New to the business

Hi, I was wondering what avenues you guys used to get your business exposed? Currently craigslist is the only free site I've been able to advertise on. Looking for now or low cost help.

Thanks,

Place your license number prominently in the ad, and emphasize that aspect. Don't try to compete on price with the non-licensed people who advertize in the social media.

And look at spending some money, as money well spent. I think it was Carnegie, but it might have been PT Barnum who said " Early to bed..Early to rise...work like hell.....and ADVERTISE"

I am of the <sort of> opposite view. I hardly advertise, but I had a pretty good reputation before I even went out on my own. I also had a small base of contractors and other customers. This rapidly expanded into a very regular word-of-mouth business with many repeat customers.
I WOULD NOT spend a fortune on a yellow pages ad...yet. At least not unless you have a few thousand to drop on advertising at this early stage.
I would go with local papers and Pennysavers first. Fliers work OK but IMO they mostly annoy people.
Try going to the local lumber yard, hardware store, home center, etc and hand out cards and talk to people. Look to get your name and face out there personally.

Also, I HATE Craigslist. I am of the firm opinion that only hacks and fly-by-nighters advertise there. Only the bottom of the barrel low ballers dwell there. This is probably not you, but in general CL does not have the best reputation.

speedey makes a good point about yellow pages...very expenzive, and who reads it? I like small neighborhood newspapers...folks somehow trust what they see there. After about 6 months, word of mouth may be self sustaining, with no ad necessary.

This works> put on a very neat, clean, tradesman-look outfit....perhaps khaki work trousers, pressed shirt.....linger around the aisles at HD or Lowes. There are people there THIRSTY for help, and if they can even find someone, he/she is not likely to be of a lot of help. When you do see an employee helping someone...eavesdrop on the conversation. If you see the employee stumbling or offering bad advice, GENTLY step in and politely offer something like this: " what you can do is ......." etc. The employee is grateful for the rescue, and if you use your body lanquage correctly, he will take the hint and wander off, leaving you with the customer. Sometimes, you will just get a "thank you" but you will be surprised how many times this entree will lead to a job.

quote; Sometimes, you will just get a "thank you" but you will be surprised how many times this entree will lead to a job.

I have had many people come into supply houses while I was there and advised them how to solve their problems, but have NEVER had any ask for my phone number in case they needed work they did not think they could DIY. If they are in HD or a similar store, it is usually because they have complete confidence in the DIY abilities, after watching the "You can do it yourself" TV shows and listening to the HD aisle people, that they do not think they need you

You have to come up with reasons why they should hire you over your competitors. Usually these are ways that you saved the customer money by coming up with a fix that addressed the root cause of the problem.