Panic or not to Panic, that is the question....

[CanadayLandscaping]

I placed an ad earlier in the week, in a very popular "free" community paper. Although, Craigslist seems to be a bust for me so far, I will continue to utilize it. The ad I placed hit the paper today, and will run for the next 5 weeks. Since this morning, my website has gotten 18 hits, and 2 request for lawn estimates. Maybe my luck is finally starting to turn? Will keep all you guys posted as to what is happening. Wayne

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Good job Wayne on experimenting and tracking the ad. Can you tell us how you worded it? Might you experiment further with the wording in the future? Was there some kind of offer?

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[CanadayLandscaping]

The ad really was nothing fancy. My wife and discussed the cost of it, weighing whether it was worth it or not. It's an ad in the business service directory which is fancier then say a classified ad. It has my logo, info, a few services that I offer, and contact info. I have listed in it "discounts available". I have writen down a list of discounts I offer and carry it with me as a cheat card, that way I won't forget any when someone calls. I am praying for good results from this.

[Steve]

Are there many other competitors in that section of the paper? How do you feel your ad design did to stand out compared to others?

[CanadayLandscaping]

Believe it or not, I was the only "lawn care" guy in that section. There were 2 other guys in the classified section, but they didn't stand out like my ad did. I did an estimate on Saturday. I was expecting to give the estimate and my card and sit by the phone. However, while I was explaining the estimate to the "potential" client, I asked if he had any questions. He nodded and said when can you start? Not only did I walk away with a signed contract, but 2 up sells! I know one contract doesn't mean much to the guys that have 15 or 30, but I am stoked and ready for more!

[Steve]

Yes that is excellent. Next you can market to the neighbors of this new customer and branch out further!

Great job!

Keep us posted on how things go.

[Southern Oasis]

I did one of those "fancier" image adds that I learned about in someone else post on here, I included all the major keywords. I kinda just listed everything I can do.

Can you elaborate on this for all of us who didn't see the other post you spoke of? I would love to learn of anything to help my ad stand out on craigslist.org.