Was just wondering how many hosting companies actually advertise their sites offline? Like on billboards or flyers or stuff like that?

I was thinking of running some low level poster ads on public transport in three major cities. Just wondering how effective they would be.

Hi again Robin,

It all depends on your target market and product you are selling. Most ad agencies should be able to provide a rough idea of success from other clients in a similar market and targeted demographic.

Personally, as basic web design is a component of my business, advertising in local papers has certainly paid off. Again, all depends on your audience and product.
If the ad agency you go with is worth anything they will have comparables for you.

We run offline advertisements in a number of places. Chamber of commerce, coffeeshop newspaper, golf tournaments, hotel lobby of DoubleTree and Hilton, school newspapers & yearbooks, little league games, hockey stadium, MMA fights, chiropractor and doctor offices. We're in a number of different areas - each with targeted advertisements for the particular client.

The hotels are one of our big places that we hit a few times a year when they're doing their business or workshop type conferences. There's nothing like hitting them with a poster as soon as they get from the carpark to the hotel entrance, and then what better place to advertise than in an elevator they have to go up and down a number of times during their 3 day stay

Golf tournaments are another key market for us. We're not targeting "normal" people when we hit up these places, we're targeting corporate personnel, business owners and people with expendable income.

So depending on your target market, and depending how much money you want to throw at it, the offline market can be very lucrative!

I think that is quite effective too.. You are not only making your business get found online, you are making it visible in the local area.

I guess it depends who do you target and what area do you live in.

Lots of good stuff by Conor. We sponsor special events and sometimes radio and TV ads.

This can actually be determined upon the market that you want to target, if you need local customers then you can advertise locally, else it rather be online.

Today, you can find almost every type of audience online. You just need to do you research to find our where they are located. With Google AdSense, Google places your advertisements based on website content, the user's geographical location, and other factors.

I ask small business if they are interested. Most will support because they want someone local.

In our company, the sales team is always effective outside and we also ask for some "idea" groups for suggestions.

Well said, i agree.

Local Google Adwords via Google Places has a large impact on local businesses due to targeting your product locally, someone local would rather have a company that is local, dependable and reliable rather than having to deal with customer support with a company that hosts hundreds of thousands of customers, not being able to thearly
emphasize their expectations of their wanted services.

Correct me if i am wrong?

For your own fun you can try that. However you might find that you only spend some money ( no return ).
If you are not a well know brand or a new business ... promoting offline ... well see for yourself.

I haven't. It doesn't seem like it would be effective for my website.

The only offline advertising we really do is attending trade shows/conferences. Other than than, not a whole lot offline advertising. I did walk into a Bed bath and beyond a few weeks ago and saw a large advertisement for
Rackspace, lol.

Offline advertising is just as good as online advertising if done correctly. A healthy blend of online and offline advertising will help grow your business.