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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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