How do you advertise?

Figure this might help some of the newbies out.

So, for anyone currently doing it now, tell us how you advertise, and if on sites like craigslist.org do you use image ads, text ads, or what?



For me, other than referrals, repeat business, I get most of it from advertising on craigslist.org using image ads I created using publisher, and hosting them on photobucket.com

I upload the ads, copy the html link...paste it into craigslist.org. Then I edit the first url section so when someone clicks on the ad, they get redirect to my site.

Now if you don't have a website, you can still do everything I just mentioned, but yours just wont redirect to a website.

I go around with printed ads and place them in Senor Housing complexes , Free removal of small appliances , computers and TVs

Website and FaceBook.

Craigslist, facebook, word of mouth, and flyers with tear offs on the bottom. FYI, if you do tear offs, also include a contact # on the flyer itself for when all the tear offs are taken.

craigslist, word of month, cards, flyer, door to door sales, B2B sales, cold calling, new paper ads, videos/youtube, website, posts (here and other places), truck and trailer moving ads.

Going to try a radio ad soon =)

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Originally Posted by easyrecycle

craigslist, word of month, cards, flyer, door to door sales, B2B sales, cold calling, new paper ads, videos/youtube, website, posts (here and other places), truck and trailer moving ads.

Going to try a radio ad soon =)

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word of mouth, business cards, website, flyers are definitely some of the biggest. That and ads on vehicles/trailers.

I want to do a youtube video ad myself, but trying to find software that will work really great with it.

I am also getting ready to place ads on my truck and trailer. One big one on the back of my truck window (its all one piece), then my website name on the front window, then two car magnets on both sides, 2 on both back quarter panels, and then 2 on the tailgate.

Then two on both sides of my trailer, and one on the tailgate of the trailer.

Out of all the stuff you do, which do you feel is the most effective?

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Originally Posted by GeorgeB

............Out of all the stuff you do, which do you feel is the most effective?

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That is hard to say. Some of my ad programs just fail one week but another week it gets most of the calls/e-mails.

craigslist = Is a huge way to bring in more calls/e-mails. Having a ad here is very simple to start and keep going.

Door to door sales = Great way to bring in a lot of money at one time in one area. When doing something like this you have to watch the bottom line very closely. Bet times to do something like this is during a "bad" time when people will be hard up for money..they tend you hear you out better.

B2B = Great way to get scrap from companies, Cold calling here help cut down on the cost of walking into each company. No mater how you got ahold of that company they will take alot of upfront time to set the deal so you need to be careful not to have meetings set back to back as you will or could be "stuck" at once place trying to close the deal. But if you can close it and "own" it its will worth the time you put into it. Need to know when to "cut an run" from a company tho or it can end up costing alot of time on a deal that will never happen.

Ending note, Each have there place and you have to have a good program setup to take care of the income of calls, e-mails, an the SCRAP...smaller your space..better you have to run the whole deal.

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Originally Posted by GeorgeB

word of mouth, business cards, website, flyers are definitely some of the biggest. That and ads on vehicles/trailers.

I want to do a youtube video ad myself, but trying to find software that will work really great with it.

I am also getting ready to place ads on my truck and trailer. One big one on the back of my truck window (its all one piece), then my website name on the front window, then two car magnets on both sides, 2 on both back quarter panels, and then 2 on the tailgate.

Then two on both sides of my trailer, and one on the tailgate of the trailer.

Out of all the stuff you do, which do you feel is the most effective?

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Sure, until the DOT busts you from town to town travel. You advertise on your vehicle, you have to register it.

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Originally Posted by easyrecycle

craigslist, word of month, cards, flyer, door to door sales, B2B sales, cold calling, new paper ads, videos/youtube, website, posts (here and other places), truck and trailer moving ads.

Going to try a radio ad soon =)

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Start with an AM radio ad they are alot cheaper and believe it or not get descent responce.

I use the radio and it works very well. Just target AM radio and you will be ok.

I have a picture of myself on the side of milk cartons.

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Originally Posted by KZBell

I have a picture of myself on the side of milk cartons.

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You kinda old to be a lost little boy....

