Angies List...anyone pay to advertise on it here?

[huggytree]

Anglies list keeps calling me...every 3-4 months...they want me to pay to advertise and be at the front of the list

i keep telling them if its so good why lock me in for 6 months? why not let me try it for 2 months at full price?....or give me a deal for the 6 months...

they budge slightly on price, but no where near where its worth it to me...

im wondering if anyone has had any luck advertising here? ive found that all advertising for my type of business only brings out price shoppers and no real business.

ive wasted so much money in the past for almost no results.....i dont want to do it again

[Steve B]

I don't think I'm even listed on Angie's List. I used to hear a lot about it, now I don't know if it's popular anymore. I don't think I'd advertise on it.

On the other hand, I spend a lot on Google Adwords and I'll continue to do so. It is one of the few things that consistently pays for itself.

This year, I'm only going to advertise with places that are willing to do it on a straight commission basis. I'm tired of throwing money away for nothing. If they are confident they can bring me results, then I'll send them $xx for every job it gets me. I totally expect that not a single advertiser will go for this arrangement, but it will be fun telling them my conditions and listening to them back away from all their confidence.

[huggytree]

i have 1 review on Angies list

[Spider]

....i keep telling them if its so good why lock me in for 6 months? why not let me try it for 2 months at full price?....or give me a deal for the 6 months...they budge slightly on price, but no where near where its worth it to me...

Ahem! Sounds just little like bargaining to me!

seeing a problem customer ahead of time and turning down the work

:-)

[huggytree]

bargaining YES!!.....why? because i really dont want their product because i dont think it works

apples to oranges Fredrick, but i get your point!

[jamesray50]

I've never heard of them.

[huggytree]

they will not allow me to pay full price, but for only 2 months....i refuse to sign a 6 month contract...

they call me every 3 months...im going to tell them not to call anymore next time

if the product works there would be no min. signing time......ive only found poor quality advertising products to lock you in for more than 1 try....

[Patrysha]

if the product works there would be no min. signing time......ive only found poor quality advertising products to lock you in for more than 1 try....

As a former radio rep, I have to disagree with that one :-) Even direct mail data shows that repeated contact is necessary to maximize the investment. There are many things that work that need more than one shot.

Not that I'd pay for Angie's List listings, but just disagreeing that requiring a commitment is a sign of poor quality in advertising.

[Steve B]

I'll just pass on my experience - for what it's worth.

I owned a direct mail advertising magazine and, obviously, had to sell advertising. We had a three issue min. when we signed someone up. I've advertised my fence business in my own magazine for 2 years (a total of 24 issues) and for 3 years in a row (36 issues) in a similar magazine in our area. I've done cable TV two different times (for several months in a row, many spots per day etc.). I've sent out numerous direct mail pieces (often repeating to the same list up to 4 times) and I have been handing out my literature in newspaper boxes for many years (often repeating to the same areas). I've done several other print advertising things - all of them required a min. number of issues. Some of these things I've done for 4 different businesses that I've owned. I've also read lots of marketing books and articles that tell you how important it is to repeat your message.

My experience is that in every single one of these examples I experienced the most phone calls the first time I did something (the first issue, or the first few days of the TV advertising). Or, even the first time I go through a neighborhood with my litereature. As the owner of the magazine, I also got lots of feedback from my advertisors. Many of them told me they had the same experience. It worked pretty well the first issue, then it tailed off and the calls dried up.

I am completely convinced that the advertising sales people are wrong about the benefit of repeating (at least within the same product). The requirement is primarily in place so they can lock in an advertisor for a longer period of time. I also beleive they are not being dishonest, because everything they have ever read or been told durng their training tells them that repeating is important.

I'm sure repetition is important and can work for many businesses in many areas. I'm sure it's not an accident that Coke, Ford, Pepsi etc. all keep on advertising month after month and year after year in the same magazines or TV slot. But, for whatever reason, for the local service type businesses that I've owned it hasn't worked for me.

