For all trucking companies, one of the main questions, and actually a general question: How to hire and attract more drivers to their companies? Actually, this is one of the serious and big questions for any type of business.
Because employees are your business engine; without people, your ideas and actions can be too small for big progress—even when we talk about a trucking company.
As we already know, a trucking company is about trucks, but trucks do not drive themselves. Maybe in the future, autonomous trucks will exist, and people or truck drivers will not be needed at all—but not for now, for sure.
Here are a few critical factors that impact your business if you do not have CDL truck drivers, such as:
All examples or recommendations I give you in this article do not mean you must do the same. It is good to have them as a reference, and you can start using them at least as an idea for this direction.
Here are 7 steps to build the right marketing strategy to attract more CDL Truck Drivers:
You may have this question: Why do I need it? Or, In my company, everything is fine, and I do not have problems hiring CDL truck drivers. My trucks are always rolling.
And here, I will tell you why you need to have at least a strong marketing and recruiting team or find the right agency that will bring you results.
Take a look at 10 years ago—what was it like? Nothing. Pretty much everyone ran their business with ups and downs, and no company owners ever thought about social media or other resources to attract employees. But every year, it becomes harder to find the right people to run your business.
Because everything is changing—let’s say you do not use a simple and free tool for your business, like Excel, any other software, the DAT load board, or EFS money codes. The world is not standing still; the world is always moving forward. The same goes for many trucking companies—they have started saving money, time, and nerves by implementing marketing strategies.
Look, nobody is stupid. You receive marketing phone calls, emails, banners, and social media ads every day, all with one goal—to attract more people and sell a product. Marketing strategies are not something you might need — no, they are absolutely necessary and have a direct impact on your business. And the sooner you understand this, the better it will be for you and your company.
Marketing is the engine of your business — it brings more profit, more customers, and the perfect employees to your company.
The biggest benefit of all this? You will have much more time for yourself and much less stress than you do now. Maybe you enjoy the work process and even like the stress, but in the long run, this is a bad business strategy. You will never control the business—you will always be running the business. And that is the biggest mistake.
After you understand that marketing is one of the most important parts of your business, you need to understand why you need marketing. We will use the trucking business as an example.
The main audience for your marketing strategy is new potential employees, such as:
These are the most important people for your trucking business. If they are professionals, they will not only run your business but also bring experience to your company. With new updates, they will improve your company and remodel work processes—everything you need to control the workflow.
When you know your audience and need to target CDL truck drivers, you must create a list of requirements for this position. Your company’s requirements have a direct impact on your hiring process.
For example, if you only hire drivers with 2 years of experience, it will be much harder for the recruiting department to find candidates based on this criterion compared to hiring drivers with at least 6 months of experience. Additionally, the company will need to spend more money on ads to attract potential candidates.
I don’t mean that you should only hire drivers with or without experience—I just want to clearly explain how these requirements impact your hiring process.
Key factors to consider:
When you finish your list of requirements, you will need to create another list with your offer for potential new employees. To do this properly, you must analyze the trucking market and see what other companies are offering to drivers with the same requirements as yours.
You need to know at least:
Note: You need to understand that the fewer benefits your company offers, the harder it will be to attract potential employees. It’s the same as buying a new car—you try to find the best deal, options, and package. Everyone wants a good driver with a clean record, great experience, and, ideally, someone who never bothers company employees or causes problems—but this is impossible. You’re lucky if you understand this. Try to make your offer as competitive as possible in the market. You can downgrade it later when all your trucks are filled, and your recruiting team has a line of potential drivers eager to join your company.
For the next step, we need to define company culture and values. This needs to show potential employees what your company does and what its priorities are.
Note: When creating a marketing strategy for a specific audience, all your culture, mission, and values must be directed toward that audience. If your audience is CDL Class A truck drivers, you need to show them why your trucking company is a great place to work.
To build a strong brand for your company, you need to understand what marketing is—it's the same product your competitors have but presented in a different way. The key is how well you describe your product or offer to potential candidates.
