Small business advertising can be a confusing maze of options and decisions. You receive a never-ending stream of phone calls from sales people. They want to sell you space or time for radio, television, billboards, newspaper, web sites, movie theatre screens, shopping carts and even bathroom walls. As a small business, you have an especially limited budget, so what do you choose?

I can’t give specific recommendations. I would have to know more about your business to do that. What I can do, is provide some basic advice that applies to all businesses.

Trust your instincts along with some simple customer research. You know your business, products and customers better than anyone else. Combine your own knowledge with customer feedback to decide what and where to advertise. You'll also have a better idea of what isn’t right for your business, regardless of what a salesperson says.

Learning the basics of writing for ads, called copywriting, is also important. All ads are written communication targeting your intended audience. You can do your own writing, pay a professional or use free copywriting services offered by a radio or TV station. Whichever you choose, you should know enough about writing content to ensure the effectiveness of your small business advertising.

Five Quick Tips:

• Determine what to promote. What do your current customers like about your business? If you’re just starting a business, what would draw potential customers? Don’t assume you know. Mail out a basic survey or pass one out to customers visiting your business.
• Use this same survey to determine where to advertise. Ask customers where they heard about your business. What radio stations do they listen to? What web sites do they visit regularly? Where do they find information when making purchasing decisions?
• Keep content focused and simple. If you try to include everything about your business, you’ll lose your audience’s attention. Focus on what matters most to your customers, based on what you learned in your surveys. Build your ad around one major thought.
• Make sure ads are conversational. Ad copy is one place where grammar doesn’t always matter. You can use sentence fragments. Read your ad copy out loud. Does it sound like you’re talking to a good friend? It should.
• Track results when possible. Make sure the money you spend is providing a return on investment. You’ll find an ROI Campaign Calculator in my Other Resources section of this site. Some advertising, such as billboards or television commercials, isn’t easy to track. Still, you can continue surveying customers to see what they have noticed.

Go Beyond the Basics

I’m not saying you must hire an agency. For some small businesses, the money just isn’t there. But you should learn some Advertising 101 to help you make informed decisions. Follow the links above or below for additional small business advertising advice and samples.