Hi I'm attempting to start advertising again to get some new clients as I would like to expand a bit more again this year. I'm starting off by trying the free/cheap options first.
I have been building up over the last year a collection of email addresses for small businesses and mostly sole traders so I can do some kind of mail shot or just a plain email to each of them. The lady who designed my website is making up the email for me in some fancy format(I'm not entirely sure what I have asked her to do but she is) or I may just send a plain email....do you think the first seems more professional? or do you think it would just be seen as junk mail? and would an ordinary email seem too unprofessional? I have a professional email address and it has a fancy footer etc.
I have templates of letters and emails I have sent before but they are so boring and brown!! I'm trying to think of what has changed for sole traders and small businesses and what I can do for them......i.e. auto enrolment pensions....hiring a self-employed bookkeeper and not having to pay holiday pay and a pension. I expect it to take me some time to get the content together...it always does but I need some fresh ideas. Is there anything (that I'm not thinking of) that I could use to catch their attention in the first few lines? rather than the same old I'd like to introduce you to my services etc.
I have plenty to put in the main bit of the letter and ideas of how to finish it off but just not how to start it, if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them
I love these kinds of posts, always get me thinking of my own marketing ideas that always seem to be shelved due to looming deadlines !
I know emailing is the way to go, but like yourself I am unsure as to whether this will achieve the best results, will the email end up in the recipients spam, how do you make yours stand out from the crowd, is it worth getting a professional on board to give you the edge, the list of doubts are endless.
All I would suggest is that whatever method you choose, keep it short and to the point, try to think of a good opening sentence, list your services, benefits of using a bookkeeper. If you currently have customers, ask them would they be happy to provide you with a reference that you could use on a flyer or include on your website as satisfied customers.
Do you specialise in a particular area such as Retail VAT or particular trades such as electricians, plumbers etc.,
Some of the things I have done in the past is checking out the local paper for trade adverts, looked on jobcentreplus site paying particular attention to part time adverts. Often companies only want a few hours a week / month and have not considered self employed bookkeepers. Also, Michrome.com - you can get lists of limited companies within a given area.
Just a few ideas to get you thinking about..... must get around to sorting some mailing myself now !!!
