Money Saving Ways to Promote your Business
There are so many avenues to promote your business…so which way do you turn? You need to think about how your audience gets their information…Direct mail? Google searches? Social Media? Emails? And of course there’s always the good old fashioned “in person” approach. All are of value and ideally you need to cover all the bases in order to reach the largest audience.
Now we come down to budget and time…Show of hands…How many of you have an endless supply of money to promote via print, email, online, social media? How many have time to keep up with all of this? 
What I have discovered is that baby steps are the best way to go. Most of us cannot do it all at once BUT if you take the attitude that “I can’t do it” and do nothing at all, then six months from now you will be at the same place you are now. If on the other hand you tackle one thing at a time, looking back, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve come.
So let’s look at the baby steps you can take to cover the areas that are currently not covered when it comes to the promotion of your products and services. Hopefully I can provide some money saving promotion ideas along the way.
Direct mail – Postcards, flyers, door hangers – The cost of full color printing has come down so much over the last few years. You can get a good looking piece for a decent price if you know where to shop! And if you go the “door hanger” route, find an organization (Boy Scouts? Youth Groups? etc.) that is looking to raise money. They can canvas a neighborhood, raise money at an inexpensive rate…It’s a WIN-WIN situation.
Email Marketing – For as little as $15/month, you can create a template and put out an endless number of eNewsletters/ePostcards to connect with current and potential clients. Visit www.constantcontact.com or www.icontact.com. Both sites provide templates, storage for your email list and reports at an affordable price. If you don’t have the time to run an email marketing campaign yourself, Designer Mouse can help….Just need a reusable template designed or want assistance handling the entire process? We’re here to help. Visit my Email Marketing page under the Portfolio tab for more information. Or feel free to call or email with your questions.
Online promotion – Do you have a website? You need one! People need to be able to find you and be able to check you out! How about a blog? If you set this up yourself, you can do it for free… The cost is your time to maintain it! Link your blog to your website and your social media profiles, and begin to generate a buzz! And just like the Email Marketing, if you don’t have the time to create your online presence but clearly see the value, Designer Mouse can help with a portion or the entire process to ensure that your products and services are available online.
Speaking of Social Media – facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – Include your website and blog URLs in your social media profiles, participate in the online chat, and generate some interest in you and your business.
As you can see, there’s all sorts of opportunity to promote your business… A bit overwhelming, huh. Remember…baby steps…You don’t have to do everything NOW. And you don’t have to do it all yourself. Remember that your time may be better spent focusing on your core business. What is your time worth? Would you be saving dollars in the long run by hiring an expert to assist you with your promotion? All things to ponder.