Simple but effective business idea

[simon369]

The other day i got through the door a local brochure full of adverts for the local area. It had no real content apart from adverts and competitions related to some of the adverts. There was about 100 adverts in the 12 page brochure and it claimed it was delivered to 22,000 homes.

Now i though that is a easy idea to take on and have done a little research.

The cost of printing 22000 brochures comes out at £2,200 on one site i found that seemed cheap, Could probably get this lower if i looked around more.

Then i estimated getting people to deliver it would cost around 7p per brochure as a lot of people would be happy with that rate as they can easily get down a street with 100 houses in a hour and therefor earn £7 a hour if they put there back into it. lol

So that brings the cost for printing and distribution upto £3,740

Then if i have a 100 adverts in the brochure like the other one had roughly and charge from £150 to £20 depending on the size of the advert which i think seems fair seeing as 22000 will get the brochure based on the other companies method.

That price averages at £85 a advert then £85 x 100 = £8500

Which is roughly double the costs and therefor the profit.

Also when they delivered it, it also included a leaflet for a local pizza place and some other thing which means that if i offer to deliver some leaflets for a local pizza place or what ever at the same time as a brochure it would cut the cost of delivering as the money from that would subsidise the delivery of my brochure. e.g. deliver for other companies and do 2 leaflets with my brochure and only charge them .02p per leaflet which i dout anybody would refuse as thats 250 houses for £5 and that would come to .04 p per brochure and make my cost only .03p for delivery which would end saving 880 from delivery costs.

I know i couldnt just copy them exactly but as a rough plan it seems pretty easy does anybody else agree?

Also would there be any problems compying such a idea seeing as leaflets etc arnt anything knew so i dont think it would be a problem copying it and they claiming i stole there business.

Also it would be pretty easy to run from home i believe, as all that is really needed is a telephone, pc to keep track of things and some networking with local businesses to get there interest in my advertising services.

Also what would best way to find people willing to advertising in your opinion. Was thinking i mass email them or send out letters to a few hundred business containing information and a mock up of a brochure and seeing what response i get from that?
Thanks a lot in advance

[Simon-M]

Or similar types of business. Let's face it, if the competition feel they are missing a trick then they will want a slice of the pizza too ...sorry piece of the pie.

[simon369]

I have contacted the brochure people at the moment to see what prices they charge to get a rough idea, Then i think i will start be creating some documentation and prices.

I also agree on phoning them as a lot of the business's where local sole trader so could give them a ring direct.

This time next year i will be a millionaire :P

Also is there no problem is doing this in the same area as other people, I know they wont be happy with it but legally is it fine.

Also is there any rules or regulations about putting brochures through peoples doors etc

[Tej]

As long as you have your start up capital..can sustain yourself.. and prepared for the leg work.. go for it, and good luck

[simon369]

I have some start up capital but i dont actually seee me needing that much. Seeing as most of it will just be hard work. As i would get payment from the companies before publishing as i wouldnt print 20000 brochures without having payment for the ad. And then that money would pay for the printing and the distribution.

[simon369]

Thanks for your help so far guys but one more question.

Do you think it would bea good idea to start of with a run of like 5000 magazines and if so what would be a good rate for a full page a5 advert in a magazing delivered to 5000 houses

Thanks

[ThePrintBarn]

That might not be a terribly bad idea Simon, it all depends on whether you can put together the capital required (through either advertising sold or personal cash injection) to print a larger batch and can find a distribution team willing to work on your terms.

It's a bit of a swings and round abouts game trying to set something like this up if you dont want to plough too much of your own capital in, as you have to convince business owners to part with their hard earned cash on an unproved venture (we have a number of companies ringing us offering similar services - so im talking purely from personal experience here).

I'd suggest having a few samples designed and printed or even creating a digital version which you could offer up as a marketing tool when approaching potential businesses. Dont be afraid to fill the brochure with relevant/interesting content for the first issue or two while you work on getting more businesses on board and dropping a few add of your own...advertising ad space (but that doesnt mean you stop including relevant content once you do get advertisers! :p). Once you've become established and built a reader base you'll find many of those readers will be chasing you to advertise (at least one can only hope!)

Good luck with the venture and keep us posted!

(by the by if you need a graphic designer or print supplier for your brochures just give us a shout! - and good luck!) :D

[Burden]

try to check who puts the other one out. they are usually affilated with another company or part of a larger company who have advertisters on the doorstep

Have seen so many of these start and fail due to only breaking even or not enough!

[Rhyl Lightworks]

It all depends on whether you could get the required advertising. I get several people approaching me every week with offers of advertising, both on the phone (even though we are on tps) and in person. I don't even listen to them now. It may be difficult to get people to commit to a new and untried publication. Therefore I would offer the first edition at a considerable discount - say half-price - to encourage people to try. You will therefore just break even on this. If they feel the advertising is worthwhile you will not have to do much selling in the future. If they think it is a waste of money, the project will probably fail.
You must also be careful how you approach businesses. I would start by emailing and see how many leads this brings. After this, you could try phoning, but expect a few rude responses to this.