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Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

Start with an AM radio ad they are alot cheaper and believe it or not get descent responce.

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Originally Posted by High Voltage Processing

I use the radio and it works very well. Just target AM radio and you will be ok.

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How much do the radio ads normally costs you guys?

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Originally Posted by TheFatMan

Sure, until the DOT busts you from town to town travel. You advertise on your vehicle, you have to register it.

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Mine explaining what it is exactly I have to register?

I think when it's a commercial vehicle traveling from state to state then it needs a DOT #. They put one on my dually when I leased on to haul campers.

Yes if you have a buisness and your hauling scrap you should get a DOT number for your truck and then pay to have it DOT inspected every year.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registratio...escription.htm
Here you go George, but you don't even want to start with the dot inspections if you don't do it now. The fed inspections are a whole new racket all their own, very subject to the honesty of the inspection garage. (SCAM)

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I think when it's a commercial vehicle traveling from state to state then it needs a DOT #. They put one on my dually when I leased on to haul campers.

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I will check into this, just to be safe, and ask some of the guys at my yard that uses advertising on their trucks.

However, you mention traveling from state to state. I just do it in Virginia myself.

Keep good relationships with your current customers. They will always bring you more people over time.

As soon as i can find a place thatll make em im gonna get free appliance pickup shirts made. Iv faxed some flyers to apartments about a week ago and havent heard anything back from any of em. In a minute im gonna try to figure out how to make business cards and ask the barber who cuts my hair if I can put one on his mirror cuz i think he has some peoples business cards on his mirror.

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Originally Posted by easyrecycle

craigslist, word of month, cards, flyer, door to door sales, B2B sales, cold calling, new paper ads, videos/youtube, website, posts (here and other places), truck and trailer moving ads.

Going to try a radio ad soon =)

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hey, easy. the "moving" ads, you referring to things like box trucks that drive around and every few seconds the ads on the truck rotate?

If so, how much does that normally run you?

we do the craigslist of course, i run 6 different adds. here we have alot of free papers to the customer paid for by adds, one is called the merchansdiser we run a 1/4 page add for 80 a week and every 8th week we get a full page for the same price. the other is called the shopper and we run a 1/4 page add for 50 a week, typically our first car every week pays for both adds

EDIT you said to help the newbies im still in my rookie year so im still a newbie but i told ya anyway :)

If you are under 26000 lbs combined and staying in Virginia you don't need to get DOT numbers.

I believe there is both a Federal GVW set of regulations and State regs, then there are usually travel restrictions in larger towns. Unless you are Big Time..do not advertise on your truck or trailer. DOT regs can push you into getting a CDL and good luck passing a DOT check on any older truck. One major reason I started a yard was to get off the road due to relentless DOT harassment. I use word of mouth..it is slow but you kind of build a circle of decent people (that means a lot to me). I have business cards and some flyers. Every now and then a small ad in the local want ad paper. I am sure social media would be a powerful tool, but my hands are too shot to text on these little phones....

make trin do it :)

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Originally Posted by Area67

I believe there is both a Federal GVW set of regulations and State regs, then there are usually travel restrictions in larger towns. Unless you are Big Time..do not advertise on your truck or trailer. DOT regs can push you into getting a CDL and good luck passing a DOT check on any older truck. One major reason I started a yard was to get off the road due to relentless DOT harassment. I use word of mouth..it is slow but you kind of build a circle of decent people (that means a lot to me). I have business cards and some flyers. Every now and then a small ad in the local want ad paper. I am sure social media would be a powerful tool, but my hands are too shot to text on these little phones....

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Could just be VA, but I never heard of any requirement to have a CDL, unless the vehicle you are driving has air brakes.

