diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/r3corda/demos/TraderDemo.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/r3corda/demos/TraderDemo.kt
index c1e6fce49c..c5f62ea2b2 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/r3corda/demos/TraderDemo.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/r3corda/demos/TraderDemo.kt
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ fun runTraderDemo(args: Array<String>): Int {
         parser.parse(*args)
     } catch (e: Exception) {
         println(e.message)
-        println("Please refer to the documentation in docs/build/index.html to learn how to run the demo.")
+        printHelp(parser)
         return 1
     }
 
@@ -377,3 +377,13 @@ private class TraderDemoProtocolSeller(val otherSide: Party,
     }
 
 }
+
+private fun printHelp(parser: OptionParser) {
+    println("""
+    Usage: trader-demo --role [BUYER|SELLER] [options]
+    Please refer to the documentation in docs/build/index.html for more info.
+
+    """.trimIndent())
+    parser.printHelpOn(System.out)
+}
+