John Braun

Here’s my recent article from ICS Cleaning Specialist Magazine:

One of the most attractive advertising methods for cleaners is doorknob hangers – it’s quick, economical and you can target the exact clients you want. And best of all, it can get a good response. But before you spend thousands of dollars on printing and hundreds of hours walking around neighborhoods, there are a few key things you should know.In my own cleaning company, we’ve used doorknob hangers quite a bit over the past 17 years. In fact, we keep stacks of doorknob hangers ready to go in the event that business slows down. I’d rather have my techs passing out doorknob hangers than staying home, as it keeps them busy and it gets business coming in.

Start-up companies love them. And if you’ve got a lot of free time and a limited budget, doorknob hangers are one of my top recommendations for advertising.

With that said, there are two types of doorknob hangers:

1. The standard doorknob hanger: This piece has the advertisement printed directly on the flyer with a doorknob punch at the top. It’s normally around 4×11 inches in diameter and is printed front and back. These can work well, but it can be difficult to tell your entire story with such little space.  Larger door hangers up to 5.5×17 inches in diameter typically get better results if you use the additional space properly.

2. The doorknob hanger “package”: Here you’ll create a package usually consisting of items such as a sales letter, flyer, business card, gift card, testimonial sheet or brochure. Some cleaners even put a bottle of spot remover in the package. It’s an entire package designed to educate homeowners and give them a special offer from your company. This entire package is placed in a plastic doorknob hanger baggie.Here’s the brutal fact: passing out doorknob hangers is work. So if you’re going to take the time to do these, don’t get cheap on the printing. The real cost is the labor involved with putting them on the actual door. Additionally, if you want your company image to be that of a high-quality service company, don’t use cheap flyers. If you pass out black and white copied flyers or small, thin doorknob hangers, your prospect will get the impression that your company is cheap. Use professionally printed quality literature. You’ll make the best impression and book more jobs.

Additionally, don’t skimp on the size. Have you ever heard of the old direct response advertising principle, “The more you tell, the more you sell?” It’s true. The more information you give with more reasons to use your services, the better response you’ll get. When possible, print up the bigger doorknob hanger or the packet with several pieces of information about your company. No, they won’t read it all. But give them enough information with reasons why you are the cleaning company they should hire.

What neighborhoods do you want to pass your doorknob hangers out?

Normally, the higher the home values the better. Don’t bother to pass them out in average homes. You want to go after homes with large houses that have disposable income to put toward cleaning. Be aware of local laws concerning doorknob hangers. In many areas, placing door hangers is OK as long as you aren’t knocking on the door to solicit business. But again, check with local law enforcement.

What kind of offer do you want to make in your doorknob hanger? 

Yes, you want to make a great offer. But as I always say, don’t use “X rooms for $XX” or “$X.XX per room” as your offer. Those offers are too overused. You want to be different from your competition. Instead, we like to make an offer giving FREE gifts with cleaning like FREE car mat cleaning, FREE recliner cleaned, FREE bathroom tile cleaned, FREE deodorizer or FREE room of carpet cleaning. Most of the time there is a condition to buy a certain amount of cleaning to get the FREE gift, but occasionally we run offers with no conditions to make a purchase as long as it’s in the right neighborhood. We also may make an offer of 50% off select additional services like upholstery, fabric protection or deodorizer. Make the offer a prominent part of the door hanger.

How should you distribute them?

Be careful about how you have these distributed. I’ve paid Boy Scouts, employees, and passed them out myself. One time, I found out that one of the Boy Scouts threw an entire stack of my door hangers in the trash and told me they were put on doors. Thankfully one of the honest Boy Scouts told me what happened. Like anyone you hire to work for you, you should periodically check that your doorknob hangers actually made it to the doors you intended to reach. And always make sure the hanger is on the door, not the mailbox. In the U.S., it’s a federal violation to place anything on or inside a mailbox.

What are five-around doorknob hangers?

Fellow ICS writer Steve Toburen popularized the concept of a five-around doorknob hanger in our industry. This involves using a standard doorknob hanger that says something like, “We just cleaned for your neighbors.” And of course, it includes a special offer. After cleaning for a client, you pass this doorknob hanger out on five neighboring homes. Some cleaners even write the client’s name or get a testimonial from the client to show proof that you were in the neighborhood cleaning. Five-arounds can be a great way to use doorknob hangers. After all, if you’re good enough to clean for the neighbors, you’re good enough, right?

Doorknob hangers can be an excellent part of a neighborhood marketing plan. Use them as your stand-alone means of getting in your desired neighborhood or in conjunction with a great direct mail campaign like Every Door Direct Mail. In fact, join me for next month’s article where I’ll be giving you tips on neighborhood marketing with Every Door Direct Mail.

For details on my Ad Club where you can get this doorknob hanger, postcards and MORE done for you, go to www.Hitmanadvertising.com/coaching