QUESTION ON ADVERTISING?????

[louslawns]

I recently got a call from a company that does all the high end subdivisions like 250k and over and she saw my ad in the penny saver and offered me to advertise in all the community newsletters in these high end subdivisions its 95.00 a month and i get a 1 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 ad in this newsletter it is a 1 yr contract and i would be the only Lawn service and landscaping company in this newsletter it covers 3 large areas by my home and i was wondering does this sound good? should i invest in this venture??? and have any of you guys done this before and what is the return on this type of advertising???
I am kinda excited because these are all gated communitys and i just wanted to find out if it would be a smart business choice. THX

[Phil Nilsson]

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Sounds good but try to negotiate a price of $50.00 a month (or even lower) during a "trial period" ... see if it works.

[CCLS]

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I agree with Phil. I think that the ad would be a good investment, especially if you are the only one advertising in it. Try to see if you can get a bigger ad for your bucks. A 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 ad is fairly small. Just a thought, good luck with it. I wish I could get in with something like that around here.

[Kidsweet]

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Well I just tried something like what you are talking about. It is with the maps off my county that realtors, chamber of commerce, and different people gives away for free. I am running my ad in it for a year for only 124.00 and I will be the only landscaper on these maps.
Figured if I get 1 account from this map it will pay for itself. I think trying some different advertising methods is the way to go. Because one good ad will pay for itself 10 fold.[8D]

[louslawns]

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well i will try to negotiate lower price but this ad goes to higher end residential and medium sized to large commercial accounts like babies r us and compusa some apartments but my question is im just starting and what if i get more then i can handle as far as large accounts i guess it wouldnt be a bad thing but i just dont want to jump in the deep end without knowing how to swim also I thought about sub contratcting would this be a good idea if for say this happened[8)][)][xx(]

[cole1980]

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Lou,
Try to handle as MUCH as possible. Get help if needed. Subcontracting is an option but can be bad. Ensure, the folks you subcontract are good from attitude to quality of work. You don't want to make yourself look bad on account of people who don' work for you. Be careful. I would jump on the opportunity to be in that ad. I am going to join my chamber of commerce and free advertising is included in a monthly newsletter. But I must pay a fee for being a member.

[CCLS]

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I agree with Cole, be cautious when deciding to subcontract work out. It's a different ball game.

[louslawns]

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Thanks for all your help guys

[bgtymrz23]

sounds great to me, especially because your the only lawn mowing service in there