Promoting a small business on a budget
Promoting your business does not have to mean spending a fortune on shiny interactive ads or huge multi-channel marketing campaigns, especially for smaller firms. If you have a start-up operation which you are running from home, there are a number of small-scale ways in which you can promote your services without paying for outside help.
Here are a few pointers for turning a start-up into a growing business:
Make everything an advertisement
All your outgoing communications should be an advertisement for your company, so that means an email signature which is concise but carries a bit of punch. This guide is very useful, and you should also invest in letter-headed paper, that way every piece of paper you send out also serves as a flyer for your business. Speaking of which…
Act local
Even if you plan to serve a national consumer base, building a local market is a good way to get orders coming in. Thanks to the internet, feedback from satisfied local customers can filter out to the wider market. Flyers and leaflets are still a great way to get these locals in, and it is not expensive to get a set of attractive flyers printed by a specialist like Flyerzone. Once you stop laughing about using traditional flyers you may be surprised at how well it works.
Be social and network
Social networking has already helped thousands of small businesses reach a broader consumer base, and not only is it effective – it’s free. Setting up a company Facebook or Twitter account is easy, and with regular relevant updates you’ll soon have a number of interested followers who you can pitch products to directly.
Blog on
Your reach on the internet can also be improved by writing blogs on your company website, but if you have a way with words, you can get even more exposure by writing blogs for e-zines related to your area of expertise. There are thousands of them out there and you can usually link back to your site to turn readers into customers.
Buddy up
Another tip for small firms looking to promote their business on a budget is to team up with another, similar-sized company in a different sector. If you send their flyers out with your products, they will send yours out with theirs and you enjoy a significant amount of exposure with potential new customers.