From a consumer point of view, we get several such publications a week pushed through the door and most go straight in the bin, unread. But maybe we are not typical.

Barrie

[Dragon Media Group]

I personally think that advertising in any kind of advert only leaflet/magazine is a waste of money as people just don't read them. These kind of publications can work, but if you can get hold of 6 consecutive issues of one you will see the churn rate of advertisers is high. People can often easily be tempted as typically the price for such advertising is very low so they give it a try, however response is also typically low, thus so is repeat advertising. Also in the current market it will be difficult to get money up front, you will likely have a higher success rate if you agree to invoice upon publication. As many of the businesses you will be targeting are very small it is unlikely that they will have print ready artwork so you need to consider how you are going to create artwork yourself. An appropriate computer and Adobe package will cost in the region of £2000, and of course you will need the skills to use the software.
You might want to consider putting together a book of vouchers/discounts/special offers from businesses rather than straight forward advertising, as this will give people a more compelling to look at it rather than throw it in the bin when it drops through the door, and therefor your customers will see a better response and likely advertise again.

[HSLS]

Just to add, there are a lot of these around our area at the moment. This type of advertising does work for me, but I don't have the budget to advertise in all of them. There is often more than one publication for each area, and I will usually only advertise in the one that has been around the longest.

[simon369]

The idea posted at the top of the page on a voucher book is very interesting.

As i have not seen one of these in my area based on a lot of different companies.

I often get ones that have discounts for only 1 company e.g. the local shop. But a big book full of discounts would be very good and everybody would read it.

My idea oringinally did include a page or 2 full of vouchers but maybe i could place the couvhers randomly in the book so people look through it to see what offers are available?

Also in the one in my area if they have competitions related to finding these little pictures in some of the adverts. Maybe i could have something similar but where its find this text in the book and then it would mean people would read through it to find the answer.

Anybody know what price i should expect for a full page ad in a5 colour as im still waiting for replys from other similar companies on there prices.

[rb80]

The idea posted at the top of the page on a voucher book is very interesting.

As i have not seen one of these in my area based on a lot of different companies.

I often get ones that have discounts for only 1 company e.g. the local shop. But a big book full of discounts would be very good and everybody would read it.

My idea oringinally did include a page or 2 full of vouchers but maybe i could place the couvhers randomly in the book so people look through it to see what offers are available?

Also in the one in my area if they have competitions related to finding these little pictures in some of the adverts. Maybe i could have something similar but where its find this text in the book and then it would mean people would read through it to find the answer.

Anybody know what price i should expect for a full page ad in a5 colour as im still waiting for replys from other similar companies on there prices.

Hey,

I was reading through old threads and this one caught my attention. I got one of these kinds of leaflets through my door the other day and it seems like an interesting idea.

Did you develop this idea any further?

[Esk247]

theres a few 'advertisers' around...those little books that have say 200 local companies in them with half page adverts etc. not sure if they make much of a turn over on those though..its hard work you know....much much much harder than you think!

you have to design the adverts, get them printed, sort out a payment method thats easy for the customer as they don't all pay in the same way..some pay by direct debit, others cheque..some by credit card so you'll need a credit card system set up.

do you have 7 days a week free to do this?

trust me..i've looked at setting one of these up before and its a nightmare, the business owners keep changing prices and offers and they always delay payment and make an excuse or go on holiday on the day they are supposed to pay! they also want discounts for being among the first to sign up..blah blah blah..you get the idea!

[rb80]

theres a few 'advertisers' around...those little books that have say 200 local companies in them with half page adverts etc. not sure if they make much of a turn over on those though..its hard work you know....much much much harder than you think!

you have to design the adverts, get them printed, sort out a payment method thats easy for the customer as they don't all pay in the same way..some pay by direct debit, others cheque..some by credit card so you'll need a credit card system set up.

do you have 7 days a week free to do this?

trust me..i've looked at setting one of these up before and its a nightmare, the business owners keep changing prices and offers and they always delay payment and make an excuse or go on holiday on the day they are supposed to pay! they also want discounts for being among the first to sign up..blah blah blah..you get the idea!

Yea I agree which you. I was thinking about all the 'ins and outs' of this idea and it could end up more hassle than it's worth. Especially if you have no experience generating sales, designing adverts and collecting payments. I can just imagine loads of businesses stalling payments and a lot of time would be spent chasing up invoices. I've toyed with the idea but there are too many things putting me off!

[Rienne]

It's a lot of work. My wife runs three local magazines with a 16,500 distribution. She gets advertising because she works very hard in getting good, interesting content combined with high production values, both for the content but also for the advertising. If you are going down the advertising only route, then I would respectfully suggest that this isn't going to be interesting enough to be kept. RB80 is right - "if you have no experience generating sales, designing adverts and collecting payments. I can just imagine loads of businesses stalling payments and a lot of time would be spent chasing up invoices". You need to have set up cash because gaining trust takes time, and you still have to produce the thing. Then you also need to ensure the distribution is reliable. It can be done of course because there are successful ones, like my wifes's, but she knows what she is doing. Like most things - it isn't going to make you an "instant millionaire in a year". Best of luck with it if you decide to go ahead - it is rewarding and interesting.

