Originally published in July 2019. Last updated on January 31, 2025.
Advertising your handyman business is the key to attracting new customers and growing your business. Without it, even the most skilled handyman businesses and their services can go unnoticed.
There are so many ways to reach potential customers these days, so it’s important to understand where you need to be to engage with your community and secure a steady stream of handyman work moving forward.
From websites and social media, to postcards and local partnerships, this article will walk you through the most effective handyman marketing strategies to promote your business.
1. Build a website
Your handyman website is like a digital business card. It allows your business to be found online, introduces your services, and can even let potential clients book services or request quotes.
In this day in age, there’s really no excuse for not having a website. It is one of the easiest places to host all of the important information about your handyman business, including your services, contact information, pricing, and examples of previous jobs.
There are many options to help you build your own website, including drag-and-drop solutions like Wix and Squarespace.
Online website builders will help you with search engine optimization to make sure you’re featuring the necessary information and relevant keywords to be found on Google.
Or, get your business online and in front of customers fast with a simple, professional website, you can set up in minutes.
Simply provide Jobber with details on your handyman business and services, and we’ll create a website that highlights what sets you apart from the competition.
2. Send email marketing campaigns
Email marketing is a great way to attract new customers and strengthen your relationship with existing customers.
Start a newsletter and encourage signups through your website or other advertising efforts to get people added to your mailing list.
Your handyman newsletter can include highlights of recent jobs you’ve completed, or helpful DIY tips for people to try on their own projects at home. Pair that with special offers and promotions and you’re well on your way to providing the most value to your customer base.
To send effective marketing emails faster, use a tool that prepares email templates and audiences for you.
When you use Jobber to create email campaigns, you can choose from premade templates that are built for specific goals and customers—and that includes your company branding.
After editing the email with details on your handyman services, you can edit your client segments. This means you can choose what group of clients you want to email—like all clients or past clients.
You can even select clients using tags, job history, or by a particular handyman service you provided.
Then, track your success over time from a simple dashboard. For every campaign you send in Jobber, you’ll see the number of customers who opened the email, clicked on a link, or converted into a job.
3. Build a Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is one of the most effective advertising tools for local trade businesses. When potential customers are looking for handyman services in their area, they will likely search something as simple as “Handyman [Location]”.
By building a Google Business Profile that includes your service area along with your services, photos, pricing, contact information, and operating hours, you’ll give yourself the best chance to appear at the top of search results.
Google Business Profile is also open to customer reviews, which are invaluable to growing your business. If you are rated highly by your previous customers, new customers are more likely to reach out.
4. Join online lead generation sites
Online lead generation sites connect you with potential clients already searching for your services. Most lead gen
Similar to your Google Business Profile, you’ll use these platforms to post your business information, photos, and collect positive reviews to improve your reputation.
Try one of these lead generation websites for your handyman business:
It’s important to note that these services aren’t free. Each platform has its own pricing model, which allows you to pay per lead or access leads through a site subscription.
6. Run social media ads
Social media ads give you the flexibility to create ads and target the people who need your services the most—and you only pay for the leads you generate.
To make sure you reach the right audience, you can choose to target people’s locations, age, interests, habits, personas, and more. You can run ads directly through social media networks, like Meta Ads for Facebook and Instagram.
For your ads to be effective, they need to stand out in busy social media feeds. Use high-quality photos or videos along with a clear, engaging description that explains your services and how potential clients can get in touch.
The only things you need to do next include deciding on your budget and audience, designing your ad with a premade template, and submit the ad on Meta or Instagram. It’s designed to be easy to use so you can start advertising and measuring the results.
Once you’ve chosen your ad content, the next steps are simple:
- Set your budget and define your target audience.
- Design your ad using an easy-to-use premade template.
- Submit your ad and start tracking performance.
7. Run Google ads
Google Search Ads and Google Local Service Ads are two of the most effective ways to boost your handyman business’s visibility and attract more customers. Both ad types put your business at the top of search results, making it easier for potential clients to find and contact you.
Google Search ads
Google Search Ads are text-based advertisements that appear at the top of search results when users look for handyman services using relevant keywords. You choose the keywords that trigger your ad, ensuring your business is displayed when potential clients search for the services you offer.
With Google Search Ads, you decide how much to spend, what your ad says, and who sees it. This helps you reach people actively searching for your services and attract more potential customers.
Google’s Local Services Ads
Google Local Service Ads (LSAs) also appear at the top of search results but include business details such as your contact information, online reviews, and service areas.
