Strapped for cash? That's no excuse. You can't afford to be invisible in today's economy. If you're a small or start-up business, invisibility equals "out of business".
Social media is the way to reach a global audience for free. Here are some great tools you can use to promote your company without paying a cent.
• Blog-share your ideas, tips, how-to knowledge or comment on industry trends or the hot news that's relevant to your industry.
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* Facebook-Not just for teens anymore. Set up a personal or fan page for you and/or your business and start making connections with people you could never meet anywhere else. Meet relevant people by joining groups or starting your own.
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* Squidoo-Seth Godin knows a thing or two about marketing. His Squidoo site lets you create "lenses" about the subjects you know best-and they all drive traffic to your main site while earning you money!
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* Twitter-Say something valuable 140 characters at a time. Provide tips, teach a mini-course, offer a hot link to your followers and watch your list grow.
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* MySpace-Still another place to make great connections, especially for writers, artists, bands and companies that reach a younger audience. But don't be fooled; there are grown-ups out there, too.
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* Linked-in-a perfect place to stay in touch with your professional network and be introduced to friends of friends-real people you actually know who can help you make connections.
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* Smart Women's Cafe-This new online membership group is a great place to get expert advice for your new business. It's not quite free, but given the value of the information, it's a real steal!
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Start putting the power of social media to work for your business today!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
How to Market Your Small Business Without Breaking the Bank By Jason Kay
In today's tough economic environment it is more important than ever for small business owners to find low cost marketing strategies that work. Sure advertising your small business on buses and on billboards would be great, if you could afford it, but if you can't that doesn't mean you can't get the word out effectively about your small business without going broke.
There are many different ways to help your small business drum up awareness that are both low cost and effective. It is simply a matter of using your imagination and ingenuity to get the job done. Three of the most tried and true low cost marketing strategies are as follows:
1. Advertise a Special to Existing Customers: Hopefully you have compiled an e-mail list of all your loyal customers that you already have. If you have, you can advertise a one-day only sale for preferred customers to get them into your place of business. Simply send out a generic e-mail and offer a deal too good to be true, but only offer it for one day and only for your existing customers.
What will happen is that customers will come in because of the sense of urgency that you created by giving such a short deadline for them to save. They will also feel 'special' knowing that the sale is only for a select few that they are part of. More times than not, the customer will pick up additional items that are not on sale as well as the advertised sale item.
2. Look at Windows: Go to a busy down town area where you know the foot traffic is great. Find a small business that has great window visibility to that traffic and talk to the owner to see if you can advertise your business in their window. What you create is a win, win situation.
The shop owner gets a little bit of money for the advertisement and you get a lot of exposure for your business. Really what you will be getting is all the eyeballs for say $50 per month that the shop owner is getting who pays $1500 per month in rent. This works in reverse too. If you have a small business that is located in a place with terrific foot traffic, approach other small businesses and either charge them to advertise in your window, or trade out for advertisement in theirs.
3. Market Within Your Network: Start first with your friends and family but don't stop there. Go to your lawyer, landscaper, mailman, dentist, doctor, you get the point. You do business with them, why shouldn't they do business with you? The best part about this type of low cost marketing strategy is that even if they can't use your business chances are they will know someone who can. That's how word-of-mouth works.
Just because your business is small and you don't have a lot of money, doesn't mean that you can't use these effective low cost marketing strategies to help your small business not only to survive, but to thrive as well. Being a small business owner can be cut throat at times and in any business it is survival of the fittest, and more times than not, the smartest as well.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Kay
There are many different ways to help your small business drum up awareness that are both low cost and effective. It is simply a matter of using your imagination and ingenuity to get the job done. Three of the most tried and true low cost marketing strategies are as follows:
1. Advertise a Special to Existing Customers: Hopefully you have compiled an e-mail list of all your loyal customers that you already have. If you have, you can advertise a one-day only sale for preferred customers to get them into your place of business. Simply send out a generic e-mail and offer a deal too good to be true, but only offer it for one day and only for your existing customers.
What will happen is that customers will come in because of the sense of urgency that you created by giving such a short deadline for them to save. They will also feel 'special' knowing that the sale is only for a select few that they are part of. More times than not, the customer will pick up additional items that are not on sale as well as the advertised sale item.
2. Look at Windows: Go to a busy down town area where you know the foot traffic is great. Find a small business that has great window visibility to that traffic and talk to the owner to see if you can advertise your business in their window. What you create is a win, win situation.
The shop owner gets a little bit of money for the advertisement and you get a lot of exposure for your business. Really what you will be getting is all the eyeballs for say $50 per month that the shop owner is getting who pays $1500 per month in rent. This works in reverse too. If you have a small business that is located in a place with terrific foot traffic, approach other small businesses and either charge them to advertise in your window, or trade out for advertisement in theirs.
3. Market Within Your Network: Start first with your friends and family but don't stop there. Go to your lawyer, landscaper, mailman, dentist, doctor, you get the point. You do business with them, why shouldn't they do business with you? The best part about this type of low cost marketing strategy is that even if they can't use your business chances are they will know someone who can. That's how word-of-mouth works.
