How to Advertise Your Bar Offline

Going Beyong the Internet: Advertising Your Bar

In this current age of digital communication, it is easy to forget the other methods of advertising available to restaurants and bars. Older methods of “getting the word out,” however, are still very much in use and still generate new and repeat business.

Word of Mouth Bar Advertising

It has been said that no restaurant or bar should need to advertise. Anybody who patronizes your place of business will tell his friends and family. If the news was good, he will come back and bring others with him. If the news was bad, he will warn others not to bother giving your bar a visit.

It is true that word of mouth advertising is the strongest ally for good business. Next time a customer tells you how nice the atmosphere is in your bar, why not say, “Thanks! Hey, bring your friends; we’d love to see them.”

A Bar's Ally: Good Neighbors

Business owners that develop and maintain good relationships with those who live locally are most likely to thrive. Be a good neighbor where you have your bar.

• Have a bulletin board on which locals can advertise their events.
• Get to know your regular customers by name.
• Never be too busy to stop what you are doing and say “hello” to any bar patron who wants your attention. This holds true if you are out and about in town and are stopped by one of your customers.

These things cost no money, but win you loyal customers.

Advertise with Paper Flyers and Table Tents

Table tents are an old trick and a very good one. Table tents are small, usually 4”x 6” clear plastic holders that stand on the bar or table. Bar owners slip paper advertising in them for customers to read. This is a great way to use subtle, suggestive selling. With table tents, you can advertise new drinks or new snacks or promote upcoming events, such as an open mike at your bar.

Bar Radio Advertisements

Purchasing an advertising spot on the radio can be as simple as drafting short copy about your bar. The DJ reads your copy during agreed upon hours; for example, periodically through the afternoon the DJ may encourage listeners to visit your bar when the workday is over. Radio advertising copy should include your bar’s name and location, hours, and anything special going on that day to entice customers.

Bar Television Ads

Advertising on television is more expensive than on the radio, but it gives potential customers the opportunity to see your beautiful bar before they come to visit. A good television spot may cause a spike in new business.

Advertising Your Bar in Newspapers

If your bar is in or near a small town, maintaining a presence in the local paper will be appreciated by the paper itself and will, hopefully, bring you customers. Court the people who live closest to your establishment by advertising in their papers.

Phone Books Advertisements for Bars

Being listed in the White Pages is not enough; when people are looking for businesses such as restaurants and bars they go straight to the Yellow Pages. Do not settle for just a Yellow Page listing, but have a section (perhaps a 1/4 or 1/8 of a page) that makes you easy to see and easy to find.

Advertising is all about telling people why they should come to your bar. That can be done on the computer, in the paper, or best of all, face to face.