How to Advertise Your Cleaning Business

Finding clients is often the most difficult part of a starting your own cleaning business. Preparing a comprehensive advertising plan can help you maximize advertising opportunities and draw new clients to your business. Effective, professional advertising can give you the edge on your competitors and help draw in new clients. Advertising doesn't have to be expensive and you will be able to handle most of it yourself.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Budget
• Logo
• Business cards
• Website
• Magnetic sign

1. Prepare a budget for your advertising campaign. Decide exactly how much money you will be able to spend on advertising for the next year.

2. Design a logo for your company if you don't already have one. Logos provide a visual link to help customers remember your company. Your logo doesn't have to be fancy. A graphic of a mop with your company's name underneath can serve as a logo. If you don't own a graphics software program, you can find free graphics and clip art from such websites as Free-Graphics and Hassle Free Clip Art.

3. Buy business cards and distribute them to everyone you meet. Include the name of your business, your name, your logo, your website address and a telephone number.

4. Join local clubs in your area. Meetings of the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club or Kiwanis Club provide a good opportunity to meet business owners who might be in need of cleaning services.

5. Sponsor a sports team or local event. While sponsorship may seem costly, it provides you with an opportunity for potential clients to see your ad over the course of entire sports season. If your community is holding a fair or other event, consider being a sponsor and ask if free exhibit space is provided to sponsors.

6. Start your own website. In today's competitive business climate, a website is a must for any cleaning business owner. If your budget is tight, you may want to investigate services that offer free websites, such as Weebly.com and Webs.com. These sites also provide free templates to make designing your site quick and easy.

7. Place ads in publications that don't charge much, but have good visibility in your community. Small, weekly newspapers and shoppers' guides often provide reasonable ad prices. For maximum visibility, run your ad on an ongoing basis. Many small publications offer ad bundles that provide a certain number of ads for one price. Don't forget to place an ad in the Yellow Pages for your area and surrounding towns or counties.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider buying a magnetic sign for your vehicle. Make sure your sign includes your telephone number and website. The advantage of a magnetic sign is that the sign can be easily removed with damaging your car and can be moved to another vehicle if needed.