Just because your business is small and you don't have a lot of money, doesn't mean that you can't use these effective low cost marketing strategies to help your small business not only to survive, but to thrive as well. Being a small business owner can be cut throat at times and in any business it is survival of the fittest, and more times than not, the smartest as well.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Kay
Small Business Marketing - Charities Can Make You Money By Sam Simon Jones
Small Business Marketing - Charities Can Make You Money By Sam Simon Jones
Many small business owners are astounded to find out that they can indeed profit from giving proceeds, or donating products to charity and intern market there small business.
There are three reasons that giving to charity leads to an increase in profits and the businesses market share: first, giving to charity allows the business to claim valuable tax receipts for their donations. Second, giving to charity builds the reputation of the business, and third, because of this increase in reputation within the community, consumers are attracted to your business.
Giving to charity gives the local small business an opportunity to become a sponsor to an event, or charity. This means one thing - free exposure! With a charitable donation, many organizations offer this exposure to the business. What does this mean for the business? Members of the community will recognize the name, and associate the business with charitable endeavours - and the business name could be featured at large events!
There are five ways that a small business can market to reach a large audience. These ways are: with a website, on the radio, in the newspaper, placing online advertisements and special offers via opt-in email lists.
Reaching a large audience with a small budget can be time consuming, but it is possible. One of the most important developments for any small business is a website. The website should include services or products offered, contact information for the business as well as an option for the reader to join an opt-in list to receive updates, news and special offers.
A website can be created for as little as two-hundred dollars by a local professional and hosted for as little as $7.00 per month. Many customers look to the internet as a source of information, and therefore every small business should take advantage of this valuable marketing tool.
Marketing on the radio allows small business to reach a maximum amount of customers in the local area. Radio ads can intrigue the customer to visit the store or business. It is important to offer some sort of incentive, or reason for the customer to visit - this could be a valuable promotion, sale or clearance.
Online advertisements can be placed for free on many websites.
Using online classified websites, these advertisements can create a buzz for the business. Websites that allow online ads are local to the user, and often have sections created for services offered, or items for sale.
Regardless of how technologically savvy we are becoming as a community, newspaper advertisements are still successful. Advertising in the newspaper allows the small business to be marketed to the local customer. It is very important to reach these customers, as they are the primary source of income for the business.
Using the website as a valuable tool to create an email list for customers allows the business to contact these members directly with offers that entice them to visit the local business. These customers can be enticed with incentive such as, coupons, special savings offers or clearance sales.
All of these tips are crucial in marketing a small business, and - giving to charity is considered a way to market the small business. Just think about the amount of people that take place in charity events, whether low profile, or high profile - you are still reaching the target audience.
Many small business owners are astounded to find out that they can indeed profit from giving proceeds, or donating products to charity and intern market there small business.
There are three reasons that giving to charity leads to an increase in profits and the businesses market share: first, giving to charity allows the business to claim valuable tax receipts for their donations. Second, giving to charity builds the reputation of the business, and third, because of this increase in reputation within the community, consumers are attracted to your business.
Giving to charity gives the local small business an opportunity to become a sponsor to an event, or charity. This means one thing - free exposure! With a charitable donation, many organizations offer this exposure to the business. What does this mean for the business? Members of the community will recognize the name, and associate the business with charitable endeavours - and the business name could be featured at large events!
There are five ways that a small business can market to reach a large audience. These ways are: with a website, on the radio, in the newspaper, placing online advertisements and special offers via opt-in email lists.
Reaching a large audience with a small budget can be time consuming, but it is possible. One of the most important developments for any small business is a website. The website should include services or products offered, contact information for the business as well as an option for the reader to join an opt-in list to receive updates, news and special offers.
A website can be created for as little as two-hundred dollars by a local professional and hosted for as little as $7.00 per month. Many customers look to the internet as a source of information, and therefore every small business should take advantage of this valuable marketing tool.
Marketing on the radio allows small business to reach a maximum amount of customers in the local area. Radio ads can intrigue the customer to visit the store or business. It is important to offer some sort of incentive, or reason for the customer to visit - this could be a valuable promotion, sale or clearance.
Online advertisements can be placed for free on many websites.
Using online classified websites, these advertisements can create a buzz for the business. Websites that allow online ads are local to the user, and often have sections created for services offered, or items for sale.
Regardless of how technologically savvy we are becoming as a community, newspaper advertisements are still successful. Advertising in the newspaper allows the small business to be marketed to the local customer. It is very important to reach these customers, as they are the primary source of income for the business.
Using the website as a valuable tool to create an email list for customers allows the business to contact these members directly with offers that entice them to visit the local business. These customers can be enticed with incentive such as, coupons, special savings offers or clearance sales.
All of these tips are crucial in marketing a small business, and - giving to charity is considered a way to market the small business. Just think about the amount of people that take place in charity events, whether low profile, or high profile - you are still reaching the target audience.
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