Here's a tip many may not be aware of. If anyone has other 'I Never Thought Of That' insights....please share them as replies.
GENERATING PUBLICITY ON A ZERO BUDGET
The most overlooked method of generating publicity for your business can be had with three simple lines of text:
Your Name Your Business Name or Your Domain Name Your City and State
All over the world, there are newspapers, magazines, online ezines and websites. Every single newspaper, magazine and online ezine generally accepts and publishes 'Letters to the Editor.'
In addition, webmasters are generally looking for solid testimonials that they can use on their websites.
Just think, if you were to take the time to read a few publications or visit a few websites and take the time to notify the publisher of your thoughts, you might just find your comments being published in all sorts of locations. You never know just where your next paying customer might come from, so take the time to get yourself quoted in these media outlets. You might just find more and more traffic and sales coming from places where you would never think to buy advertising.
NOTE: If you have other great ideas...by all means share them here as replies. We'll make this thread a repository for them to beshared with Forum members all in one place.
Google gained popularity with advertisers in part through the accessibility and affordability of their AdWords ad program, which made it possible for almost anyone to advertise online. When the ad platform was young and inefficient (due to limited competition) you did not need to be skilled to profit. You only needed a credit card and a decent website. But over the years Google has made their system much more complex, and increased competition + better competitive intelligence tools + all the layers of ignorance tax baked into AdWords (default match type as broad, expanded broad match, automatic matching, search syndication & content network on by default, tons of click fraud on the content network, etc.) have made profitably running an AdWords campaign much more challenging. Google has hundreds of thousands of advertisers, but over 80% of their United States ad revenue comes from the top 1.35% of advertisers, according to a recent study of keyword data by SEM Rush.
While most people suggest internet options, an old tried and tested technique is community involvement and service. Things like Rotary, Kiwanis club, Lions club, and the local Chamber of Commerce are still excellent ways of low budget networking
Scott Garber
Pittsfield chiropractor
tiffanyjordan36 | Window Shopper |
10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
Such a great tip. The internet has broken down so many barriers to entry when it comes to marketing a product or service. I have a consulting business, and I don't spend a dime on traditional advertising. It simply does not work anymore, and I can't track it very accurately. Then social media came along, and turned the marketing industry upside down. Once people will be able to track a precise ROI on social media, I think it will be here to stay for a long time.
Tiffany Jordan
North American Bancard Agent
---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.
SEO would be a great way to promote an online business without spending a dime. Once you optimize your site focusing on onpage optimization factors, you then run a link building campaign that will rank your site high on search engines for your targeted keywords. You will enjoy the benefit of free traffic to your site. All it takes is some time invested on learning the whole SEO method and just doing it. Most of the methods can be utilized free of cost. Read our SEO Blog to learn about SEO and the popular link building methods.
There are many ways to advertise without spending much, but which is effective is another story. One free way and proven to be effective is to join and be active in social sites. You just have to spend not much money, but more time. You have to be active to get the 'respect' of your virtual friends. And from there, you can start introducing your business.
Yep, local and regional publications are goldmine for getting free advertising if you know how to do it.
Press releases and how-to articles that are very interesting and relevant would appeal to alot of editors of publications out there.
An associate of mine was even able to drum up business for her angel dolls business by writing an article that went in the Arts section of her local newspaper about how to create angel dolls.
but how do you make yourself stand out fromm all the others on the soc. network sites? its the same problem as SE's - if you're not getting noticed you may as well not exist!
A lot of people uses social bookmark, directory service and all the other seo stuff.
Its depends in your business of course. You can drop a business card in your local bar. Some bar allow their patrons to post good deals/service or business offers in their bar. I find it as a good source of exposure, I know this because I got some good customer doing this.
Also if you are good and fair to your customer, your business will be pass on by word of mouth which is also another free form of advertising.
Go and talk to some good sales person and offer them a commission for any leads or sale they push your way. Its free even thou you pay commission at least the sale is there.
I think small business owners and website owners need to think outside of the box in terms of advertising. There are so many opportunities out there for an business that gets a little creative.
For instance, when I launch a new product, site or some endeavor I pick up the phone and start call other sites that are similar to mine. These sites generally are not competitors, rather they are aligned in the same industry as me. I explain to the respective owners what I am doing and if I can ask them a favor. Many are willing to help, while others want something in return. The big deal is, after getting 5 to 7 other site to feature my product in either a blog post, link etc, I suddenly have 300,000 eyes looking at what I am doing for generally the cost of a phone call.
*Tip - this works very well with a verbal phone call and very poor with emails. People have a hard time telling someone else no when they are confronted with it, an email allows them to turn you down without dealing with you.
Lastly, I would say emerge yourself in every aspect of your industry, get a greaseboard and write down any and all ideas you have to grow your business. Small business owers HAVE to be creative in order to survive.
My two cents...
Ty Lampella
Average Salaries and other Career Information.
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Commerical Links removed
workathomepedia | Performer |
10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
Show Replied Text…
While most people suggest internet options, an old tried and tested technique is community involvement and service. Things like Rotary, Kiwanis club, Lions club, and the local Chamber of Commerce are still excellent ways of low budget networking Scott GarberPittsfield chiropractor
Another offline form of advertising that I have had a good response with is to leave my business cards and flyer at places that have a community board of some sort, such as coffee shops, truck stop lounges, laundry mats, cooperative food outlets, and area college campus commons and if you're really feeling adventurous you can place a business card or two in your favorite relevant magazines at the big box stores that still offer a magazine section.
Another offline form of advertising that I have had a good response with is to leave my business cards and flyer at places that have a community board of some sort, such as coffee shops, truck stop lounges, laundry mats, cooperative food outlets, and area college campus commons and if you're really feeling adventurous you can place a business card or two in your favorite relevant magazines at the big box stores that still offer a magazine section.
Well, there are many social media sites that don't require any monetary investment but do require that you spen a little time building them. Here are some examples:
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
MerchantCircle
Naymz
Google Local
Google Profiles
there are many other but this is a good way to get your name out there in a week or two without spending a dime...
dr_scotti2000 | Performer | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
tiffanyjordan36 | Window Shopper | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
SEOFocused | Performer | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
hampers | Performer | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
brittles | Creator | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
jogjob | Window Shopper | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
gretcyshaw | Creator | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
tlampel | Window Shopper | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
workathomepedia | Performer | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
DannyMCF | Creator | 10/27/2010 - 6:33 am
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