When starting a business, entrepreneurs may not have much money to devote to an advertising budget. Promoting your new venture, however, is vital to its success. Because consumers do most of their research of products and services online, advertising on the Internet is a great option. Surprisingly, there are many advertising opportunities available in cyber space for free. Here are five places you can advertise your small business online for free without actually placing an ad.
1. Blogs
A company blog is a free small business advertising option that will help you provide customers with up-to-the-minute information about new products and services. Since most blogging formats include an RSS feature, users can subscribe and receive your new content right in their inboxes. If you don’t want to invest the time required to write your own business blog, you can still take advantage of blog promotional opportunities by commenting on industry-related blogs. Blog comments will normally include your website address and will give you the opportunity to share your expertise.
Consider these free blogging services: www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com
2. Industry-specific Professional Websites
If you are a member of a professional organization, licensing institute or chamber of commerce, you can often create a free listing on the organizational websites that will offer users your contact information and a link to your site or company blog. In addition, many product manufacturers offer their dealers a free listing in online dealer locaters used by consumers to locate products.
3. Email Campaigns
Creating email campaigns can be a very effective way to provide ongoing small business marketing to existing customers. You can take advantage of the customer email addresses you've accumulated and create your own bulk emails through Microsoft Outlook or other email programs. Online services such as www.constantcontact.com or www.verticalresponse.com offer very user-friendly creation of campaigns, mailing and database control. Although the services have very economical fees, based on the number of subscribers in your mailing list, you can also take advantage of the free trials offered for 30 or 60 days to test the cost-effectiveness of the programs.
4. Social Media
Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook are continually growing in popularity and are a great way to connect with potential customers. Joining is free and you can link your profile to your website. Facebook’s option of creating groups and pages allows you to generate a profile for your business or website as well as for yourself personally. Posting consistent messages related to your business activities and expertise offers free marketing potential.
5. Requested Link Exchanges The old school word-of-mouth approach often offers the best advertising potential. Requesting link exchanges between your small business website and other related sites can have the same cyber effect. Website owners are usually happy to provide links to quality websites that can offer users needed information. Often the only incentive required is a reciprocal link on your website.