Think of a bag of chips. They are all different, and every brand tries to stand out. Since 80% of customers choose products based on packaging, the bag that looks more colorful and attractive has a higher chance of being purchased.
To showcase your company in the best way and reach more CDL truck drivers, you need to highlight your:
Each of these highlights can be used to create a strong sales message. Let’s go through an example for each one for better explanation.
For company pluses, you can include company locations, fleet size, and safety scores.
Example – Company Locations Plus:
Headers for social media banners:
We are happy to share that we have three terminals in three different states: IL, TX, and NC. This can be perfect for you to stop by for truck preventive maintenance services and repairs. Also, if you live near one of our terminals, you don’t have to wait at the service center for your equipment—you can go home and enjoy an extra night with your family in your own comfortable bed.
Take a look at the different positions available for CDL truck drivers:
All the positions your company offers are great, so let’s build an example script for a recruiter or an ad.
Example – Company Positions:
Headers for social media banners:
We have a great company offer for you—just take a look! You can start as a company driver with us and grow into an owner-operator position. Why is this a good option? Because it’s less risky. If you join another company’s Lease-to-Purchase program, you won’t know exactly how the company operates, and there’s a high chance of losing money right away. With us, you have a better direction — you can start with a Lease (Rental) program for a few weeks or months before committing to buying a truck. This way, you’ll fully understand what it means to be an owner-operator — covering expenses like fuel, tolls, truck and trailer payments, and insurance—before making a big financial decision.
Pretty much, you can create the same type of description and script for a recruiter for each position—you just need to identify the key benefits and highlight them.
Company routes are very important for any truck driver working with you. Knowing where the company operates and what type of loads it hauls not only helps drivers understand how difficult the job will be but also impacts their safety and potential income loss during the work process. Some companies run in all 48 states, while others operate on dedicated routes, traveling north to south and back.
Example – Company Routes:
Headers for social media banners:
We know what’s important for our drivers, and we follow through on it. Our drivers are the engine of our company, and we need to use the right oil to keep it running smoothly. That’s why we carefully choose the right routes for our drivers.
Yes, we operate in all 48 states, but if you tell us that you don’t want to go to NY, NJ, or PA, we respect your decision and are happy to work with your preferences and experience.
This kind of communication shows real respect for CDL Class A truck drivers working in your company. It’s also a huge advantage for you—if a driver tells you certain states are risky for them, you may save yourself stress, money, and time while avoiding a situation where the driver quits unexpectedly due to discomfort with the assigned routes.
Just like routes, a truck’s equipment is critical for a driver—because they live in these trucks. For them, it’s important to know:
Let’s make this clear for everyone—not all companies have brand-new trucks. Many small fleet owners with 10–40 trucks can’t claim to have all-new equipment. If you have older trucks, it’s best to be upfront with potential candidates to save time.
For example, if you spend time explaining the company, work process, and offer, only to mention at the end that you run older trucks, a driver may say: “No, thanks. Have a good day.” Instead, it’s better to mention it early while highlighting other benefits of your company.
For example:
“Hey, look, we have a 2012 Volvo with over 500K miles on it, but we offer a $2,000 sign-on bonus and an extra 3 cents per mile for these trucks. I just have one available right now—let me know if you're interested.”
It doesn’t mean you need to copy and paste this exact response, but if your company has other strong benefits, make sure potential drivers know about them upfront.
Example – Company Equipment:
Headers for social media banners:
Our company prioritizes driver comfort, equipping all trucks with APU, inverter, refrigerator, microwave, PrePass, and I-Pass for all states. We offer multiple types of trailers, including Dry Van, Reefer, and Flatbed, allowing you to choose based on the season and maximize your earnings. However, this is optional—you can roll with the available trailers that suit you best. A huge plus for our drivers is that we do not use dual-facing cameras. We only require a road-facing camera, ensuring both safety and driver respect.
When it comes to home time for CDL Class A truck drivers, we can discuss it at length, but we’ll sum it up in a few words: IMPORTANT and NECESSARY.
