How To Start A Bulletin Board Advertising Service

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Believe it or not, bulletin boards actually work as traffic
builders for just about any small business.

They serve to enhance the community relations image of a business,
and the space required to locate a bulletin board can be written
off as a tax deduction when listed as advertising or public
relations expense.

People use these "business provided" bulletin boards to advertise
things they want to sell, home-based businesses, and whatever they
might want to trade for or buy.

Then, they come back, sometimes morning, noon and evening
everyday, to check on them, or to see who else has an announcement
posted.

Each time they come into the business owner's store or shop, they
may not feel an obligation to buy something, but of course the
business owner has the opportunity to sell them something.

Just about anyone can organise a route of bulletin boards; charge
the advertisers a small monthly fee; keep them up to date and neat
(which will make the business owner happy), and make some really
easy money in the whole process.

The first step is to contact as many businesses in your area as
possible.

Grocery stores, drugstores, barber shops, beauty salons, service
stations, quick print shops, rental shops, mobile home parks,
shopping centres, apartment complexes, which have foyers or
recreation rooms - the list is endless.

Sell them the idea of allowing you to install and maintain a
bulletin board service for them.

Emphasize the community service, the tax write-off, and the fact
that you'll keep it neat.

When you get ten or more signed to allow you to install a bulletin
board, you're ready to start making your boards.

The best plan (and of course the most economical) is to make your
own.

Cut a piece of corkboard 3 feet by 4 feet, mount a 3/4 by 11/2
inch frame around the edge, and cover this frame with a 3 foot by
4 foot piece of plastic.

Mount the plastic with hinges at the top and a hasp at the bottom.

On the back of the corkboard, install a couple of hooks for
hanging it, and you're ready to go.

Make up a sign - you can even type it out and use it as another
bulletin announcement - something like this;

CITY-WIDE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICES!
Your announcement or advertisement displayed here
for only œ5 per month! For more information call 123456

Put up your sign or announcement on each of your bulletin boards,
lock them up, and install them in all your locations.

Ten such signs with only 50 announcements per bulletin board
should bring you an easy œ500 per month.

When you put an announcement from the same person up on more than
one board, charge them œ5 per month for each announcement on each
bulletin board.

And one other thing: the date of "run of display" ends should be
marked on each announcement you put up on each of your bulletin
boards.

In all likelihood, you'll have people waiting for space on your
bulletin boards.

Keeping records should be very simple and easy.

Start with a loose leaf notebook, blank paper and a couple of
packages of 3 by 5 cards. In your notebook, write down the date,
the amount of money and the number of announcements on display,
and the contract number and expiration date of each control, and
the location of the bulletin boards that particular announcement
is on.

Arrange the cards in chronological order according to expiration
date, and file them in a storage box.

Once you get rolling, you shouldn't have to service your bulletin
boards more than once a week, and as more people see them, more
businesses will want you to put one in their business location,
and more people want to display an announcement.

Simple, easy, and a real money maker for you.

This kind of business is what the newspapers like to write about,
and the local TV and radio stations like to carry as news of what
people in their areas are doing as entrepreneurs.

So take the feature editors out to lunch, make friends with them,
and push for all the free publicity you can get.

That's the plan.

It's simple, easy, and depending upon the population density of
your area, it could very well be the very thing you've been
looking for to supply you an extra income.

It demands little investment, not much of your time, and no
special training or education.

But, as with any other business venture, it takes action on your
part.

You must get out there and set it up, and work at it being a
success for you!

It's really up to you and I wish you success in it!