Marketing is essential to any business, whether online or off. Countless books have been written on creative and clever ways to market, but which ones work and which ones leave your business stranded? In this post, I’ll examine some ways to market yourself, your business, your blog, or all of the above—with a twist: they are all FREE!
- Tell people. Okay, okay. You’ve heard this one before—telling people about your business yourself is the easiest and freest way of generating business, but you shouldn’t just tell anyone and everyone. You need to hone in on your target prospects by analyzing your target market(s), and pick a profile that you can approach and start a conversation with easily (if your business is a blog, figure out what your readers want, and use that as your market profile). Once you’ve decided on a person type to target, find someone you know who fits that profile (i.e. someone who could benefit from what you offer). All that’s left is to tell them about you and your company!
- Online promotion. Use forums, social networks, and Twitter to promote what you’re doing. The key to online successful marketing is offering value to a network in return for a long-term relationship with that network. If you offer a free downloadable ebook when they sign up for a newsletter, you’ll be able to cultivate the relationship over a longer period of time and in turn sell more to them.
- Ask for referrals. One of the best things you can do for your business is ask your current clients who might benefit from your products or services that they know. If you plan ahead and prepare a letter asking for referrals, all you have to do is maintain your relationship with the client and simply send them the letter somewhere during your business transaction. Provide an easy way to get back to you, either by supplying a self-addressed & stamped envelope or by providing a form to fill out that you can pick up at their convenience.
These are just three dead-simple ways to promote your offering. You know your business best—which small business marketing methods will work for you? Try out these methods and others you know of, and add your ideas here!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey there… you put some good stuff in here.
Try this….
– A bullet would draw out the value.
* could be multiple points
– As people scan they get more in
* because their time is precious they scan.
– So the three points you made?
* Are really about 10 individual great points.
for those reading .. don't skim.. read again.. good stuff!
Michael, thanks for the support! I must admit I wrote this all in one sitting, and didn't reread it before I posted it… I will take your advice next time and make my posts more of an outline!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the karma!
There are tons of ways to do it online for free and all you have to do is put in the sweat equity yourself to build up a bit of a buzz around your business. Start ups are usually the best as they are the people who have least money and need ot be the most creative.
Sweat equity is a keyword, Niall–good choice of words. Business seems to be a correlation of work and money sometimes, and you hit the nail on the head.
What ideas do you have for "building up a buzz?"