Advertising and marketing: how to order promotion without overpaying
Where to start: what you want from advertising
The most common reason for disappointment in marketing is an unclear goal. “I want more customers” is not yet a task. It's better to say what you sell, to whom, in which city, and how many enquiries a month would satisfy you. Then a specialist can suggest a specific channel and work out where the money goes.
It's important to tell apart two parts of the cost: the contractor's work and the advertising budget. The latter is paid to a platform (Meta, Google or a marketplace), and it is often bigger than the fee.
Which direction to choose
Quick enquiries usually come from paid traffic: targeted advertising in social networks or search ads. A longer but steadier result comes from website SEO, which works over months. For a daily brand presence, social media management fits.
If you sell on marketplaces, look at marketplace promotion. Order texts for the website and posts in the copywriting section. For offline advertising there are printing services and signage. A general strategy, analysis and funnel can be put together with the help of marketing services.
What to put in your request
- Business and product: what you sell and who your customer is.
- Goal: enquiries, calls, sales, awareness, website traffic.
- Channel: Instagram, Facebook, Google, a marketplace, or “I don't know, advise me”.
- What you already have: website, pages, photos, audience, previous advertising.
- Region of display: city, region or all of Philippines.
- Scope: number of posts, designs, pages or print run.
- Advertising budget: separately from the contractor's fee.
- Timing and reporting: when to start and how often you need reports.
How to spot a strong offer
Ask for several examples of work in a similar niche and, if possible, client reviews. A good specialist asks questions about your business instead of promising a result straight away. Be wary of promises of specific sales: in advertising the result depends on the product, the price and the competition.
Compare what is included: analytics setup, number of creatives, tests, optimisation, reports. Two offers with the same price can differ in scope. Find out in whose name the ad accounts are registered, so you don't lose access when the cooperation ends. It's better to put the terms of work, deadlines and rules for ending the contract in writing.
A typical mistake is to pay for a signboard, visiting cards or a print run without approving the design and the type of material. Another is to demand a result from SEO in a week.
Before the start, ask for a plan for the first thirty days: what will be done, which indicators will be tracked and when you will discuss results. For a small business it is quite normal to start with a small test in one channel, not with a big campaign everywhere at once.
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
You don't exchange messages with ten agencies and freelancers. Describe the task once, and specialists and studios send offers in the chat: what they will do, at what price or what it depends on, and in what time. They see where their offer ranks and can improve their terms to win your request. So interesting options often come out better value.
The site shows the one that is best on substance first, and reviews are visible next to each offer. Contacts stay hidden until you choose an offer, and it is free for the customer. More on the page “How it works”.
