It
IS Possible to Effectively Market
Online for Free!
More
and more people want to either supplement
their current income or replace
it entirely. They want to be debt
free, they want to be home with
their children, they want to be
financially secure. The list of
motives goes on and on. The means
that they choose to meet those goals
is just about as varied as the personalities
of the individuals. Even if they
choose the same business, they may
not choose to run it or "work
it" the same way. However,
there is one thing that they have
in common- the need to advertise
in order to generate the income
they desire. Some people have a
huge budget for advertising because
they've set aside money to invest
in their business and some people
barely have enough money to join
their business let alone invest
into advertising.
Well,
after 3 years of research and working
to generate my own income online
I have found many effective and
many completely ineffective methods
of advertising. Believe it or not,
a few of the most effective methods
of advertising are completely free!
In many cases, if you cannot spend
the money on advertising you will
have to spend more time doing that
advertising or researching- but
the return can be amazing. Here
is a list of a few free advertising
resources that I have come across
in my research:
Message
Boards. This is a time consuming
method, but can be effective. Some
message boards have places where
you can advertise your business
and this can be effective if you
do it consistently and if your headlines
and ads are catchy. Make sure you
follow the rules of the board and
only post your ads in the proper
locations. Another way to use message
boards is to create a signature
in your profile and then post to
the board. Become a helpful and
known member of the board- don't
spam, but try to offer advice to
people's questions or encouragement,
etc... By developing a "rapport"
with the members of the board you
gain their trust and they will be
more likely to check out your business.
Spend some time on the message boards
and keep your mind open, you will
definitely find some great information
for your own use as well.
Free
Classified Ads- www.backpage.com
or www.craigslist.com this is another
time consuming method, but I have
experienced some results and I know
of others who have had results from
these options. Again, make sure
that you are following the rules
and posting your ads in their proper
location. The extra benefit to these
sources is that they are indexed
and "spidered" by the
search engines. What that means
for you is, if someone searches
Google for a word or something pertaining
to the ad you've posted it will
come up very high in the list on
the search engine results. Many
times, people see a business and
then do their own research of the
company. They search the company
name or other information they've
found out in Google--wouldn't it
be great if they come across your
site and contact you? Then you've
made a contact with a prospect without
having spent a cent.
Articles,
Press Releases, and Blogs: These
are the most effective free advertising
methods. In fact, I believe that
they are some of the most effective
advertising methods period. Press
releases are distributed all over
the web and elsewhere, you never
know where your press release will
turn up. Home business magazines
and online e-zines are always looking
for more content for their magazines
or e-zines and your article could
be distributed to thousands of fellow
entrepreneurs. Not sure you can
write a press release or an article?
Well, I think you can. A press release
doesn't have to be very long and
it doesn't necessarily have to announce
something earth shattering. You
are starting a home business/online
business- that is pretty significant
enough. An article doesn't have
to be 50 pages long to be helpful
to someone.
If
you are concerned about finding
a subject or topic, believe it or
not, there are several websites
available to you to help you write
your press release or article and
help you choose your topic. Some
of them are free and some of them
are not. You can spend money on
your education which will greatly
assist you later in your business.
Worried
that you aren't an English major
or weren't a very good writer in
school, then stop worrying. With
the technology in word processors,
you don't even have to be an English
major to write something decent.
Use your spell checker and the grammar
checker- and definitely have someone
else read your writing. Even the
most knowledgeable writers can miss
their own mistakes.
I
am a mechanical engineer- not an
English major and I have found this
to be easier than I ever thought
possible. If I can do this, so can
you.
I
believe that investing in your education
on writing press releases, articles,
or blogging is the best investment
you can make for your business.
All of these methods are completely
free to you, but they are so effective
that learning to use them the right
way will pay off a thousand times
in your business.
