Marketing guides
Guides written by people who run the ads
Plain-English marketing guides for tradesmen and service businesses, with real numbers from our own exterior cleaning firm. No fluff.
Free 20-minute call. No contracts pushed. Takes 30 seconds.
- We run our own service business
- 38 leads at £7.42 each
- Live within 7 days
Pick a topic
Trade business marketing tips, by topic
Jump straight to what you need. Each guide stands on its own.
Start with whatever is costing you jobs right now. New to paid ads? Our Facebook ads guide for small business in the UK starts with budget. Not sure which platform? Read Facebook ads vs Google Ads. Leads going cold? Our lead generation tips for a service business show you how to follow up leads fast.
Facebook and Instagram ads
Budgets, creative and costs, with the real figures from our own campaigns.
- How much to spend on Facebook adsWork back from job value to a daily budget, with our own £20-a-day campaign as the worked example.
- Writing ads that get booked jobsHooks, photos, offers and lead forms that turn into jobs, not just clicks.
- Cost per lead benchmarksOur real cost per lead, how to work out yours and why cost per booked job matters more.
Getting and keeping leads
How to get more enquiries, and how to win them once they land.
Want a fuller diary? Start here
Skip the reading. We set it up for your services and postcodes.
Free 20-minute call. No contracts pushed. Takes 30 seconds.
- We run our own service business
- Live within 7 days
Google Ads and local search
Where Google beats Facebook, and how to show up on the map.
Websites that get enquiries
Why visitors leave without calling, and what to fix first.
Rather we did it for you? Ask us
Tell us your trade and postcodes. We will show you what we would run and what it should cost.
Free 20-minute call. No contracts pushed. Takes 30 seconds.
- We run our own service business
- Live within 7 days
- No contracts pushed
Start here
Most useful first
Short on time? Read these three in this order. They change results fastest.
1. Set a budget that pays back
Work out what a lead is worth to you before you spend a penny on ads.
2. Reply before anyone else
The first firm to reply usually wins the job. Fix this and every lead goes further.
3. Fix the page they land on
If visitors leave without calling, more traffic only costs you more.
Why trust these guides
Advice from a team that runs a service business
Tested on our own diary
We try every ad, page and follow-up on our exterior cleaning firm before we run it for you.
Real numbers only
38 leads at £7.42 each, £8,450 of booked jobs. No made-up case studies.
Plain English
No jargon. If a term matters, we explain it once and move on.
Most marketing advice is written by people who have never had to fill a diary. Ours comes from sending the quotes, answering the WhatsApp messages and booking the jobs. See how we set up your ads and lead alerts, or read our full ad results.
Big thanks to the Grafter Media team 🙌 I've raised my prices and I'm still booked out. The biggest mistake I made was not running ads sooner.
JordanHewitt's Exterior Cleaning, EssexWant leads like ours? Start here
Free 20-minute call. No contracts pushed. Takes 30 seconds.
- We run our own service business
- 38 leads at £7.42 each
- Live within 7 days
Questions about our guides
Who writes these guides?
The Grafter Media team. We run our own exterior cleaning firm, so the examples come from ads, pages and follow-up we test on our own diary first.
Are the figures in the guides real?
Yes. Where we quote numbers they come from our own campaigns, such as 38 leads at £7.42 each from £281.80. Anything general is hedged, because costs vary by trade, area and season.
Where should I start if I have never run ads?
Start with how much to spend on Facebook ads, then read how to follow up leads fast. Ads only pay off when you reply quickly.
Do I need to do all this myself?
No. The guides show you how it works so you can judge any agency, including us. If you would rather hand it over, see our marketing services, from ads to an AI phone receptionist that answers calls while you are on a job, or book a free call.
Are the guides only for exterior cleaners?
No. They suit plumbers, electricians, roofers, locksmiths, landscapers, detailers and any other local service business. We use cleaning examples because that is the business we run.
Want more booked jobs? Start here
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On the call
- We look at your services, your area and the jobs you want more of
- We show you our own real figures and what we would set up for you
- You get a straight quote for your area. No pressure, no lock-in
- We run our own service business
- Live within 7 days
- Leads straight to WhatsApp
Rather message first? WhatsApp us