The ideal situation for any company is to allow drivers to be home once a week. This works well for hiring purposes, especially if you’re running dedicated routes and drivers return to the terminal each week. However, most companies haul across all 48 states, and it might not always be possible to get a driver home every week.
Don’t forget about home time options, and don’t be too strict—being too rigid can lead to losing potential candidates. Rest is crucial for safety, and drivers who are well-rested bring that safety back to your company. If a driver is tired, they can become aggressive or rushed, leading to a range of issues from minor incidents to serious accidents.
Multiple home time options should be available, such as:
If you tell a driver, “No, after two weeks it’s only 2 days home,” or if your dispatchers constantly call the driver and push them to get back on the road, nothing will change in 80% of cases. If the driver wants to stay home, they will, and it’s important to maintain a good relationship with them. If the driver consistently takes more time off than agreed upon without emergency reasons, it’s best to consider replacing them, as it’s a sign of disrespect toward your company and staff.
Headers for social media banners:
This part is crucial for all truck drivers—actually, for everyone. The goal is to earn money and be successful. Truck drivers are no exception. For their hard work, they need to know how much money they will make, how many miles the company can provide, and what types of bonuses your company offers.
When it comes to pay rates, you don’t have many choices—you must follow the market prices. If all companies are paying $0.65 per mile, you can’t pay $0.55 per mile. You can do it, but your hiring process will be very difficult and won’t align with your requirements list. For example, if we talk about buying a TV, you simply open the internet and check the model and size of TV you want. You’ll see the prices are pretty much the same, maybe with a difference of a few hundred dollars. But 90% of the time, the prices will be similar. If one store has the TV for $1000 while all other stores sell it for $670, no one will buy the $1000 TV. The same goes for salaries. You can pay slightly less—$0.05 to $0.10 less per mile—but only if you have the right marketing strategy and a line of new CDL Class A drivers waiting to join your company as soon as trucks are available.
Company bonuses are a huge help for your recruiting and marketing teams. Here are some types of bonuses that can benefit your hiring process:
This doesn’t mean you need to have all of these bonuses in your company. However, if you're trying to build a strong company, I recommend adding some bonuses that can improve driver performance or help retain drivers. For example, if you want to increase driving miles at your company, you could tell your drivers (or the part of your team that is more experienced but slower): “When you reach 4000 miles in a week, you’ll receive a $150 bonus. The second week, it will be $250, the third week $300, and the fourth week $350. But this program works step-by-step—if you miss one of these weeks, you’ll need to start again with the first week’s bonus.”
A Sign-On Bonus can work well for marketing purposes. You don’t need to pay the full amount upfront. For example, if the Sign-On bonus is $2500, you can structure it like this: “Each statement will include $150 or $250.” This structure helps retain the driver and ensures they stay with the company, as receiving a $250 extra per week for the next 10 weeks is a great incentive. This also prevents you from paying the entire bonus upfront, which could be a loss if the driver quits early.
For W2 tax form employees, a typical benefits package includes:
For 1099 independent contractors, these benefits are generally not provided. Many recruiters may say: “Sir, this is a 1099 form, so there are no benefits at all.”
However, let’s explore the other side of the benefits package for 1099 workers. It's not ideal to tell potential customers or employees, “Sorry, we don’t have that.” Instead, we need to identify what can be included in the 1099 benefits package for your drivers. Here’s a list of possible benefits you can offer for independent contractors:
You may already offer some of these benefits in your company, such as free drug tests. Remember, you don’t need to offer all of these, but it’s worth considering how these additional perks can improve your hiring process. If you ask me how to attract more drivers, I would suggest using these benefits as one of your selling points.
You can run marketing campaigns highlighting your benefits package and communicate to your audience:“Come to us! Our 1099 package includes much more than what other companies offer!” This not only helps you attract more drivers, but it can also help retain them in the company, as they feel valued and supported.
Truck drivers have one of the hardest jobs, and it’s important to understand the challenges they face. A key part of their work process is communication with your company. Unfortunately, in many companies, communication can be poor and unprofessional, which leads to frustration and dissatisfaction among drivers. Poor communication is often a reason why drivers quit.
