How new computer repair businesses can use Craigslist to secure new clients.   by Bob Keppel

in Business / Entrepreneurship    (submitted 2011-01-02)

If you are starting a brand new computer service, you simply must take advantage of the totally free options of advertising that the Internet presents you. It wasn't long ago that fresh comptuer repair companies had to invest hundreds or 1000's of dollars in print marketing, but the Web now offers more qualified clients than print marketing and the best outlets are free. Remember, unlike so many other smaller companies, 100% of your customers are on the internet. Prior to the rise of Web advertising, it was certainly necessary to put money into print advertising and marketing in newspapers and phone books. But Internet use has become so widespread that lots of new companies find they can acquire a lot of new business without needing to spend a dollar. Also take into account that your customers--computer owners--own their computers for the purpose of browsing the web. So for your requirements, marketing online is a targetted and effective means of marketing.

Craigslist needs to be your first advertising outlet. Craigslist rules the classifieds industry these days, and it's free. Newspaper classifieds are extremely small or completely gone now because of Craigslist. The internet has become more widely used for classifieds advertising because it gives the customer the ability to look for for what he wants. It's faster and delivers more information about the things and companies they're looking for. Nevertheless, because Craigslist is so widely used, you will encounter a lot of competitors there. You will need to advertise among other computer repair services that offer lower prices. When you have a great strategy, though, you can field a lot of lucrative calls and emails. First, it's very important to include as many frequent search phrases as you can in your advertisement. Look at your competitors advertisements. Record 20 most common key phrases you find. Be sure to include these in your ad. It is also essential that you write a headline which produces maximum clicks. The top item in the search results is not always the item that gets the most clicks. Mentioning special discounts and expiring offers produces incentives for searchers to click on your ad and find out more about your offer. Additionally, capital letters, exclamation points, and various characters such as arrows and stars help to distinguish your ad.

After you have earned your searcher's click, have a distinct plan to gain their email or phone call. Lots of computer repair techs neglect to post specific reasons why they're worth a call. They only list their services and prices. Posting your photograph, it's been found, can more than double the reaction you receive for your ad. Remember that your customers are choosing a stranger they are going to invite into their house. A photograph helps you to create trust in your services. A biography of yourself is extremely influential. Record any jobs, certifications, and particular specialties. Lastly, a special offer for a discount is quite persuasive. Present your services for a discount that soon expires, or offer a free of charge service like a registry cleanup for all new customers. Producing urgency in your ad tremendously improves its effectivenss. Never believe that Craigslist is a price battle. This simply isn't true. Customer do not immediately trust the businesses with the cheapest rates because they make presumptions about their service quality being weak. In reality, the company with the most trustworthy presentation wins the most calls, email, and ultimately, profitable business on Craigslist.

To summarize, I offer you one last helpful tip. For those who have an internet site (all serious pc repair businesses have a website), be sure to include a hyperlink to your web site inside each Craigslist ad. The link must be clickable. Search engines crawl the list to spot the popularity of your web site. These hyperlinks offer you a stronger placement on the search engines in addition to generating plenty of visitors from the Craigslist ads themselves.

About the Author

Robert R. Keppel created the most detailed tutorial available on how to start a pc repair business. His ebook and training videos demonstrate to new pc repair company proprietors how to roll-out a new company for maximum online exposure in their local city.