Seeking Cost Effective Way to Advertise Fence Staining Company

put fliers in mail boxes (apparently this is illegal, but we do it in our little neighborhood). I'd imagine you'd better not... lol
Ask builders/sales people, if they will put your info into new home packets.
local newspapers (you know the little ones that each little borough has).
GOOD LUCK

I coordinate Networking Showcases in the DFW area for local small businesses and mom owned home businesses. Our events usually have between 30-100 people and are a great free way to advertise your business.
In Feb. we have Mon. Feb. 4th in Lewisville, Thurs. Feb. 7th in Plano, and Sat. Feb. 23 in Keller.
Email me your email address if you would like to be included in the evite list for any of these events.
Good luck with your business :)

You can get great marketing tips by finding an online counselor at SCORE.org. Their time and advice is free for as long as you need. I'm a counselor there myself!

I also teach a class online called: Small Business Marketing on a Shoestring. You can search for it at ed2go(.)com.

http://www.ed2go.com/CourseDetails.aspx?query=small+busin...

Depending on what city you live in, some communities (and even some independent neighborhoods) have a weekly newspaper that will advertise for you locally. I like to look in our city's paper for businesses of that sort because I know it is a local company.

Also, my husbands business has had matches made before with their logo and info on them, and left them at restraunts/bars for people to pick up. You could set up a table at a local event, and hand out many other "prize" like items, maybe even to children. I find out about businesses sometimes when my kids are handed something or they bring something home with a logo on it.

Here is a link to the business that does this sort of promotional advertising. They are excellent!
www.smrpromostx.com

The very best way to build business is word of mouth. Make it your #1 goal to provide the VERY best customer service possible. It is amazing how many companies don't bother to return calls or emails in a timely manner, or don't take the time to thank a customer for even considering them. Impress people with great service and they'll tell their friends! As for marketing, definitely set up a website. I do ALL of my research for companies like yours online. If someone doesn't have a website, I don't bother with a phone call. I expect there are many people like me. Submitting to most search engines is free, so your only cost is hosting. We use www.citymaker.com for our website and have been happy with them. And don't stuff people's mailboxes - it is illegal and rude. If you decide to go door to door with flyers, please respect "No Soliciting" signs. Don't even leave a flyer or card if they have a no soliciting or no handbill sign. It drives me crazy when they do! Again, it is just plain disrespectful. Best of luck!

Actually, DON'T put flyers in mailboxes.....it's a federal offense to use a mailbox for anything other than postage paid mail. According to our postmaster, don't even tape things to the outside of mailboxes.

Networking groups can be a good start....also join your local chamber of commerce.

Advertising can be a super huge expense, and honestly, I think it just takes trial and error to see what works best for your type of business. Any type of glossy "magazine" style ads are very expensive, as can be newspaper ads. Having a website can be very inexpensive over the long haul and your best marketing bang for the buck. Just make sure that if you create it yourself that you submit it to search engines so that it can be found easily when people are searching for you.

Good luck, and just keep in mind that most businesses really don't get off their feet until well into their 2 or 3rd year in business. So, don't get discouraged, just keep working at it!