How to Start a Billboard Business

Business Overview:

Learning how to start a billboard business could be the ticket to financial freedom for an entrepreneur looking to break into the marketing scene. Even with the proliferation of advertising on the Internet and television, billboards are still one of the fastest growing marketing tools around. Who hasn’t read billboard after billboard on a road trip or a daily commute to the office? If properly designed, a billboard can be an extremely effective way to advertise a company’s goods or services. This is why starting a billboard business is one of the best business ideas available today. There are several things you will need to do, however, before selling your first advertisement. If purchasing a billboard franchise, many of the decisions are made for you. You will receive training, marketing help and a group of established billboards to work with. If starting your business from the ground up, literally, you will need to contact your local government to see what areas are zoned for billboards. Once you have selected an area for your billboard, negotiate a lease agreement for the land on which the billboard will stand. Now you’re ready for erecting the billboard and here you have options. A business plan will help you decide which option is best for your business needs and will help you formulate your pricing structure. A standard billboard is built with metal and the advertisement is printed on vinyl and glued to the billboard surface for the duration of your contract with the advertising company, usually 30 days, at which time it is simply torn off and replaced with another vinyl ad. Since the billboard graphic is so important to the success of the ad, you may want to hire a graphic designer to help your clients create the most effective ad. This type of billboard is the most popular and will cost approximately $25,000 USD to build (prices will vary depending on size). If you’re willing to spend more, look into erecting a digital billboard. The screens of these billboards are either LCD (liquid crystal display, like a laptop screen or LCD television) or LED (light-emitting diode). Less than 1% of billboards in the US, for example, have this technology so there is definitely room for the addition of this innovation to the billboard industry. It takes much less time to get an advertisement up on a digital billboard. It can happen almost instantly, as opposed to days to produce and put up a standard vinyl ad. You can offer much more flexibility in advertising prices as well. Businesses whose marketing budgets have been cut can have the option of excellent billboard exposure but just for a week or two (or even a day) instead of an entire month. These advantages do come with a big price tag however. It can cost six figures to erect a digital billboard, but with the right business model and financing, this type of billboard could make your business a healthy profit. Regardless of which type of billboard you choose, this method of advertising has stood the test of time and will continue to be one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing available to businesses. What better time to get in on it than right now?

A Day in the Life of a Billboard Business Owner:

Your day will begin by checking your email and voicemail for messages from potential clients. You will contact these businesses to discuss their needs. If you decide to work together, you will meet with the business representative to go over their advertisement graphics. If you have a graphic artist on staff, you will review this art with him or her and make adjustments. If operating a standard billboard, you will get the ad transferred to properly sized vinyl material and get your billboard “installers” to glue it to your billboard. If you have a digital billboard, much of your business can be done electronically. You may still meet with your clients personally, depending on your business model for customer service, but you will be able to program the ad graphic directly to your billboard. You will spend time marketing your business and you will check on your finances to ensure everything is in order.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be businesses, schools, non-profits or government agencies looking to spend their marketing dollars on billboard advertising.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Financing
• Leased land on which to build billboard(s) or established billboard(s)
• Graphic artist (optional)
• Personnel to hang the ads on the billboard(s)
• Computer with graphics program and finance software

The Good:

• You will get repeat revenue each month (or however often you turn over your advertisements)
• You are offering a cost-effective method of advertising for businesses.
• You can scale up your business and add more billboards when your budget allows.
• After your initial investment, there is very low overhead.
• Billboards market themselves – just include your business phone number or website on each of your billboards.

The Bad:

• The startup costs are high.
• It can take some time to see a profit.

Resources:

• Outdoor Advertising Association of America
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Advertising Sales Agents
• Wikipedia on Billboards

About The Author

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