7 Ways To Market Your Business For Under $500
| Category: Marketing Strategy | Date: 2002-07-05 |
In difficult economic times, you may need to adjust your marketing budget. But, that does not mean cutting back on your marketing efforts. So, this month I want to share some low cost yet highly effective marketing strategies with you. These ideas are easy to implement and will provide you almost instant shameless success.
1. Co-Promote
Cut your marketing costs by promoting with other businesses with the same type of target audience. Split the cost of direct mail with bill stuffers, cross promote in newsletters and advertisements. Pass on business cards, brochures and referrals to your existing customers. A co-promotion could bring you a lot of new opportunities and prospective customers.
2. Be A Joiner
By spending less than $500, you could join a few new business groups. While attending meetings, you will be generating many business alliances, new leads and more customers. To become shamelessly successful, you must be networking and making appearances on a regular basis. Sign up to serve on a board and become even more visible.
3. Hold An Open House
People will crawl out of the woodwork for free food and drinks, so why not host an open house? It's an inviting, low-key way of marketing your business for little money. For extra cost savings, go with affordable items such as soda, cookies and snacks and use e-mail to announce the event. Take the opportunity to give a brief talk about what you do and thank your customers for their business, support and referrals.
4. Take Your Message On The Road
Promote your business while you travel about town. My license plate and bumper sticker stand out on my silver PT Cruiser. Who could forget seeing my SHAMELESS message? Your local license branch can help you promote your message with a low-cost vanity plate. Then go one more step and order your own custom made bumper sticker. My bumper sticker features my website and says - I Confess, I'm Shameless. I ordered additional stickers to promote my site and often hand them out during my presentations to other shameless promoters. To order bumper stickers or other great promotional items, go online to view http://www.VictoryStore.com or phone 888-968-2688.
5. Get More PR Leads To Promote Your Expertise
This website receives up to 100 leads per day from reporters who are writing articles and desperately need to interview an expert like YOU. If you want to be in the news, PR Leads is the fastest, easiest and most economical way. A full year subscription is less than $500. Give Dan a call to learn more at 952-380-1554. Or view the website at http://www.prleads.com. Within the first 30 days I was interviewed and quoted in numerous major publications. You will find my raving testimonial on his site. If you want to be quoted as the expert, give Dan a call today and tell him Debbie sent you.
6. Post Your Press Release On The World Wide Web
This website will post your press release for FREE - yes for FREE! Check it out at http://www.PRWeb.com. For a small fee, you can move your listing to the top of the list for added exposure to the media.
7. Seek out business resources online
To be the expert, you must be a life-long learner. You can find FREE business resources at the IBM Small Business Center at http://www.ibm.com/smallbusiness. This site offers free advice from small- business experts as well as articles on technology. The SBA's website also has a plethora of free advice, including an online library where you can read up on rules and regulations and find out about loans at http://www.sba.gov. Other sites for entrepreneurial leadership carry articles as well as advice on starting and growing your business. View these sites at http://www.entreworld.org and http://www.entrepreneur.com.
About the Author
Debbie Allen is a marketing expert, international professional speaker and author of Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters. You may download a free chapter of her book, learn more about self-promotion month and sign up for her information online newsletter at http://ConfessionsofShamelessSelfPromoters.com
Debbie@DebbieAllen.com
http://www.DebbieAllen.com
1. Co-Promote
Cut your marketing costs by promoting with other businesses with the same type of target audience. Split the cost of direct mail with bill stuffers, cross promote in newsletters and advertisements. Pass on business cards, brochures and referrals to your existing customers. A co-promotion could bring you a lot of new opportunities and prospective customers.
2. Be A Joiner
By spending less than $500, you could join a few new business groups. While attending meetings, you will be generating many business alliances, new leads and more customers. To become shamelessly successful, you must be networking and making appearances on a regular basis. Sign up to serve on a board and become even more visible.
3. Hold An Open House
People will crawl out of the woodwork for free food and drinks, so why not host an open house? It's an inviting, low-key way of marketing your business for little money. For extra cost savings, go with affordable items such as soda, cookies and snacks and use e-mail to announce the event. Take the opportunity to give a brief talk about what you do and thank your customers for their business, support and referrals.
4. Take Your Message On The Road
Promote your business while you travel about town. My license plate and bumper sticker stand out on my silver PT Cruiser. Who could forget seeing my SHAMELESS message? Your local license branch can help you promote your message with a low-cost vanity plate. Then go one more step and order your own custom made bumper sticker. My bumper sticker features my website and says - I Confess, I'm Shameless. I ordered additional stickers to promote my site and often hand them out during my presentations to other shameless promoters. To order bumper stickers or other great promotional items, go online to view http://www.VictoryStore.com or phone 888-968-2688.
5. Get More PR Leads To Promote Your Expertise
This website receives up to 100 leads per day from reporters who are writing articles and desperately need to interview an expert like YOU. If you want to be in the news, PR Leads is the fastest, easiest and most economical way. A full year subscription is less than $500. Give Dan a call to learn more at 952-380-1554. Or view the website at http://www.prleads.com. Within the first 30 days I was interviewed and quoted in numerous major publications. You will find my raving testimonial on his site. If you want to be quoted as the expert, give Dan a call today and tell him Debbie sent you.
6. Post Your Press Release On The World Wide Web
This website will post your press release for FREE - yes for FREE! Check it out at http://www.PRWeb.com. For a small fee, you can move your listing to the top of the list for added exposure to the media.
7. Seek out business resources online
To be the expert, you must be a life-long learner. You can find FREE business resources at the IBM Small Business Center at http://www.ibm.com/smallbusiness. This site offers free advice from small- business experts as well as articles on technology. The SBA's website also has a plethora of free advice, including an online library where you can read up on rules and regulations and find out about loans at http://www.sba.gov. Other sites for entrepreneurial leadership carry articles as well as advice on starting and growing your business. View these sites at http://www.entreworld.org and http://www.entrepreneur.com.
About the Author
Debbie Allen is a marketing expert, international professional speaker and author of Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters. You may download a free chapter of her book, learn more about self-promotion month and sign up for her information online newsletter at http://ConfessionsofShamelessSelfPromoters.com
Debbie@DebbieAllen.com
http://www.DebbieAllen.com
Copyright © 2005-2006 Powered by Custom PHP Programming