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13 Free or Cheap Effective Advertising Methods
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by:
Donnie Baird
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Advertising
is the life blood of any business, no matter how big or how small. No
advertising usually means no business. Large companies have an almost
unlimited source of advertising dollars. Small business owners on the
other hand, are limited in the amount of money they have for
advertising. So, the problem is how to make ones advertising dollar get
the most bang for the buck. It's not enough to advertise. Your
advertising must be effective. So, once you have a website or an ad to
advertise, check out the following ways to advertise for little or no
cost.
1. Advertising coop- Many businesses, especially work at home
businesses, offer advertising coops. They will send people to your
business for a fee. Usually the fee is relatively small. This is nice
because you already know that these people have at least some interest
in your business. Although they may not spend a penny with you, you at
least get the exposure.
2. Website-The age of the internet has expanded the possibility of
owning your own business to an almost unlimited number of people. It
also has expanded the advertising audience to a tremendous amount of
new people, world wide, who otherwise you would never have been able to
reach. Although websites will cost you to get hosted, you can advertise
it many ways for free. Things like link exchanges and article
submissions allow you to get exposure to your website with no cost
except for you time. And as we will see in a moment, your website can
be advertised many other ways for free. The advantage of a website is
that it centralizes all your business and products into one central
location. It gives you somewhere to send people so that you don't have
to do as much selling because you let your website do the selling for
you.
3. Answering Machine-Change the message on your answering machine to
reflect the fact that you are now in business for yourself. You could
say something like," Hello. You have reached the home office of John
Doe of My Business.com….." That way when you call that person back,
they may ask you about your business and thus the door is open to
discussing your business.
4. Put a sign in your front yard or in the yard of a friend or relative
with your name and website address on it. This is a good way for your
neighbors to find out about your new business as well as any people
that ride by your house.
5. Place a magnetic sign or bumper sticker on your car. Now, when you
are riding down the road, sitting at a stop sign, or leaving your car
parked at the mall or grocery store, you are getting free advertising.
6. Wear your ad-Place your website on a sweatshirt, tee-shirt, or a
hat. So, when you are out in public, people will see you ad and again
it will open up the door to discussing your new business.
7. Flyers-There are many places that will allow you to place a flyer
about your business. Businesses like grocery stores, libraries,
laundromats, hair salons and others will let you place a free ad on
their public bulletin board.
8. Business cards-Don't leave home without them. You never now when the
chance to hand one out will happen. You may see an old friend, meet
someone looking to get out of the 9-5 rut or who is in need of a new
opportunity.
9. Free Classifieds-Use the internet and the many free classified ads
on it to advertise your business. A search using "free classifieds"
will give you an almost limitless number of places to submit your
website and ad.
10.Ezines or electronic magazines are also a good place to advertise
your business. Some charge a fee for placing your ad in the best
location, some let you advertise for free. Again a web search will
allow you find numerous ezines to place you ad in.
11.Place your web address in your e-mail signature.
12.Place a flyer or business card in your out going mail.
13.Word of Mouth-The least expensive form of advertising and maybe the
most effective way to advertise your business is word of mouth. Simply
tell those you come in contact with that you are in business for
yourself. They will tell others and they will tell others and it can go
on and on. Sooner or later someone will take a look at what you are
doing.
Obviously, there are many more ways to advertise your business for
little or no money. The point is you don't have to have the big bucks
to successfully advertise you business or product. There are many
people who have started and become extremely successful in their
business on a shoe string advertising budget. There is hope for the
small business owner. All you need is a website or add, a little
creativity, a little time, and you too can advertise your way to
success without going to the poor house.
About the Author
Donnie Baird has been involved with work at home
businesses for 4 years and is the webmaster/owner of
http://internet-work-at-home-opportunity.com . He lives in North
Carolina with his wife and two children.
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