Air brakes are just an endorcement on a CLD liscence. Like a motorcycle is on a regualr liscence.

there are diferent classes of CDL here is a break down.
ss A - Any combination of vehicles where the combined weight is over 26,000 pounds, and the trailer is over 10,000. (tractor trailer)

Class B - Any vehicle over 26,000 pounds. Can tow a trailer under 10,000 (dump truck, cement mixer etc)

Class C - Any other vehicle which falls into the definition of commercial vehicle (hauling haz-mat, or passenger vehicle over 16 passengers)


Class C is your pickup truck if being used for commercial transport. I use to have a class c liscence when I worked for the medical company because we had hazmat requirments and we drove ford 1 ton vans. You see it all the time with landscape companies as well. they have DOT numbers on the side of the trucks. I know alot of them dont but maybe they are playing the game and hoping not to get caught? I know my cousin runs his truck and trailer for his general contracting business and he doesnt have dot numbers for his stuff. He did however get busted once when he was hauling a trailer that didnt have electric breaks. Trooper told him since he was doing it for a business trailer it had to have breaks.

I found this on the gov website to answer your question.

2.
I am an intrastate non-hazardous-materials motor carrier (my cargo or vehicle NEVER leaves the state that I am registered in). Do I need a USDOT Number?

The answer varies from state to state. In most states, intrastate non-hazardous-material motor carriers do not require a USDOT Number, but several States participate in programs such as PRISM, which does require intrastate motor carriers, with or without HazMat, to have a USDOT Number. If you do not know whether your state requires intrastate motor carriers to have a USDOT Number, contact the Office of Motor Carrier Safety field office in your state. For a listing of State offices, go to the FMCSA Field Roster.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/conta...eldroster.aspx

yes, yes I need to get Trin into my 2 ton with a CDL, excellent idea!! PTS you nailed the problem square on the head...the class C CDL is where DOT really wants scrap haulers to be since it is a borderline commercial enterprise. I was warned (repeatedly) that if I was hauling scrap and had 10,001 GVW I needed DOT inspection (which my truck would never get) CDL health card and CDL class C. In fact I was part of a huge sting that was grabbing scrappers/farmers/landscapers off I-25 and "escorting" them to Mile high parking lot where they were handing out tickets and impounds. I knew my rights and kept my mouth shut refusing to answer any questions (that is self incrimination) for 3 hours. I was %100 legal with plates,insurance,vehicle safety,lights and was told when I pulled onto the scale that " you will never leave this lot with your truck (and $5K worth of material)". They finally relented after the good cop/bad cop routine with an unwarranted "you have a light out ticket" ( a total lie). Denver scrap yards have reported the city selling seized material/trucks to them when owners are unable to bail out their property! Technically with farm plates I should be able to do a wide variety of activities up to 26,000 GVW, but the reality is that DOT and the state patrol have become revenue collectors for the state and they can evaluate your activity any way they please and you get to defend (or bail out) yourself. Advertising on ones vehicle is openly admitting to commercial activity and that has a higher set of standards for licensing/insurance/liability. I know scrapers that have been completely ruined by DOT/state patrol. Get educated and beware.

YEah colorado has some messed up state laws that is for sure. Only place I have ever lived that has higher insurance rates than california. When I moved from texas to cali my auto insurance doubled. When I went from cali to here in colorado it doubled again.

Thanks PTS..by the way I like how you advertise with the website, clean simple,easy to use!!

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Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

Air brakes are just an endorcement on a CLD liscence. Like a motorcycle is on a regualr liscence.

there are diferent classes of CDL here is a break down.
ss A - Any combination of vehicles where the combined weight is over 26,000 pounds, and the trailer is over 10,000. (tractor trailer)

Class B - Any vehicle over 26,000 pounds. Can tow a trailer under 10,000 (dump truck, cement mixer etc)

Class C - Any other vehicle which falls into the definition of commercial vehicle (hauling haz-mat, or passenger vehicle over 16 passengers)


Class C is your pickup truck if being used for commercial transport. I use to have a class c liscence when I worked for the medical company because we had hazmat requirments and we drove ford 1 ton vans. You see it all the time with landscape companies as well. they have DOT numbers on the side of the trucks. I know alot of them dont but maybe they are playing the game and hoping not to get caught? I know my cousin runs his truck and trailer for his general contracting business and he doesnt have dot numbers for his stuff. He did however get busted once when he was hauling a trailer that didnt have electric breaks. Trooper told him since he was doing it for a business trailer it had to have breaks.