[Best Creative]

They do something similar in my area as I was approached not too long ago. It was an A5 size booklet and they were offering something like 1/8 page advertisement for 14.50 per month, it was a monthly publication. If done right, I'm sure there is some money to be made.

[alex4orne]

There are 2 of these in my area and I advertise in one of them. It works for me, but then that could be down to what I do or the area I am in. Quite affluent and like to do the right thing and support local business (I want to be green or at least be seen being green type of thing).
I have to admit the ads are cheap, I certainly wouldn't entertain it at the price of the OP was going to charge

[Dragon Media Group]

They do something similar in my area as I was approached not too long ago. It was an A5 size booklet and they were offering something like 1/8 page advertisement for 14.50 per month, it was a monthly publication. If done right, I'm sure there is some money to be made.

What is the quality like and how many are distributed?

[Owen_JDUK]

It all seems very easy doesn't it... however my experience of working with people that produce this kind of thing is as follows:

Most of the adverts in these flyers/brochures are bulk deals i.e the company pays £100 and for that their advert goes into 5 pieces of literature over a 5 week period etc... of which the brochure you saw was probably just 1. (that has a big baring on your costs)

Also there are the adverts themselves... believe it or not most company's don't have artwork for their own adverts and will expect you to put it together for them. you will need to pay your printer or an external artworker to put these together for you. These will go backwards and forwards with changes before you get a final approval from the client and when you have lots of these going on at once it can get confusing and costly.

Finally all of these local companies will be recieving lots of calls just like yours looking to fill advertising space every day. You will find it difficult (not impossible) to fill your space and one thing that you didn't take into account with you costs was your time...
If you spent a month full time putting this togerther potentially this is a month your not earning which begs the question... 'Is it really worth it?'

far be it from me to dampen your enthusiasm but I have seen this a few times and would hate for you too loose money on this venture.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Esk247]

note to self: this will involve some SERIOUS door to door sales and being out until 9/10pm to catch people with different working hours, you'll be up at 6am the next day and out the door...no time for holidays because you are advertising per month and there is a very short time to get everything to print.

its not impossible..just very tiring, very tricky, things go wrong, you'll get loads of knock backs and you'll need a bit of capital to get it in to print first and ensure it meets your exact requirements for copy, imaging and general quality.

[yorkie]

What are going to offer thats different? This is a question you will be asked.You can't just find a successful model and copy it, you have to find a successful model and improve on it / do it better. Try to think of a unique feature that you can add to grab clients interest as this is ultimatley what there looking for.

Good luck

[MH1]

Ever thought of doing a magnetic sheet advert for the fridge/freezer door?

I would have thought it was much more likely to be kept and used by the public.

[Dragon Media Group]

Ever thought of doing a magnetic sheet advert for the fridge/freezer door?

I would have thought it was much more likely to be kept and used by the public.

For a minute there I thought you said have you ever thought of a megnetic sheet of adverts.....

[britluv]

I agree with Rhyl and Dragon - people just don't read these advert-stuffed leaflets.

[Onehourpa]

Someone started up a small A5 magazine a couple of years ago in our area. It had some interesting content in it, local restaurant reviews and bits and pieces of news about events, etc in the local area. And of course, lots of ads, which she made her money from. It was distributed to about 3,000 houses locally and left in local bars and restaurants and the library. It had quite a "homemade" feel to it, so not printed on glossy paper, black and white, colour cover - more like a parish mag. In part I think that's what made it attractive as people felt it was a small, local thing rather than just another glossy full of ads and stupidly expensive properties for sale (which is the other local mag in our area).

I took out an ad as it appealed to me as a bit different to other local publications and it was something like £90 for half an A5 page for 3 months in a row. It got me two new customers so was well worth it.

I know that she sold the business after about a year, not sure how much for. She did say that it was extremely hard work getting advertisers.

So I think you can make a success of this type of thing, just not sure that the brochure just stuffed full of ads is the way to go. I think if people are going to read it then you need interesting content as well.

Good luck!

[Dragon Media Group]

I agree, a local magazine is a (potentially) great and fun business, but it is very hard work to establish (no big deal as long as you are prepared to do the work) and must have editorial content to actually make it worth reading and help it avoid the waste paper basket (no big deal if you are a creative writer or have someone on board who is). You also need the equipment and skills to design the layout and adverts.

A perfectly viable business but be sure of what you are getting into.

[Esk247]

plus..as i've recently found out...after a while you'll need to diversify..so be on the lookout for potential competitors further down the line..people won't keep paying out, its not a money tree. as with all types of business..someone will come along with a bigger, better idea than what you're doing..essentially, they nicked your idea and then made it better!

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