Ways to Market your Business for Free

1. Say “thank you” to your customers. This is rather obvious, but many businesses do not have a “formal” process in place for saying thank you or showing appreciation to their customers. Say it verbally if possible, send an email, pick up the phone. Let your customers know you don’t take them for granted.

2. Free online classifieds and link listing. Don’t get carried away with this, but do take advantage of some of the free ad space online. Typically if you search one of the major search engines for “Your industry + add link you can find a few decent sites where you can list your business for free.

3. Article submission. There are many, many online article submission sites. The deal is that you write an article that others can use in their ezines or on their websites and in exchange, they give you “credit” at the end of the article in the form of an “author bio” or credit paragraph. Search for “article submission.” The more closely related the article is to your industry, the better. And, please triple-check grammar, spelling, and logic.

thanks

Article distribution: This is the easiest and most cost effective way to bring good quality traffic to your site. You can have a set of articles written or write them yourself and then use them for article distribution. This promotion will accomplish 2 things. One will be bringing traffic to your site; they will either buy or subscribe to your newsletter. Secondly, you will build many back links to your site. These are very valuable as these links will help you increase your Page Rank with Google and get better placement in all the search engines.

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1. Design creative business cards. Most business cards are thrown in a pile or discarded after a meeting or networking event. Why not create a card someone will use? Or one they're sure to remember? This post from creativebits showcases some great ideas!



2. Do-It-Yourself SEO. Submit your site to major search engines and indexes. Click here for a great post on where to find the URLs and tips on submitting your site the right way. Also, check out our previous post on 25 Free (and Useful) SEO Tools.



3. Take a free online marketing course. On a previous post, we highlighted 99 free business and entrepreneurship classes of which nine pertained to marketing. Invest some time in taking the course and apply some of the methods for your business.


4. Use an ad exchange network to exchange links with someone. One I've heard a lot about is adgrid work.com. While we haven't tried it yet, it allows you to add your site to their network for free. Your ad is displayed in relevant sites while you display an ad on your site. Basically, you're exchanging ads from one site to another. It's a great way to drive targeted traffic to your site.


5. Give back to your community. A great way to give back, promote your business, and feel good about yourself is to volunteer in your area. Help out at a local homeless shelter or church. You'll be amazed at the great connections you'll make. If you're not sure of how to find these events or what to do, visit Volunteer Match and search for opportunities near you.



6. Use Cafe Press. Create your own pens, mugs, notebooks, T-shirts, etc. and give them away. It's an inexpensive way to have your prospect/client/user be surrounded by your branding. The more useful the item, the better. Save money and buy them in bulk.

i too believe in the customer service., thanks for sharing...

Take steps to make customers feel special.

Customers respond to being recognized, especially in these rush-rush, get-the-lowest-price times. "Even with a Web-based business, good customer service is possible," McMillan encloses a small, rose-scented sachet in every jewelry and lingerie bag she sells and also sends a handwritten thank-you note. "The sachet and note cost pennies but add something special to the purchase," she says.

hi

1. Write a press release on a new product or offering and send it to some free press release distribution sites. Follow their guidelines for submission so you don't waste your time editing and re-doing work.

* 24-7PressRelease.com
* PRLog.org
* 1888PressRelease.com

2. Send the press release to your local media outlets, or any niche media outlets that may be interested in what you do.

3. Update your Google Maps Listing, make sure the information is accurate, and then have them verify your ownership via mail or SMS message.

4. Find a social media site that pertains to your niche, sign up, make a profile and participate. Don't start off trying to sell your product – you'll be tarred and feathered. Be a helpful part of the community first, mix in brand messages later.

5. Join a forum and contribute to your online community. Use indirect messages for sales such as a forum signature or your forum user name.


Thanks

Hi

You really doing great job. Thanks for sharing this nice information. I appreciate your post. Please keep sharing more and more information...

Thanks

Hi

1. Social Media

No surprise here. Social media is a great, free way, to spread the word about you and your business. Doing social media right is a great way to make connections, gain leads, and convert customers. I won’t go into great detail here how to get your social media presence set up, but at the very least consider getting an account on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

2. Free Classifieds

Use free classified ad services to promote your product or service. Aside from big online classified ads (Craigslist), there may be other free options specific to your geographical area, maybe even some free inclusions in local print media. Do some Google searches and see what is available in your hometown.

3. Reciprocity Advertising

Talk to local business owners and explore cross promotion you may be able to do with them. They are probably in the same boat as you, and would be willing to work out a “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” type of marketing campaign.

4. Barter

You may think of bartering as particularly “old school”, but there is no reason you can’t trade a product or service with another business in exchange for some marketing opportunities. Trading an hour of your consulting time, or a couple free products to a local business who is willing then to plug you in their newsletter or mailings could result in a better deal than paying out of pocket for the same marketing. Start with the barter directory, and go from there.

Thanks