No money is no problem when it comes to marketing a business.
Many
small and home based businesses know they need to
market and yet, have little or no money to do so.
Sadly, many use this as a reason not to market. Even
on a limited budget you can promote and gain
visibility for you and your business.
The
following three strategies have proven extremely
effective for countless businesses as they can for
you.
1.
Press Releases – Very effective and they offer a great deal of
credibility when published. You must have a well
written release that is pertinent to the media
source you are sending it to. You can distribute
press releases both online and off.
A
quick Internet search under media resources in your
city will bring up radio, television, newspapers and
magazines in your area. To find online resources do
a search under “free online press release
distribution.” Numerous listings will come up. Be
sure to utilize the free services when on a limited
budget.
There
are services you can pay for if you are so inclined.
Two excellent resources for both free and paid are www.prweb.com
and http://arrivenet.com/.
Prior
to writing a press release, determine the following:
-Who is your target market?
-What is your target media?
-Who is the contact person at the media outlet?
-What is the timeframe for submission?
-Do you have an attention-grabbing headline?
-Do you know the who, what, when, where, why, how?
-Do you have good quotes, research and technical date if appropriate?
Click this link http://press.arrivenet.com/bus/article.php/593635.html
to see how powerful a well-written release can be.
2.
Articles - Writing
articles is a great way to gain recognition as an
expert in your field or specific industry. By
providing practical information, you can reach
targeted audiences. This can create exciting
opportunities for you and your business.
Whatever you write about
should be something you are knowledgeable on and
your information is factual.
Incorrect or untrue information can come back
to haunt you.
Recently I read an article by
someone claiming to be an Internet marketing expert.
Their article was about gaining visibility on the
Net. To find out how much visibility this so called
expert has I did a name search on the author. The
“expert” author had only 10 postings under his
name. Not very impressive when other experts have
thousands of listings. The author immediately lost
credibility.
3.
Presentations
– One of the most incredibly effective ways to
market your product or service is to offer a
complimentary information seminar. When you provide
great information that is of interest to your market
you have become a resource before you are a vendor.
By
positioning yourself as a resource you are marketing
in a very unique way.
Hosting
a presentation can be virtually expense free. You
can offer to do a presentation at a staff meeting
for a client. Many large companies have brown bag
lunch speaking opportunities.
You
can host a meeting open to the public at your local
library. Be sure to send press releases to the local
media when you are offering a presentation open to
the public.
Many
associations, including your local Chamber of
Commerce, are constantly seeking presenters who can
provide timely and content driven talks that benefit
their members.
When
you apply one of the three recommendations to your
marketing mix you will gain benefit. When you apply
all three the results can be phenomenal.
Learn
how to market online with little or no money. Access
FREE eBook Street
Smarts eMarketing Tips
Guaranteed to Jump Start Your Internet Presence to
Put You Miles Ahead of the Competition http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm
written by Kathleen Gage, an award
winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author,
specializing in low cost, high return marketing
strategies for small and home based businesses.