by: AmericaWhere.com and Al
Martinovic
There are several ways to advertise and get the
word out about your business online and the
best of them include f-ree search engines, pay
per click search engines, writing articles,
utilizing press releases, doing joint
ventures/ad co-ops, and posting to message
boards and forums related to your target
market.
But one advertising method that's neglected by
most online marketers is off-line
advertising.
There are several low/no cost ways to advertise
off-line and I want to share 3 of them with
you.
1) Business Cards
If you are serious about your business you must
have business cards. They are cheap and are a
great way to attract potential prospects or
customers. Simply hand them out to people who
you feel may be interested in your
business.
Also, whenever I visit a restaraunt, bar, or
club, I'll leave my business cards in all of
the bathroom stalls. (Just make sure nobody is
in there of course... lol!)
And don't laugh at this! It really works. When
I visit the bathroom an hour or two later, I'll
find that all of my business cards are gone and
I'll have a fresh new set of sales the very
next day.
You can get f-ree professional looking business
cards at VistaPrint.com, all you have to pay is
shipping and handling:
http://www.vistaprint.com
2) Flyers
With today's technology, flyers are very easy
to make. You can simply design a flyer online
and just print it out and make copies. Then you
can post them in area businesses where you feel
your potential customers may hang out. (Just
make sure you ask permission from the business
owner.)
Or simply hand out your flyers to people you
meet on the street. Many bars and clubs don't
have a problem with posting flyers in their
establishments either, especially if you are a
patron.
And don't forget about supermarkets! Many have
bulletin boards, at least here in New Jersey
where I live, and you can post your flyer
there. There are hundreds of people walking
into supermarkets everyday and they are in a
buying mentality. Take advantage of it and post
your flyers often.
Here's a site that lets you create and print
flyers or brochures online for f-ree:
http://www.mybrochuremaker.com/
3) Automobile Advertising
What... ? Yes you read that right! Your car is
not only a driving vehicle but a great
advertising vehicle as well. You can stick
magnetic signs or plates on your car with your
company name and/or domain name for all to
see.
Your business can be exposed to hundreds, if
not thousands of people everyday whether your
car is parked, you are driving, or even when
you are stuck in traffic. It's fairly
inexpensive and a great way to "drive" home
your message.
Here are a couple of sites to check out for
this very sort of thing:
http://www.iditplates.net
http://www.magneticsigns.com
Those are just a few of the ways to advertise
off-line. I'm sure you can come up with other
clever ways as well.
You've got a brain... use it!
Al Martinovic runs a successful "niche"
business at http://www.ineedsmokes.com and
publishes a popular internet marketing
newsletter at
http://www.milleniummarketers.com
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