Here are some common communication issues truck drivers face:
To attract more CDL Class A drivers, you should highlight how your company addresses these communication challenges. Let your potential drivers know that you understand the issue and have a dedicated Retention Department that is designed to help. This department doesn’t just solve problems; they’re there to assist drivers at any time, ensuring that issues are addressed promptly. You can also assure your drivers that this department is available every day from 7 AM to 3 AM to answer their calls.
Additionally, consider implementing a web form where drivers can file complaints or report communication breakdowns. This form will not only help you identify areas where communication could be improved, but it will also allow you to hold employees accountable for their actions. As the company owner, marketing manager, or recruiter, you’ll be able to track patterns and ensure that every team member is fulfilling their responsibilities.
Any truck driver who calls your company or applies online will ask the recruiter, in the first words, how the company works, where the company is going, and what types of loads it hauls. This is one of the great topics for a marketing strategy to attract more people, not only drivers. You can create short videos or articles with images that explain and answer all of these questions.
Here is an example of a company page on our NewJobs4You.com Job Board.
Let’s take a look at one of our partner companies: HMD TRUCKING, INC.
Here, we have built a great landing page for this company that provides any potential candidate with a quick and useful overview. Drivers can find:
On this page, you will find everything you need to know about the company before applying. You should include the same type of information for your company to help potential employees better understand if they want to work for you.
This part is the marketing engine—the best way to reach more customers, whether you're selling a product or offering a job position. All you need to turn on this engine is:
Note: I want to draw a little attention here! If you're reading this article carefully, you’ll see these words: “How the company plans to keep them and grow together?” Many companies forget about this, but it’s super powerful. Nobody ever tells how they plan to help others succeed. These are the most powerful words. When you develop your marketing strategy, please think about this and create a special ad around this idea—how you will help your drivers grow with you, what you plan to do, and what steps you will take. Trust me, you will get a lot of impressions, attention, and good leads.
To share information about your company and attract more people, you need the right channels to do so. The best way is to use popular resources, also known as public channels. Some of these can be free, while others may require a monthly subscription or a one-time payment.
You can find a better description and explanation about each channel in another article here: TOP Social Media Strategies for Trucking Companies in 2025, along with why these channels are beneficial for your trucking business or which ones to prioritize.
Opening new social media channels or developing a website is the easiest part of a marketing campaign. The more important task is making posts on all these channels. My recommendation is to create a content plan for your audience. The best approach is to post at least once a day on all your channels. However, if it’s low-quality content or if you copied it from somewhere else, it’s much better not to post at all. Otherwise, your social media channels will decline in platform ratings, and you will never receive organic traffic. Everything you’ll have is referral traffic from your ads.
To build a strong and effective content plan, use unique information on the market. Consider posts about:
Each of these topics can lead to many different posts. Also, you can make posts from websites you like, or when you find great information for your business. The same goes for this article—if you’re still here and reading these words, it means this article is great for you. I’d like to ask a favor: please share this page on your social media channels if you like it. The best way to support me would be if you add this link to any page on your website.
Once you have completed all these steps, create a social media ad campaign to attract more truck drivers and start generating leads with truck drivers' contact information. This will help you reach out to them and hire them for your company. If these drivers do not have the experience you’re looking for at the moment, don’t remove them from your list—just build a strong database system by experience, state, and dates. Over time, your recruiting team can contact truck drivers again. This approach is very helpful in saving your marketing budget.
This has been a long article, but I tried my best to help you and explain each step as thoroughly as I can. Now, let’s conclude: The best way to attract more truck drivers and make life easier for you and your hiring team is to build a great marketing plan, which at least includes these seven steps. This is just the beginning—these are simple and general steps to get you started. You can hire a marketing team, but you need to control them, understand what they’re doing, and know where the budget is going—just like you would control your dispatchers when booking a load.
The last thing I want to emphasize is the importance of understanding marketing properly. Everyone has the same options, and everyone has the same needs, but many people don’t know how to find their strengths (highlights) or how to talk about them. This is not hard. I’ve given you examples—use them to get started.
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