5 Free Marketing Ideas

There's one thing a business owner needs to get absolutely right, and that's their marketing

If you get marketing right you will be able to communicate your products and services directly to the customers that want to buy from you and not waste valuable resources talking to customers that will never buy from you.

The wrong marketing can be an extremely costly exercise but not all marketing activities need cost you money.

Here are 5 free marketing ideas you can use on your business to target potential and existing customers to generate more business for your organisation.

1: Speak at an industry event

Every industry puts on paid or free events and training seminars each year and they want experts to speak at their engagements. Although public speaking isn't for everyone, it's a great way for you to be a known expert in your industry.

The attendees want to learn from experts and although you may believe you may not have knowledge to give you'll be surprised that most people won't know what you know about your business and industry and will value your knowledge.

The best way to start is to attend an event and see what the speakers say and how they weave their company information into their presentations. To get onto the list of speakers you should contact the event organisers. Once you are on the speaking circuit you'll be invited to many other seminars as the expert in your industry.

2: Leaflets and Flyers

If you know exactly who your target customers are why not prepare a simple flyer on your computer and hand deliver them to homes and businesses in your local area?

This is one of the most effective methods of advertising your services as not many people undertake this opportunity. If you don't want to deliver the leaflets yourself the Post Office will undertake this for you via their postmen and women for a small charge.

When you develop the message on your flyer ensure you are solving a problem your customer has with the benefits you offer from your products and services. Once you have a flyer why not ask others their opinion before you print and distribute them. Many of the large business forums will help you as well as friends and family.

It's also best to follow up with your prospects after you have delivered the leaflets. Some people need two or three (or more) messages before they will contact you. You'll also get vital feedback for your services if you contact your potential customers directly.

3: Business Card Distribution

Everyone who runs a business should have a business card. A business card should not only have your basic details on it but also a sales message. These days you can print cheaply on both sides of the card so make sure you use the space to your advantage.

Give out your business card to everyone you know and meet as you'll never know when someone needs a service like yours. And for those people who have one of your business cards to hand rather than saying "I know someone who offers that service but can't remember their details" they can hand over the business card you gave them.

4: Become an Expert

Like we have discussed above in becoming a speaker, becoming an expert will open up more opportunities for you such as magazine, newspaper, radio and even perhaps TV interviews.

The internet is also a massive medium. You may be reading this article on another website as we have syndicated some of our work. If you write articles others will pick them up, post them on their websites and link back to your site because the content of your article is from an expert author. That's the power of becoming an expert.

5: Send out Press Releases

Every business has new products or services, does something new or has something exciting to share with the rest of the business world or within their industry.

You can prepare a press release yourself. If you unsure of the style just have a look at some of the press release sites to get an idea of the structure. Journalists and editors of magazines and newspapers are always on the lookout for newsworthy and interesting stories so you'll always have an excellent chance of being featured.

Once you have your press release ready decide where you would like it published and email the editor the press release. Follow up your email with a telephone call to make sure they have your release and if they will publish or use it. You may need to barter with them hard as they receive so much information each day so make sure your story and release stands out and is not simply like everyone else's.

teneric.co.uk

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