting started. What are your opinions about the
> best way of advertising for work?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Martin Dubow

-- 
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, CA
mailto:tcole@cruzio.com