Consistency is key

One of the things that stops many small business owners or managers from starting to advertise is that they feel that they can't commit to running the ad that they would like to run on a regular basis. This idea is both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time.

Let's look at the good side for a minute. This school of thought is good because it keeps the business owner or manager from investing in a large ad and then stopping because they didn't see results right away. Usually when that happens they are left with the impression that advertising doesn't work and then refuse to try it again. The most effective approach is to start with a smaller ad that you can commit to run at least twice a month, then as it delivers results you can increase the size, add color, or both. Remember, people are bombarded each day with numerous advertising messages so you should usually not expect to see measurable results until you've run your ad a few times.