Monday, October 20, 2014

Free Advertising Ideas

There are many free ways to put your advertising message in front of your customers


Advertising is essential to the success of any business. Advertising creates awareness of your products, services and brand within the market, educates your prospects and customers about the benefits of your offerings, and ultimately generates sales. There are many different ways to advertise. Some are quite expensive like television and radio while others are low cost or even free.


Cold Calling


Calling your prospects on the phone and offering your services is a time-tested form of advertising. It can be emotionally traumatic because the majority of the people you talk to will not be interested but there are still many business models that rely on cold-calling for the bulk of their sales.


Door to Door


Paying a visit to your prospect in person allows you to engage with your potential customer and use personal selling skills to overcome objections and highlight the benefits your products or services have to offer.


Writing Articles


Many online article directories accept article submissions for publication on their websites. Some of these sites are popular and receive large amounts of online traffic. Articles published on these sites are a good way to establish your expertise, build a sense of credibility and get your name and brand in front of a qualified prospect.


Online Forums


People visit online forums to learn about specific interests, solve problems and ask for product recommendations. Becoming a member of online forums that address the problems your products or service solves and then participating in the online community by offering useful information will create authority, goodwill and awareness of your business, brand and product offerings.


Email Marketing


Permission-based email marketing, particularly to past customers, is a powerful way to advertise your business. Make a point of collecting your customers' email addresses at the point of sale and then follow up with announcements of sales or specials.


Public Speaking


Speaking at local business organizations, clubs and associations can be a great way to establish your expertise, authority and professionalism. If you offer good quality information that helps those in attendance, you will naturally attract new customers.


Joint Ventures


Identify other businesses that sell to the same demographic as you but who are not your direct competitors. Approach them and offer to promote their products to your customers if they will promote your products to their customers. Joint venture relationships can be highly effective because they leverage the trust and authority that already exists within each business to promote the partner businesses products.

Tags: your products, your customers, awareness your, benefits your, customers Joint