- Word of mouth- This is one of the best and cheapest forms of advertising. Let's face it, many of us buy goods and services on the recommendation of family, friends and co-workers. When someone buys from you, don't be ashamed to ask them to recommend you to others who may have similar needs.
- Networking- Do you have to network in order to be successful in business? Not necessarily but it certainly won't hurt. Making yourself known and the goods and services you provide is tantamount to the success of your venture. A good place to start is business to business events sponsored by your local Chamber of Commerce or other business organizations. Attend them as often as possible. Get out there and mingle. You'll want to make sure you have a supply of business cards and/or brochures to take along with you. But please don't just go to these event s and shove your business card into as many hands as possible and keep moving like you're in some kind of marathon. Talk to people. I mean really talk to people. When you find ones who are good prospects for your goods or services make them aware of how you can help them solve a particular problem they may have (in other words, why they need your product or service).
- Cold Calling- Some people prefer to do mass mailings. Personally, I think it's a better idea to qualify your prospects first. In the long run you'll save on postage and printing costs by not sending your material to every Tom, Dick, and Harry you think might want to buy your products or use your services. And although some people may tell you to go ahead and send the information just to get you off the phone, you'll still fair better than mass mailings. Make sure you get the information in the mail as soon as possible, the next business day, is ideal. This way when the mail arrives you're still fresh in the prospects mind.
- Speaking Engagements, seminars, demonstrations and teaching classes- If you're not afraid to speak in public, then you may want to consider giving a seminar or demonstration. You can also arrange speaking engagements. Most associations and clubs welcome speakers. Many facilities will offer space free of charge as a community service. Check around in your area, you may be surprised at what you may find. Finally, you may be able to teach a class in your area of expertise. Check with your local college or university to see what adult education classes they offer. With just the right proposal you may find yourself on the roster. As an added bonus, you'll make money from teaching the class, either a flat fee or a percentage of the tuition from each student. Although you can charge for seminars, you'll get more participants if you'll able to offer the seminar for free. Demonstrations are often done in conjunction with other businesses. For instance, if you're written a cookbook, you may be able to arrange demonstrations at your local bookstore.
- Cooperative advertising- This is another excellent cost-effective way to advertise your business. In cooperative advertising you and other non-competing businesses advertise the products or services of the other. You've probably witnessed this form of advertising. Many big businesses, for instance, inserts ads for products and services with their monthly billing statement. If the big companies can do it why shouldn't you? And there's no need to spend money on four-color mini brochures. You can be just as effective using your business card or a flyer or coupon you create on your computer.
- Share advertising space- Have you checked the price of advertising lately? If you haven't believe me when I tell you it can be extremely costly. An alternative to the high cost of advertising is to share space with other businesses. This is generally done with businesses in the same area, in a strip mall, for example. Here's how it works. The group purchases a full page ad and then divides the space by the number of participants. This can be a better solution to small space ads which often are overlooked.
- Joining a professional organization- Professional organizations offer many benefits including networking opportunities, seminars and training. Invariably most will have a members only directory and newsletter. These two tools can be your ticket to getting more business to business sales as well as referrals. Newsletters especially are on the look out for copy to fill each issue. If you, as a member, have an announcement they will certainly be happy to trumpet it for you, at no cost. You can also use the directory to contact members either by cold calling or if you prefer, direct mail. Either way, the fact that you belong to the same organization will establish that you have something in common and you won't be viewed as making just another sales pitch.
- Unsold advertising space- Earlier I mentioned the skyrocketing price of advertising space. Sharing the cost with other businesses is one way to get your message out to the masses but there are other ways. First, publications want to sell advertising space at the rate specified on their rate card. However, if at publication time they have unused advertising space they will sell it to you at a fraction of the cost. And you probably won't have to do too much haggling to get a good deal. Before you make the call be sure you have your ad ready to go. The best time to call? Close to the publication's ad deadline. You'll be in a far better position to bargain for a good rate. After all, the publication would rather have an ad sale at a cheaper rate than no sale at all.
And there you have it; eight simple but cost effective ways to advertise your small business. But don't stop there, many other opportunities exist if you use your imagination.
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