Copyright
© 2005 by Kathleen Gage
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com
Many
small and home based businesses know they need to market and yet, have little
or no money to do so. Sadly, many use this as a reason not to market. Even on
a limited budget you can promote and gain visibility for you and your business.
The following three strategies have proven extremely effective
for countless businesses as they can for you.
1. Press Releases
– Very effective and they offer a great deal of credibility when published.
You must have a well written release that is pertinent to the media source you
are sending it to. You can distribute press releases both online and off.
A
quick Internet search under media resources in your city will bring up radio,
television, newspapers and magazines in your area. To find online resources do
a search under "free online press release distribution." Numerous listings
will come up. Be sure to utilize the free services when on a limited budget.
There
are services you can pay for if you are so inclined. Two excellent resources for
both free and paid are www.prweb.com
and http://arrivenet.com/.
Prior
to writing a press release, determine the following:
-Who
is your target market?
-What is your target media?
-Who is the contact
person at the media outlet?
-What is the timeframe for submission?
-Do
you have an attention-grabbing headline?
-Do you know the who, what, when,
where, why, how?
-Do you have good quotes, research and technical date if
appropriate?
Click this link http://press.arrivenet.com/bus/article.php/593635.html
to see how powerful a well-written release can be.
2. Articles
- Writing articles is a great way to gain recognition as an expert in your field
or specific industry. By providing practical information, you can reach targeted
audiences. This can create exciting opportunities for you and your business.
Whatever
you write about should be something you are knowledgeable on and your information
is factual. Incorrect or untrue information can come back to haunt you.
Recently
I read an article by someone claiming to be an Internet marketing expert. Their
article was about gaining visibility on the Net. To find out how much visibility
this so called expert has I did a name search on the author. The "expert"
author had only 10 postings under his name. Not very impressive when other experts
have thousands of listings. The author immediately lost credibility.
3.
Presentations – One of the most incredibly effective ways to market your
product or service is to offer a complimentary information seminar. When you provide
great information that is of interest to your market you have become a resource
before you are a vendor.
By positioning yourself as a resource
you are marketing in a very unique way.
Hosting a presentation
can be virtually expense free. You can offer to do a presentation at a staff meeting
for a client. Many large companies have brown bag lunch speaking opportunities.
You
can host a meeting open to the public at your local library. Be sure to send press
releases to the local media when you are offering a presentation open to the public.
Many
associations, including your local Chamber of Commerce, are constantly seeking
presenters who can provide timely and content driven talks that benefit their
members.
When you apply one of the three recommendations
to your marketing mix you will gain benefit. When you apply all three the results
can be phenomenal.
