If you’re a DIY-wizard, why not make it a paid income stream? Many people who are good at DIY can carve a fruitful career for themselves as a handyman. Even if you just want to make a little extra money on the side, being a handyman can be an excellent way of doing it. Here’s how to get the word out about your handyman services.
Being a handyman can be whatever you want it to be. You may have skills across the DIY realm, from putting up shelves to plastering walls. Alternatively, you might just have a knack for constructing flat-packed furniture, or installing new home electrical equipment. You can gain employment doing any of these things – you just need to know how to market your services so you get some customers. As soon as you prove yourself as a reliable person who can do a job well, the work should keep rolling in.
Here’s how to promote your handyman services to make this a reality.
Get Some Testimonials
If you’re serious about earning a bit of money as a handyman, the first thing to do is to complete actual jobs for some customers. Put the word out among friends, families and co-workers that you want to set up a business or a side-line as a handyman, and ask if anyone has any jobs they need to get done. It’s up to you if you charge for this or not; the main thing is to get some official work experience under your belt. Ask your first few customers for a written testimonial that you could use on your website, and ask if they’d be happy to be a reference for any future customers who ask for one.
Get An Online Presence
Once you have a few completed jobs to your name, you’ll know if the handyman business is something you want to make a go of or not. The next step is to develop your online presence, as this will probably be your primary marketing tool. Set up a website first, including a bit about you, your services, your testimonials and how to contact you. Make sure you respond to any inbound inquiries quickly and professionally. Then look at other websites you might want to have a presence on. These could be trusted websites advertising local tradesmen, or certain social media websites where you can engage with your target audiences. In some communities, Meta (Facebook) has local community pages where people ask for recommendations for particular tradesmen
Promote Your Website
Getting people to visit your website to know about your services can be a labor of love. If you’re busy out there doing your work, you might not have that much time to put into online marketing tactics either. This is when it is a good idea to look into opportunities you can pay for to promote your website. Getting links to your website from reputable websites is one effective way, and there are companies such as PrestigeLinks that can help you do this.
Printed Materials
The go-to marketing tactic for many people these days is using the internet in various ways, because the reach can be so extensive if done effectively. However, there are some business types that also benefit from having printed materials, and handyman businesses promoting DIY services is one example. As handymen only tend to want local clientele, getting a localized reputation means a lot. Getting flyers, brochures and business cards printed can all reap great rewards in this line of work. Post your printed materials through doors or pay to have them stuck up in the windows of local businesses. Another great addition to your printed suite is to get yard signs printed. Each time you are working in a customer’s house, put the yard sign up while you are there. This shows other potential customers that you are working in the area and have existing customers who trust you.
Vehicle Advertising
Getting signage created for your car or truck is another marketing method that works best for businesses such as the handyman trade. Just like yard signage, you’ll be advertising your work wherever you happen to be parked up, and it’s a cost-effective method that keeps on giving once you have invested in the initial brand resources. Think about good spots to park your vehicle when you are out and about to maximize the impact of this investment.
Community Events
As handymen tend to serve a handful of local communities, getting involved in community events is a great way to promote your business. You could sponsor a stand at a community fair, or head along to networking events for small business owners. Wherever you go, think about whether it is appropriate to talk about your business in some way. So much business gets generated from casual conversations and word of mouth, so become part of the communities you want to serve.
