Tracking Your Advertising

By:  Cathy Green

Because of how expensive it is to advertise, be certain to track your advertising. Drop the sources that are bringing you no returns and keep those that do.

In my business, I discovered that magazine ads do not work for me so I no longer advertise in magazines. Such ads may work for another company but not for me.

I found that for me, advertising in small, home town newsletters and community papers works well. Also, web advertising on targeted websites that go to people in targeted areas works for me. Postcard advertising works. And Google as well as word of mouth and FREE consumer listings work for me.

Something interesting has happened recently. I ended up on two ListServs. I was placed there by satisfied clients. Talk about free advertising!

Because it’s important to me to know which paid advertising sources are working best for me, I created a form which I titled “How did client hear about us”?

Across the top of the form are the names of all my paid and unpaid (such as Google) sources. The form is on my computer so I update it regularly. But every time a person calls, I find out (or have my answering service find out) how they discovered us. I mark off (by drawing a star) the referral source on the form I keep. And if the person books with me, I circle the star. That way I have a visual of the sources that work for me.

I keep a separate Referral form for each month of the year. I advertise liberally with sources that give me great returns.

Example, there is a local paper that prints my ad, plus puts the ad on their website in the classified section. About a week ago, I renewed the ad for $64. The $64 covers 3 weeks. And I renew every 3 weeks.

Today, a woman from that referral source contacted me and told me how impressed she was with my website. My ad links to my website. And once there, people can read a wealth of information about my company.

So by the time the woman had contacted me, she already had read about me and the company and she was ready to book.

Based on her description of her house, I decided not to do an in home estimate. So over the phone, I quoted her $260 for the first cleaning and a biweekly rate of $165. She immediately agreed.

For an ad that cost me $64 every 3 weeks, I have just acquired a new client who—over the course of 12 months, will have brought in $4,220 to my business! How did I arrive at the amount? Well, she is paying $260 for the first cleaning. And then, $165 every 2 weeks. 165 x 2 = 330. 330 x 12 = 3960. 3960 + 260 = 4220

And all that for the price of an inexpensive ad targeted to the right group!

So by tracking my ads I see what works and pour in more money to the places that bring me a significant return on my investment (ROI).

Be certain to track, track, track. Doing so will save you money and earn you money in the long run!

Organizing Paperwork for Taxes

By:  Cathy Green

Well, today is January 3rd. I spent the last two days getting all my receipts in order to prepare for having my taxes filed.

Because my business turned one year old in December, this is the first year in which taxes will be done for the business.

Overall, I kept pretty good records. However, as I was doing the math—adding up how much money came in every month…and then adding up all the receipts for how much I spent for the business, I realized that things could have gone a little smoother for me.

As one who is obsessed with organization, I decided that to make things even smoother for next near, I will do the following:

a. Gather 12 file folders, one for each month of the year.

b. Label each folder with the month’s name

c. As I purchase items for the business, I will put the receipts in the folders for the particular month in which I purchased the items.

d. At the end of every month, I will add up the receipts to know how much I spent on the business for that month (as opposed to waiting until the end of the year).

e. I will write the summary of how much I spent on the cover of the folder, as well as on a summary sheet that I will attach inside of the folder.

f. Likewise, I will keep a running record of how much the company is bringing in each month and look hard at the numbers.

That means that by December of next year, tax time will be a cinch. I will need only to hand the numbers to my CPA so that he can do what he needs to do regarding my business.

What about you? Have you thought out a system for your business’ finances? If not, consider something similar to what I described above. It will really help you a great deal throughout the year, and especially at the end of the year.