Von Sow Carpenter Award

IMG_4387Yes, it’s the coveted “Von Sow Carpenter Award”. The contractor who gives the best video testimonial for us this year keeps the award for 1 year, and receives a listing on the “Page of Fame”. All you have to do is send me a video testimonial, I’ll post it on YouTube and the one with the most likes on Dec. 31, 2020, wins the award for the year!

Of course, you’ll be interviewed 

ADVERTISING: License Numbers Required!

Advertising is important to Florida contractors and can make the difference between a great business year and just making ends meet. Florida contractors have many new ways of promoting their businesses with the increased use of internet websites and the advent of social media technologies. As advertising evolves, it is important for Florida contractors to remember that their license number must be included in all offers of service, bids, business proposals, contracts or advertisements, regardless of the medium. Pursuant to Rule 61G4-12.011, F.A.C., advertisements include any electronic media including Internet sites. So please remember to include your license number on your websites, social media pages and other advertisements.

When in doubt always list your number.

Advertising Your Business Online

PR

PR is about getting magazines, newspapers, and e-zines to tell their readers about your site. This is hard. The editors demand interesting stories. To get ink, you need a twist. If you think you might make a good read, work hard on the PR. Ink is gold.

 Referrals

If you have a great site, your visitors want to tell their friends about it. Make it easy for them and provide incentives to do so. Send email to invite the friend to your site. Include the name and email of the friend who referred you. These will be some of the best leads you generate.

Print Ads

Your potential customer reads magazines. Go there. Run small ads in publications targeted at your customer. Keep the message minimal – just tell us what you sell and list your URL. Start with the cheapest classified ads in the best publications you can afford.

 Banner Ads

Create a nice banner, buy lots of impressions, then watch the orders roll in. Simple, right? Not always. Find out if banners work for you. Create high quality banners. Run the banners on several well-targeted sites and buy enough impressions to determine how well they perform.

Affiliate Programs

You should get other sites to send their visitors to your site. But how? Give them something. Provide a reciprocal link or give them a cut of the revenues generated from their referrals. Do not affiliate with mediocre sites.

Contests

Hold a drawing. You need a compelling prize, a recurring drawing, a database, and most importantly, a well-crafted email campaign as an adjunct to the contest. Manufacturers of unique and interesting items have the best chance of winning with a contest promotion.

Search Engines

All web businesses must implement an effective search engine strategy. Follow the basics – submit to search engines, insert meta tags, and use well-crafted titles, but don’t obsess. Very few businesses thrive from search engine traffic alone. It is only one of the seven promotional methods you should try.

Internet business is tough. If you already have a great site and a compelling value proposition, you stand a chance. But if you are really serious, you must attend to promotion. Don’t waste money. Test to see what works first. Then go for it – spend big money on promotion.