3 Effective Ways to Promote Your Small Business

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Getting new customers doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. The old axiom of “it takes money to make money” just doesn’t have to be the case when it comes to small business marketing.

If you want to give your business an infusion of customers without having to spend big bucks, read these ideas carefully. Here are several different ways you can promote your small business – all with little to no cash investment.

Use Third Party Review Websites

If you own a guesthouse or hostel, get on Hostelworld or HostelBookers. Get as many people to review you as possible.

If you own a spa, get as many people as possible to review you on Yelp.

No matter what kind of service you’re running, chances are there’s some kind of review system out there. People want to talk about and share experiences they’ve had with service providers in your industry.

Find out what these “hubs” are and actively cultivate positive reviews. Getting ranked #1 in your category on one of these sites is all it takes to get your business completely booked up.

Offer to Write for Publications

If you’re an expert on internet marketing, why not start writing a column for your local newspaper’s business section?

Or perhaps you might want to see if you can get a writing gig in a small internet business related magazine.

Being invited to write a column isn’t as hard as you might imagine. If you have the qualifications, editors are always on the lookout for more content. Because the better the content, the better their publication.

Finally, try also approaching bloggers to do guest blog posts. Make sure you state your qualifications upfront so they know you know your stuff, and make sure to suggest a few potential post topics in your introductory email.

Speak in Public

Public speaking is one of the most powerful and least competitive marketing methods around. Why? Because almost everyone is terrified of speaking in public.

Speaking in public requires honing your presentation skills. It involves mastering your fear of looking bad. It involves quite a bit of personal and professional development.

It’s a lot of hard work to become a great speaker. However, once you do become a great speaker, marketing will likely become a non-issue for your business.

Speaking in front of groups generates so much curiosity and credibility that if you do it on a regular basis, your business is more or less set.

Promoting a small business doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If money is your main reason for not promoting your business, let it stop you no more. Instead of using your money to promote your business, use your smarts, charm and determination to do the job.

Related posts:

1. How to Advertise Your Small Business Locally
2. Free Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses
3. Small Business Outsourcing Top Tips
4. Keeping Your Small Business Thriving in Tough Times
5. Smart Ways of Reaching Your Business Goals

One Responseto “3 Effective Ways to Promote Your Small Business”

1. seomoneymaster says:

   16 January 2012 at 7:02 am

   I spoke recently to a group of executives who are searching for new career opportunities, and most of this post applies well to them, and anyone looking for a job right now. “Become an Expert” with the help of blogs specific to your interests, as well as the obvious tools like LinkedIn Q&A. “Cultivate Super Users” is another phrase for Networking, of course. And – perhaps most importantly – “Ensure people can find you on the web” is vital today. Job searchers need to put away any hesitation and fear about their profiles online, and they must realize they need to be active in controlling and managing their online image. Just like any business would and should.