Selling advertising space on buildings you own can be an excellent additional source of income. A commercial building yields its owner significant income when any number of its units are being rented out to other businesses. However, there is an additional income source for building owners that many people overlook, whether you’re thinking about residential or commercial lots.
Because of the way the pandemic has affected physical stores, causing many to close permanently, commercial property owners have been looking for ways to regain some of the income they’ve lost due to store closures.
Whether your buildings are vacant or occupied, selling ad space on those buildings is an option to consider. If you’re new to the idea, or you’d like to get started marketing your storefronts for ad space, follow the steps below.
Organize Your Information
When owners and managers of other businesses contact your team to request information about your advertising services, you’ll want to ensure that your information is organized. Being prepared to answer any questions your potential client might have is a great way to make a positive impression. To promote your services in the most professional way possible, have the following information ready.
- Pricing: If you offer different tiers and features, discuss the prices of each size and type of ad space available, as well as the details included in each price tier.
- Locations: Clients will likely ask about the locations in which you’re selling advertising space on buildings. After all, location is one of the most important elements involved in advertising. Discuss the different addresses and advertising options available in each space.
- Availability: Keep track of how many businesses you’re working with, and how many ad spaces are currently filled. This way, you won’t run into any issues when offering ad space because you’ll have an updated list of vacancies in front of you at all times.
- Traffic: When discussing the locations you have available for ad space, provide details about the typical traffic that comes through the area. If you have space in a busy shopping center, be sure to mention the visibility of the ads posted there.
- Sales Pitch: Have a sales pitch prepared, but avoid reading from a script. You’ll want to use an approach that’s clear about the details of the service offered, but keep the discussion personable. Remind your potential client that they’re speaking with a human being who is legitimately interested in helping them improve their business.
- Inclusions: Let your potential clients know exactly what they can expect when advertising on one of your buildings. Discuss terms, inclusions, specific ad space details, ad types (hard copy or digital), and any additional information that might pertain to their location of interest.
Advertise Your Space
Once you have developed a plan for selling advertising space on buildings and you’re ready to promote your services, you’ll need to market your availability. To ensure that businesses in your area know about your ad spaces, post your own ads. Depending on the type of clients you’re hoping to attract, you might choose to advertise in one (or all) of the following areas.
- Online: Create clear, concise advertisements online and publish them to websites and social media platforms that other businesses frequent. Include contact information and ensure that each ad links to your company’s website so that potential clients have all the information they need.
- On-Location: If you are offering ad space on your buildings, it might be helpful to advertise on the buildings themselves. Design and post a few high-quality advertisements that let other business professionals know that the space is available to them if they want to post their own marketing content.
- Local Listings: It’s also a good idea to make use of local listings. Hang up flyers, publish an ad in the newspaper, leave business cards in public spaces, and post some of your online advertisements on websites specific to your location (for example, a Facebook community page, the ad section of your town’s official website, etc.).
Collect & Analyze Data
Finally, when you’re selling advertising space on buildings, it’s essential to take steps that promote growth. Spreading the word to other businesses is a major part of the advertising equation, but monitoring your success through data is of equal importance. By collecting and analyzing your marketing and profit data, you can make informed decisions about how you’re going to continue growing as a business.
For example, collecting the following information is crucial to plan for the future.
- Proof of Success: Keeping track of how many businesses utilize your services and analyzing client surveys on a regular basis makes it so that you now have measurable data to support your efforts. You can use these facts and figures to illustrate the possibilities for success when marketing yourself to new clients. Presenting data and charts that show client satisfaction and growth will only strengthen your sales pitch.
- Cost Estimates: When you collect data from your current clients and monitor the income you’re generating each month, you can predict both slow and busy seasons. As such, you’ll be able to come up with promotions and special pricing to offer at certain times without risking your bottom line.
- Requests & Offerings: If you collect information from past, current, and potential clients, you can gather insights into special services they may want and ways to improve your business in the future. For example, if numerous clients mention wanting bulk ad pricing or digital ad options, these outlets might be worth considering for future growth.
Storefront ad space can increase a property owner’s income exponentially, depending on the location of the building and the effectiveness of the landlord’s marketing strategy. With the right number of clients, your ad space can not only earn you thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars a month, but it can also help strengthen your local economy by promoting the growth of smaller businesses.
If you would like to get started selling advertising space on buildings you own, contact us today.
