Speak Directly to the Customers that You Want. This is especially true for freelancers of any type. There is a difficult challenge here for the business owner. Our intuition tells us that we wants lots of sales, but a sale that isn't a good fit for either you or the client leaves you tired and them dissatisfied. And as your advertising guy, I have to ask questions like: Are you discounting to get that business? How much did you pay for the ad that created an unhappy customer?

Keep Speaking Directly to the Customers that You Want. There's an even better reason to keep your messages on point. If you tailor your local advertising for a specific audience, it makes it easier to differentiate you. I work for a lot of one person businesses and I have to work hard to stay affordable. Frequently I encounter situations where there are dozens of competitors in their town with websites. I fix the problem of no internet traffic, but then- at their request- their messages are so generic that no one, not even their ideal customers, can figure out what they do. These businesses become lost in a sea of sameness.

What Happens when you Just Take the Money? You get the money, but you create an opportunity for someone to say that they weren't happy. Better hope you got a lot of money, because negative word of mouth is a business killer and you'll need that cash when you go under. This same principle is very much at work in our interactions with very large businesses. As consumers we're terribly dissatisfied with the way big business deals with us- and we complain about this all the time. The phenomenon of big business ignoring the customer and taking the money is creating a tremendous opportunity for your local business.

The Small Business Advertising Opportunity is... the Truth. When you focus on selling to customers the things that you do well, you succeed for yourself and you create an ally. This is the simplest business model that you can get- find a need and fill it. And that is exactly what your local advertising messages should do as well. Let the marketplace really know about what you do.