forty five great places to leave your advertising material that will actually get read

If this is all working for you and working well, then continue doing this, these are great resources, but for people like me, it costs a lot and although my ad may get shown and clicked through, most people online want something for nothing.

But we are about to explode all the myths and tell you that still the best and most effective way of marketing your business is offline. And the great thing for you is that less and less people are marketing their businesses this way, meaning your competition is a lot less offline so you are more likely to get results.

Modern technology is great and many huge fortunes have been made, but in the days of anti spam and over use in advertisements, people just aren't responding the way we always hope.

Many emails are filtered out or deleted before even being read, people tune out to ads on pages and if the page doesn't have what they are looking for they will just click off and go somewhere else.

So what's the answer? Well actually it's so simple, we all have business cards or promotional leaflets printed and the easiest way is to get your cards or leaflets out into the big wide world by hand.

There are hundreds of places you can advertise your business, quite often for FREE or at minimal cost. Strangely enough people do read ads if they are in the right places. All the places we are going to mention are brilliant places to leave your ads, why? Because the places we are going to suggest are mainly areas where people wait and are bored and will read your ad just for something to do and that my friend is 90% of the way there. If your ad isn't being read it doesn't matter how good your advert is it won't bring in customers.

Ok lets start, the first places we are going to suggest you drop your advertisement into is waiting rooms. What better place to capture people's interest than when they are bored silly waiting?

Most business owners would welcome something to entertain their customers while they wait. You could always do a deal with the business owner where any customers that come from them you will pay them a small percentage or that you pay him a small amount for leaving your cards there.

A way to keep on track of where your customers come from is to offer a special offer and put a code for them to quote to get the discount/offer with a different code for each establishment. This way you know where the customers are coming from.

So go armed with your leaflets/business cards/brochures (hereon referred to as promotional material) and drop them in the following places.

You may also want to take with you a promotional offer to give to each owner as a thank you for advertising for you. Ie a 10% discount voucher or similar, this is a great little trick, you give them the discount voucher first then ask them if you can leave behind your material. Most people if they receive something free first will be happy to oblige and may even give your company an extra push.

1. Coffee bars - there are hundreds of people who frequent coffee bars on a daily basis, speak to the owner and see if you can leave some promotional material in the area their customers are waiting. Always better to have them placed where the queue is rather than where people are paying, as once they are in the ordering/paying area, they will be occupied with ordering and paying that they won't give any attention to your promotional material, but while they are waiting they will be looking for something to read. It's a win win situation as the café owner has happier customers and you get your ad read.
2. Restaurants - as well as in the waiting area, you can also ask if you can leave a your ad on every table, people are sitting looking at each other and often pick up menus or something just for something to read. Get your promotional material in front of them, they may just be interested.
3. Hairdressers - so your appointment was for 9:00am and it's now 9:15 yes ok they have magazines which you've read from cover to cover, get your promotional material placed here and you have a captive audience.
4. Doctors - again doctors waiting rooms, while people are waiting to see the doctor they need something to calm there nerves while they wait. Your promotional material may be just what they need to take their minds off things.
5. Dentists - this is the same as the doctors, people will read anything to take their minds off the fact they have to get their teeth done any minute.
6. Beauty salons - as for hairdressers, the waiting areas are often full with people waiting for the appointments.
7. Alternative therapists - most alternative therapy consultants have some form of waiting room.
8. Chiropodists - this can really cover any medical consultant that may have a waiting room.
9. Already with our list above we have the potential to reach hundreds of people daily for just a little work.
10. Cars, but not on the windscreen, something that really bugs me is flyers on my windscreen, not because they are there, but because I rarely see them until I have got in my car, so on the windscreen wipers go, to get rid of it, as most of the time I've started driving, it could be the most amazing ad, but I'm driving so its not going to get read. But if you want your leaflets to be read put them on the driver's side door window. People may still just bin them, but you have a much higher chance of getting it read if it is seen first.
11. Bus stops, walk out to your local bus stop 2 or 3 times a day and hand out a few promotional material, they are waiting and would be grateful for something to read, also they have the whole journey to read your promotional material, so you will probably get it read.
12. Also a good idea is to have your advert made up into a book mark, hand these out at the bus stations/stops and you not only get your ad read but they will keep it to mark their page on their books. Meaning it doesn't get thrown away but cherished and read over and over again.
13. Train stations - platforms are full of people waiting for trains, all with a bit of time to kill. Get out amongst them and get your business on its way.
14. Airports - Do you live near an airport, how many people are waiting to board just one plane 200 or so. If there are 30 gates at your airport, that's 6000 people every hour or so. Ok so these guys are going somewhere but maybe half of them will come back. And if your business is international then it doesn't matter.
15. Markets - find out when your local markets are on, and just walk through handing out promotional material. This is also a good idea to do a little more than just hand out leaflets. Take a clipboard and ask if they are interested in your business. I.e. we did this for a local estate agent and with just one walk through the market by asking people if they were looking to buy or sell a house while handing out the promotional material we secured 5 houses to sell and 8 potential buyers. This took us about half an hour but resulted in a lot of business for the agents involved.
16. Shopping centres/malls. - Normally there are lots of sitting areas these days in shopping centres, these are great places to leave your ads, and husbands/boyfriends are waiting for their other halves to finish shopping would just love something to read. You can also hand out leaflets to people but if they have a lot of shopping they probably don't want another thing to carry.
17. Toilets. Ok well we have covered waiting areas, now almost every one of the above places will have some kind of rest room. The backs of the doors are still one of the best places to leave your promotional material, as people are sitting there nothing to do but wait, short snappy ad will get read.
18. Washbasins - leave your promotional material around the basins and hand dryers for people to pick up as they finish.
19. Gym - cafe area, shower rooms, waiting areas all good places to leave your ads.
20. Hotel lobbies - most hotels get a fair bit of passing through traffic, going to their bars/restaurants etc so leaving your promotional material in the lobby could result in a lot of new customers.
21. Parks - Mum's dad's childminders, grannies, granddads are all there with their little ones, and while the little ones are running around you have bored people who are sitting around while their kids play drop off some leaflets there you are sure to get them read.
22. Children's play arenas - pretty much the same as the parks, but often they will have a café or restaurant attached as well. So drop some promotional material in these places.
23. Swimming pools - again they have a reception area where you can place your promotional material as people come in or out they can pick it up.
24. Shops - If you have a really nice shop owner and can get your ad show in their shop window oh what a coup, especially if this is a high street or shopping centre type shop where there is a lot of passing traffic. But even if not you can always get them to place your promotional material in the queuing area.
25. Your car - how far does your car travel how many people walk by it every day, if you don't want to pay for professional signage painted on your car, just place an advert in one of your back passenger windows, also ask family and friends to do the same. This is a very low cost way of getting your promotional material to a lot of people with minimal effort. Ask friends and family to do the same.
26. Car sun screens. - These are really big in the continent and you can get them printed up very cheaply. Get them printed with your advert and give them to your family and friends, they will thank you for not having to get into a hot car and they will be advertising for you.
27. Your house window - if your house is visible from the street and especially if you live on a busy street, put your promotional material in the window. Or put in on your front door.
28. For sale type of board - you can get these made up at most local printers, put one in your garden, on your gate anywhere passers by may see it.
29. An A-board outside your shop - this one probably seems really obvious but a lot of people don't do it, not everyone looks at shop signs or windows as they are walking by but an a-board in front of them they can't avoid to at least read part of it. We did this for one car show room and within 10 minutes he had a customer, who nearly tripped over the board and although they have cars in the window this customer had never noticed before, but came in and bought a new car.

