A major, major problem we face is that the ads we spend our hard earned dollars on simply do not get to the target audience or get the response we want.

This is a major let down, in advertising we say that 10-13% of the people who see your ad will respond to it…. but if no one sees it in the first place….. well 10% of zero is still zero!

Really this comes down to two major issues:

•  Your ad is too cluttered (No attraction, your target doesn’t notice what you are trying to say…)
• Your ads simply are not seen by the targeted audience. 

Here is one of my biggest tools I use to consistently fill my seminars and community classes; but first I want to backtrack a bit and mention my first ebook on writing effective ads.

I will be adding a new & updated version of my original ad ebook in the coming weeks, and you can be assured that the new for 2009 version will be jam-packed with even more great information to help you build your student base. Stay tuned for that!

If you haven’t downloaded my free ebook on Writing effective ads download it here: http://www.iknowkarate.com

Now for the good part! This gem of information is open to pretty much everyone in the world but so seldom used… I really don’t know why.

So, Problem: We spend money making and posting flyers, but the response rate just plain stinks because not enough people see them compared to the number of people who eventually call you.

Solution: Let’s place the flyer directly in front of the family in the area you are targeting!

How: Use the mail. Yup – plain old snail mail. For pennies a flyer you can have your promotional placed in the mail box in virtually any postal code in the world!

Think about that for a minute! Here is how I do it, not a third hand story, this is exactly how I do it.

1. I print the flyers at Staples. I send them an email with the flyer and they print it for me. I get a call from the local store telling me when they are ready. You can use you own printer, but a printing service is easier.

2. I am in Canada so I go Canada Post’s website and check the number of mail boxes in a particular postal code. (You can also walk into the local post office and ask how many people get mail in the area!)

3. I ask the cost to send a flyer in each mail box…. my community has about 1800; I paid .08 cents = $144 to have my last flyer sent to each home in the community.

4. I drop off my box of flyers at the post office. Give yourself a few days grace, when I did it last time it went out the day after I dropped them off. (they place them in the boxes, that is part of the .08 cent fee I pay)

5. I answer the phone when it rings.

It really is that easy; the post office is a tool that you can use to promote your Karate program. Of course you will have a certain percentage of your flyers not read or discarded. This is normal; of course not everyone will be interested in your message. The respond rate however is so much higher than just posting a few dozen flyers in the local area and hoping that interested people will call.

Flyers are a mass market gamble, however they can be used much more effectively than just posting them at the local grocery store!

Have a great day!