Marketing On The Cheap
Every business must have some sort of advertising. Traditionally, this has been fairly expensive, but it need not be, if you are advertising over the Internet. This is good for the majority of Internet marketers, as most Internet businesses have a small to non-existent advertising budget.
Whichever type of business you have, you ought to consider promoting it on and off line. I find it easier to consider the off line aspect first, because there are fewer choices than with on line advertising and they can often be dismissed. For most businesses, off line advertising typically comes down to newspaper adverts, sign-written vehicles, free ads and handbills.
These types of advertising are very valuable for local shops and local businesses such as builders, plumbers, poodle parlours et cetera, but they are relatively expensive. Here are a few unusual suggestions for off line marketing:
Try to give something away. This may appear to be expensive, but it does not have to be. For instance, if you run a pet shop, you could write a leaflet on how to wash your dog or how to get rid of lice. Promote this give-away on line, in your shop window and in the paper. Tempt people to come into your place of work to pick one up.
Ask your local papers if they print press releases. If they do get details of ideal length and subject matter and send them a press release whenever you take on new staff, win an award or start selling a new product or service. Press releases should be free of charge.
Next time their is a local event, hire a booth and give a demonstration of what you do; take a survey of what you want to know; and hand out flyers. Stalls at Girl Guide Jamborees or Bring-And Buy sales are very cheap and you may meet thousands of people in person. Then hand out a press release out about the event.
Offer to present a prize to a local charity event and / or have the tickets made too. With your name on, of course. Hundreds or people will see you name linked with a good cause.
Run a competition with a prize. Run it in the local paper or from your shop. As a building firm, we once offered a man Friday free for a day. It ran over a three week time span and every week we asked for five trivia questions to be answered. The newspaper ran it free of charge.
Thousands of people went in for it and our cost was a day’s salary. An old widow won him and she had him doing little odd jobs about the house all day while she made him tea and sandwiches and had a good old natter. I think it made her year, but it got us a lot of goodwill and fantastic publicity.
You could offer badges, coupons and novelties as lower prizes
Send out Christmas cards and promotional calendars to past and potential clients. A calendar will keep your name before someone’s eyes all year around.
You could offer free seminars on the key features of your business. If you could talk in the community hall for thirty minutes, you could take questions and answers afterward. Try the local Womens’ Institute.
Some of these strategies can be used to promote an online business or website too.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on quite a few subjects, but is at present concerned with Marketing Your Website. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at The Best Sales And Marketing Strategy.
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