30. Car boot sales - as for markets but here you can also hand them out to the stall holders, they are often bored stiff and would welcome something to read while waiting for a sale, you could always ask one or two to give out some leaflets for you. Again lead with a free offer or at least a discount offer.

31. Campsites - do you have a campsite near you? Well they usually have reception areas, shops, swimming pools, restaurants, cafes, parks and more. So get yourself along there talk to the manager/owner and see what deal you can both strike up.

32. Motels- as for hotels

33. Email - ok email marketing is not as productive as it once was and you may be thinking well I don't have a whole list of people to email, I bet you have some people that you email jokes and things to on a regular basis. So now is the time to tell your friends and family what you do and ask them nicely to forward this information to their friends and family. Give something away free or have a discount and you might just start a viral marketing campaign by email. or just add a tag line so when you respond to emails it has your info there.
34. Trees and lampposts - first you have to find out the legalities of this in your neighbourhood, but a sign on a lamppost goes a long way. We have one restaurant near us that has 5 signs in the local area directing people to their restaurant, we have all been, we would have never have known about it because it's out of the way, but the signs got us curious so off we went to try it. So put up a sign with an arrow stating your business and where you are.
35. Company websites/bulletin boards - Ask your family/friends to post an advert on their company website, most medium to large sized companies have some sort of bulletin board for their workers. These are usually free and can generate a fair amount of new customers.
36. Estate agents - they have a list of people moving to your area, here is a great potential to pick up new clients. They also have waiting areas as well in fact are renowned for it, so get your promotional material in there.
37. Beaches - full of bored people just hand out your promotional material as you walk along the beach. Great way to get some fresh air, exercise and new customers all in one go.
38. Bowling alleys - as people wait to play and maybe even in the playing area, there is always some poor soul who is waiting their turn.
39. Churches - a lot of churches hold fairs throughout the year, see if you can book a stall there, great place to show your business at very low cost.
40. Parties - well this really goes for any social gathering, just take some of your promotional material with you and hand out. Great ice breaker as well.
41. Colleges - Drop off your promotional material to the College Student Center! They usually have bulletin boards, tables and other things where you can leave your information at for FREE!
42. Theme parks - go in the busiest times and just hand out your promotional material to the queues waiting to go in. Or you can pay to go inside and hand out the material to the people waiting to go on the rides. Thousands of bored people.
43. Fun fairs carnivals- great place where the crowds are and also you have people waiting to go on the rides, just hand out your promotional material.
44. banks - isn't there always a queue at the bank, crikeys I've even read the paying in slip front and back for something to do while I'm waiting. Try and get your ad somewhere in the waiting area, or just go when they are really busy and hand out your promotional material.
45. Place mats - get some place mats printed up with your advert, have them laminated if you get them printed nicely in a pretty design people may actually buy them. Or if you don't mind the expense give them away free. A constant reminder at their dining table.
46. Balloons - Get your business info printed up on balloons! This is very economical to do! You then distribute them to local community centers, sporting events and other types of places where parents book their children's birthday parties! Or hand them out from your front door to the parents walking along the street. Kids love balloons and will badger their parents to get one.
47. Tourist information offices - where better to find new customers, they often have promotional material in their offices gets yours in there now.Always remember when handing out your promotional material to ask a simple question, a