LSAs operate differently from Search Ads because they charge per lead instead of per click, ensuring you’re only paying for direct customer inquiries.
A key benefit of LSAs is the “Google Guaranteed” badge, which boosts credibility and helps potential customers feel more confident in hiring your services. These trust signals make your business stand out and encourage more leads to convert into paying customers.
8. Deliver postcard ads
Postcards are a great advertising strategy because they allow you to send personalized advertising materials directly to your prospects. It helps you stay top of mind and impress your customers and prospects so they choose you, instead of your competitors.
Tools like Mailchimp make it easy to create a professional and custom postcard—without any design experience. Plus, Mailchimp automatically syncs with your handyman CRM, so you won’t need to manually create a mailing list or figure out which contacts are the best advertising opportunities.
Instead, you can create targeted mailing lists using information like their invoice and account history, all conveniently stored in one place.
You can work with a local design and print shop to get this done too, but it will involve a bit more energy, time, and back and forth, and trips to the post office.
Postcard advertising ideas for handymen
- Announcements: If you’re starting to offer new features, celebrating your business anniversary, collaborating with another local business, or offering a giveaway prize
- Say thank you: If you want to reward your loyal customers or just stay in touch after each service call.
- Promotional reminders: If you’re offering special deals to specific contacts like two for the price of one service, or half off your first service. Simply print a promo code on each postcard that corresponds to your promotion.
Pro Tip: Include custom QR codes on your postcard ads so customers can easily connect to your digital experiences like a website or one of your social media profiles. There are many services online that let you create QR codes for free.
9. Build partnerships
Partnerships are collaborations with other businesses, entrepreneurs, or brands to reach new prospects and expand your customer base. They can take various forms, such as a series of social media endorsements, ads in exclusive newsletters, or affiliate programs with local businesses.
Partnerships give you access to a whole new audience of prospects through channels like social media, direct mail, email, or word of mouth.
Try forming partnerships with other popular businesses, successful solo entrepreneurs, brands, and social media accounts.
Partnerships with local realtors
Working with other realtors in town allows you to massively boost your referral rate, according to one Jobber community member, Stephen Richardson, owner of 20/20 Window Cleaning.
Stephen explains that realtors offer an amazing amount of referral volume. They have a lot of contacts who are moving in and out of homes, which is a lot of work opportunities!
Some of the best ways to set up realtor partnerships include:
- Collaborate with partner businesses on a shared postcard mailing. Each business can include their services on a postcard and send it to their customer lists, promoting both businesses at once.
- Creating a referral program. For every client they refer to you, give them a small cut of the profit.
- Collaborating on social media content. For example, you can record a short video with a realtor teaching their prospects how they can prepare their home for a showing or moving day. The realtor can tag you in the post and put prospects in touch with you.
Partnerships with local events
Supporting local events gets your handyman business in front of potential customers in your area and shows you care about your community. Communities have plenty of opportunities for you to participate in events at schools, churches, sports, and more.
You can provide handyman services to help set up, offer promotions for prizes, and fund the event as a sponsor or through a donation.
Partnerships with contractors and other home services
Partnering with other contractors and home services is a great way to generate more business and build your reputation as a handyman. You’ll set yourself up for a steady stream of jobs and gain access to a much larger customer base that you may not otherwise have been able to reach.
Introduce yourself to local contractors, property managers, and home inspectors to offer your services for jobs outside their expertise. After a few well-done jobs, you’ll be their go-to recommendation for small repairs, maintenance work, and other handyman services.
Advertising your business doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg, nor does it have to be left to the professionals. Once you get started and get the hang of things you’ll be excited to see how much it can help you grow your business, margins, and network.
5. Be active on social media
Social media has given businesses a direct line to communicate with customers and prospects, and your handyman services are no different.
Building and maintaining active social media pages helps you connect with and advertise to prospective customers. They are also great places to collect positive reviews and get feedback from your customers.
To pick the best social media platform for your business, you’ll want to consider the audience you’re trying to reach, the content they like to consume, and where they spend time online.
For example, TikTok and Instagram attract a younger crowd more interested in photos and short, digestible videos, while commercial clients and business managers are more likely to be found on LinkedIn.
Once you’ve narrowed down your platform of choice (or platforms), you can begin to post a variety of different types of content to garner some attention. This content may include:
All of these channels also offer paid advertising opportunities, which we’ll get into next.