Holiday Online Marketing

Marketing Tips for Starting Your Business On a Budget

I don’t know about you, but when I started my business and even today I don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing. I need to make sure that every penny I spend is spent wisely, very wisely. Here are some tips that I have found that worked for me to get the word out about my business inexpensively.

Radio/Media - It’s not that hard. It’s important to get out there and get aggressive in marketing your business. Have a plan of action and stick to it. Each week decide to send out so many press releases, contacts to radio stations, local media, etc. You can get great media links at http://www.newslink.org/. Stay in tune with what’s currently happening in your Industry and see if it’s something that you can write about. With podcasting now and so many Internet Radio Shows, such as Jill Hart’s Christian Work at Home Mom’s, http://www.cwahm.com/loudblog, it’s easier than ever to get on the air.

Forums / Listserves - Being active in forums and listserves is so beneficial to your business. You establish yourself as an expert and also you gain friendships and alliances with others. Plus, it’s a great way to promote your business. Naturally you never want to blatantly advertise your business, but many forums will have special days set up where you can advertise your business and specials. Take advantage of these.

Market Research Your Webstats - Learn how to read, understand and make use of your web stats to properly market and research who is coming to your site. A good webstat service is often included with most hosting services. This is free information that your site gathers about your visitors and customers. It’s more than looking at hits or numbers of visitors. The information there will tell you who your customer is, where they're coming from, which days they do their surfing - even what time of day they do it. With that information you can coordinate better all your marketing efforts.

Cooperative Marketing - This process creates fellowship, alliances with others who are working hard to achieve the same goals, and exposure to your sites. This entails working with other groups, forums, virtual assistants, etc., and sharing together to build your business. You offer to exchange banners/buttons, newsletter ads, ideas, and more. It’s a win/win for everyone.

Writing Articles. Writing articles and submitting them to sites is an excellent marketing tool. Get expert status on places such as http://EzineArticles.com/ where you can submit multiple articles and become a recognized contributor. Once an article has been accepted, write a thank-you letter and then make sure you follow-up with additional articles.
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