I make cornhole boards during my down time while in school to earn a little side money. I started last spring and business boomed throughout the summer months and all the way up until Christmas. Until recently, it has slowed down tremendously to only selling a set or two a week - which I can understand because of the cold weather. But this spring and summer, I want to take it to another level and make it my primary 'job' and would like to go ahead, gather some ideas of how I can advertise and get things in place. I can't say I have return customers because no one really needs more than one set of boards, but I have had customers that said so & so recommended me. Besides Craigslist and Facebook, how would yall recommend getting my name out there a little better? Thank you,
EDDM thru the Post Office. Every door direct mail. You can blanket whole neighborhoods for .17 cents a piece.
i know you said beside facebook but if you create a page you can pay to promote it. it is what i have done with my hunting page
The guy who built my boards put his name and number on the bottom of the boards. It's made it really easy to refer friends who want a set themselves. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Social media is huge and free, take advantage of it. Set up an account for your company and keep it active. Offer a small discount if people follow your page Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's a really good idea, but I don't care to reach an audience too far away. I can only imagine what it would cost to ship 40lbs of wood
True. At least make a page for it and share it on your page and your local buy sell trades. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So it sounds as if you are targeting a local crowd... More than likely between the ages of 18-50. Direct mail to entire neighborhoods is a good one. Talk to local bars about putting up some sort of flyer? Is there a college near by you could advertise at - There was nothing better on a nice day than playing on a nice set of boards while drinking beer with my college buddies. Social media - Even if it is just local, you need to have a Facebook account. Word of mouth is huge.
Shipping can be to your benefit, charge them 3 bucks more than it costs to ship. You now owe all of us 3% for our ideas Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah, I'm really considering the direct mail route. I haven't thought about asking bars if i could put a flier on the door or a few business cards at the bar itself, but that's a really good idea too. However, I am a student at the biggest university in the state, 36,000 students and there are a ton of places that anyone can put fliers, I was planning on doing that in the spring. Is this something that I need to obtain a small business license for? I'm doing it out of my garage
Not sure where you can buy beer in your state, but I would talk to some of the local liquor stores and see if they would let you put a board in their store or a flier. Beer and corn hole seem to go hand-in-hand.
There are countless ways to market your business. Personally I don't care for the local paper. I just don't get the response from advertising in it. Seeing as how you seem to be pretty small and just getting going, start with low cost/biggest impact. I do like the direct mailing idea. But you would have to narrow your audience and target a LARGE amount of people to get payback on it. You have to figure not everyone that gets your postcard is going to want your service. In fact I think if you were getting 3% call back on it you would be doing good. Getting that going to have a significant return could be costly. Hash the numbers out compared to what you profit per item to see if it pays for itself and more. Uprinting or Vista print have some cool marketing stuff. Good old fashion door hangers work pretty well (at least for me). You can get 1000 of them for around $100. Yard signs are another cheap but effective way to get your name in peoples faces. I can't believe the amount of business I received from one in particular yard sign at someones house at the foot of the lake here. You'll have to look at soliciting laws if you do the door hangers. Also do not stick flyers in mailboxes, that is illegal and a federal crime (at least in NY). Utilize your existing customers. Come up with some sort of discount referral system. Definitely take advantage of social media wherever you can. Above all else the most effective is superior customer service and quality product. Word of mouth goes a LONG way!!!
Thank you NY Bowhunter. I also thought about putting a signs on the corners of busy intersections. At which point do I need to obtain a small business license? I'm a Criminology major and trying to pursue a career in federal law enforcement so I'm pretty particular to keeping a clean record. I know that once/if I get a license, I'll have to pay taxes in which I have no problem with, I'm just curious to as if I would be better off (make more money) if I kept it small and sold to friends and on Craigslist.
I would also like to recommend you research shipping methods on items that weigh 20+lbs. You would be amazed at how well thing sell online (ebay, etc) once you get a good rating/good customer service. A buddy of mine started making aluminum cribbage boards and selling them on eBay for fun... He ended up selling $10,000 worth in the last year and a half.