With that said, I have experienced a lot of sales because people have seen my message several times. But, it's typically with several different mediums (I saw you on TV, then I got a flyer in my newspaper box, and my co-worker has told me about your service). So, I do the opposite of popular wisdom. I advertise in something for whatever the min. is and when the effectiveness dries up - I move on to something else. This year, I'm changing my strategy again. I will only advertise in something if they will do it on a commission basis. I'll tell them how many jobs I get as a result, then I will pay them x amount per new customer. I realize it's unlikely that anybody will agree to this - and, that will be O.K. for me this year.

[scadush]

Steve....advertising does work for most businesses every month because of the way people are in the market for most services. Most advertising like direct mail or magazine, TV, Radio, etc is "Push" advertising whereby you send out a message or offer to the same people hoping that a certain percentage will be in the market for what you have that particular month. For instance, when you need a car, you notice all car advertising until you actually buy a car, then you fall out of the market and no longer even notice the ads. This is true for sofas, dentists, you name it. And, as soon as you fall out of the market, another person is entering it because their car gave out where the previous month when you were interested and in the market, they were happy with their car and not yet ready to consider any car advertising. If you could just send one ad message to everyone who is a potential client or customer one time that would be nice. But that is not the buying pattern of consumers.

Pull advertising is the internet and why it is so important in todays marketplace. People search for things on their own terms when they are in themarket. They can check reviews, posts, etc and decide what's best and available without ever leaving their home or place of business. For this reason alone, Online shopping doubles every year and will continue to do so. No matter what you do, why second guess advertising. Every ad or offer should have a trackable phone number that records the call and origin so you know how many leads are generated. Only in this way, can you judge monthly advertising and different media sources effectively.

I'll just pass on my experience - for what it's worth.

I owned a direct mail advertising magazine and, obviously, had to sell advertising. We had a three issue min. when we signed someone up. I've advertised my fence business in my own magazine for 2 years (a total of 24 issues) and for 3 years in a row (36 issues) in a similar magazine in our area. I've done cable TV two different times (for several months in a row, many spots per day etc.). I've sent out numerous direct mail pieces (often repeating to the same list up to 4 times) and I have been handing out my literature in newspaper boxes for many years (often repeating to the same areas). I've done several other print advertising things - all of them required a min. number of issues. Some of these things I've done for 4 different businesses that I've owned. I've also read lots of marketing books and articles that tell you how important it is to repeat your message.

My experience is that in every single one of these examples I experienced the most phone calls the first time I did something (the first issue, or the first few days of the TV advertising). Or, even the first time I go through a neighborhood with my litereature. As the owner of the magazine, I also got lots of feedback from my advertisors. Many of them told me they had the same experience. It worked pretty well the first issue, then it tailed off and the calls dried up.

I am completely convinced that the advertising sales people are wrong about the benefit of repeating (at least within the same product). The requirement is primarily in place so they can lock in an advertisor for a longer period of time. I also beleive they are not being dishonest, because everything they have ever read or been told durng their training tells them that repeating is important.

I'm sure repetition is important and can work for many businesses in many areas. I'm sure it's not an accident that Coke, Ford, Pepsi etc. all keep on advertising month after month and year after year in the same magazines or TV slot. But, for whatever reason, for the local service type businesses that I've owned it hasn't worked for me.

With that said, I have experienced a lot of sales because people have seen my message several times. But, it's typically with several different mediums (I saw you on TV, then I got a flyer in my newspaper box, and my co-worker has told me about your service). So, I do the opposite of popular wisdom. I advertise in something for whatever the min. is and when the effectiveness dries up - I move on to something else. This year, I'm changing my strategy again. I will only advertise in something if they will do it on a commission basis. I'll tell them how many jobs I get as a result, then I will pay them x amount per new customer. I realize it's unlikely that anybody will agree to this - and, that will be O.K. for me this year.