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I know there is different classifications for CDL, but I never have heard (here in VA anyways) of you needing one for a pickup. I see some guys using regular pickups for their businesses all the time, because it is cheaper for them in lots of ways, and not one has a DOT# anywhere.

I highly doubt I would need one for truck because I use it for everything, not just VIP Recycling, with or without advertising on it.

I was stopped once my a fairfax county police officer because one of the chains on my truck had broken off (don't ask me how!), and he was trying to tell me that my trailer needed air brakes on it.

I told him, not to argue with him on the subject, but I knew several people and companies with single axle trailers and none of them have air brakes, and that my trailer could only carry 3,500 lbs max on it.

The only type of trucks that I have seen that do have VDOT# on them is some of the bigger landscape trucks (not pickups), and other commercial vehicles.


I will call them tomorrow to find out either way for my truck to be on the safe side, but I am pretty sure, I wont be required too.

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Originally Posted by Mick

Website and FaceBook.

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how do people get traffic to their facebook page to begin with? tia.

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Originally Posted by Scrapette

how do people get traffic to their facebook page to begin with? tia.

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By listing it on your website and having a link on your personal Facebook site as a "page".

I drive class 'A' CDL. Unless you plan on hauling scrap in a tractor trailer. You don't need a CFL. If you buy a truck. For example a straight truck that has a gross weight of 26k or more you would in fact need a class b. You would have to go to a state mandated CDL issuing facilty. There you would have to pass a written exam, pre trip inspection exam, and a driving test. Until you are hauling cars via tractor trailer or own a scrap yard and haul your scrap to bigger yards or plants you don't have to worry.

Good topic.
Been wondering about leaving some business cards on boards at storage places too.
I imagine they get a lot of metal junk dumped or that people buying the non-pyt wouldn't want(?). Course my card will be titled "Dumb D scrap/ junk removal"
(metal stuff free, other junk for $, BUT it would suck to get stuck with tons of something and have the dump say it has asbestos and they won't take it, or something else they won't take (?).

My F-150 4x4 I just got had the weight rating on title as 10,001 lb.s so they gave me truck tags ("TX" on them)...I was argueing , argueing there's NO way it weighs 10,001.
They said I need a notarized letter with a registered scale readout or some BS to change them...But I needed no emmisions and got one year tag.
Not sure whether I can drive on the "No trucks" part of rt. 66, or the George Washington Pkwy??? Is why I argued...Got home the door sticker has weight of 5000 something.

I heard with the "GWVR" on ANY vehicle one could get a ticket for example if they had like four fat chicks in the toyota tercel or something:p

I'd always just say I'm hauling stuff for a friend/ family anyway , besides one needs business use insurance too, but "business use" has an advantage on taxes I think.

Hauled over 6000lb.s tree cuttings to dump a bunch times, with business label on truck in a Mitsubishi Fuso flatbed in VA no problems, Luck?

@George , How far is your place from Notes rd., Manassas ? please PM me with address so I can be a client sometime. (I'd search other post, but can't look at monitor any more for now...getting over Lasik still. :( so I Gotta go for now.
Thanks.:cool: (emoticon of self right now)

So the majority of advertising I've been doing lately is strictly Email to people "In the know" in Electronics....Tech Advisers, PC shop owners, etc. Someone passed my information along to the Press, and if I'm lucky I might see an article in the paper. Now THAT would be exciting! Add a little legitimacy to our operation.

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Originally Posted by Scrapette

how do people get traffic to their facebook page to begin with? tia.

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You can "invite friends" and "invite email contacts" from your Page.

Forgot to mention:
A friend a friend sells Yellow Pages ads...
Told me you practically need nothing (documentation) to take out an add.

Gotten to the point where (for certain professions), look for one NOT listed there.

Doesn't cost much for paper book or online ad with Yellow Pages tho' (?)
:cool:
Gotta go, eye's STILL bugging me (just one of em)...wonder if I could tax write-off
LASIK since I'll see scrap better ?...going on two weeks of not driving...:(
probably lost half my "route"... gonna need to advertise when I get back.
Thanks again.:)