When you look closely at one of these bulletin boards, you'll see all kinds of ads ranging from other agents' business cards to cars for sale to house cleaning companies. Bulletin board marketing is kind of like a real life Craigslist. No computer required though.
You'd be amazed at how many people actually stop to read this stuff and respond to some of the ads. You'd also be amazed at how many people take advantage of bulletin board marketing in general. Just take a look at how many of the little "paper tabs" have been taken from some of the ads! That's usually a good indication of the traffic that board is getting.
Now, I know what you're thinking........ "I don't want to drive all over the place sticking up little business cards on a grocery store bulletin boards."
First off, yes, it'll take some time to set up your bulletin board marketing campaign but once it's there, it's automated traffic. You only need to go back once in a while to see if it's still there and maybe put up another one. The rest of the time, people will be reading it and going to your website or calling your cell without you lifting a finger. That's the beauty of bulletin board marketing.
Second, you don't need to complete your bulletin board marketing campaign in one day. Plan it out as you're driving each day and hit the bulletin boards that are on your route.
Be on the lookout for new bulletin boards you might not have noticed before. Don't make a special trip across town to stick up your ad; wait until you need to go over there. Save yourself some gas!
Of course, you could be a superstar and just take a full day to drive your butt off, sticking up your bulletin board marketing ads all over the place. Either way, be organized in terms of how you go about it and make it happen.
Third, DO NOT just stick up your business card on these bulletin boards! That's what every other agent is doing and business cards are not typically a very compelling ad for consumers.
So here's what I want you do: do a Google search for low-cost printers and take a look at all the marketing materials you can choose from. You could pick a nice brochure, a 1 page ad, a postcard-sized ad, etc. and have a bunch printed up to stick on these bulletin boards.
Pick a vendor where you can design the marketing piece yourself and make it stand out from everyone else on that board. Everyone's eyes will immediately go to your ad first. That's the goal. The design and wording of your ad is very important. Be sure you brush up on your copywriting and ad design skills as this will be absolutely essential to pulling a high response rate.
Go grab a box of thumb tacs, get your catchy ads printed up, hop in your car and get them up! It's a little time consuming at the beginning but it's automated traffic for you once they're up. If you're really lazy or just don't have the time but still want to use this marketing weapon, hire your teenager or a college kid to go around and hang them up for you.
You can pay them per ad that they hang up or even tell them you'll pay a referral fee for each deal you close as a result of one of the ads (that's what I'd pick). This will really incentive them to hang up as many of these bulletin board ads as possible. Plus, it'll force you to track your ads, which is vital to any successful marketing campaign.
This is one of those marketing weapons that's relatively cheap to implement; it mainly costs you time. But just like with "Forum Marketing" online, the more ads you have up on these bulletin boards, the more traffic you can get to you website, blog and/or cell.
It's simply a numbers game! (Assuming you design an attractive ad)
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About the Author:
Josh F. Sanders is a Real Estate Broker and the Founder of Shiloh Street University in Seattle, WA, an online marketing school designed specifically for Realtors and agents.
SSU's purpose is to "Create Wealthy Agents through World-Class Marketing" by providing step-by-step video marketing tutorials, lead-generation lessons, tips, articles, recommended marketing vendors and much more. Get your FREE 5-DAY SNEAK PEEK of SSU's "The Marketing Toolbox" at http://www.ShilohStreetUniversity.com
