Marketing on the Cheap

You’ve gotten pretty good at stretching a dollar, which is why you’ve become familiar with sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to help market yourself and your business for free. But what more can be done?

“Do something newsworthy and tell the world,” says Rene Siegel, President of High Tech Connect. “When your business supports a cause, donates to someone in need, lands a new client or speaks at an event, write a short paragraph and email it to the business editor of the local paper, online magazines or a relevant trade publication. You don’t need to pay a professional PR person to write a formal press release.” Siegel adds that booking a speaking opportunity is great free exposure and implies credibility.

Here are more tips to help you get the word out:

Design a business card on sites like Vista Print and they’ll send you 250 full-color cards for free. You can choose from 42 templates and just pay shipping and handling. Or maybe you want to save a few trees? Card.ly lets you create an online business card with a photo, bio, and links to all of your social networking profiles.

Having incentives for customers to bring in new ones, making sure your website is easy to navigate, and staying on top of competitors are great strategies, according to PC magazine.

Make an informative brochure and send articles to local publications, suggests GoodMarketingIdeas.com.

Create a spreadsheet for customer info and send a card for things like birthdays and anniversaries, says AllBusiness.com.

Bonus PINK Link: Newsletters are great marketing tools for small businesses. Here are three good reasons why.

By Caroline Cox

“If you want success, then don’t rely on other people to
do what you can do.” Sasha Azevedo