Where to Advertise Your Business Free of Charge
Whether you have a brand new business or an established one that is suddenly floundering in a tough economy, you likely have little money for advertising. But advertising is essential to drawing in new customers. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of ways to advertise your business free or charge.
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Importance
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Advertising lets potential customers know you exist and what services or products you offer. It's also a good way to let them know why they should come to you and not a competitor. There are likely other businesses like yours in your local area. Advertising tells people why you stand out from the rest.
Technology
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You don't need to pay a web developer to make a big, fancy website for your business. Many website and blog site making tools are free, and some offer free web hosting. This will help ensure that your business is found when people are searching on the Web for your type of business. Sending emails is completely free as well. You can send blast emails to existing customers whose email addresses you've previously collected to let them know about new products and services, or you can send blast emails to people on lists you've previously purchased. A MySpace or Facebook site for your business can also provide free advertisement.
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Print Media
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Newspaper advertisements may be the first type of advertisements that come to your mind when you think about where to advertise your business. But these ads cost money---sometimes a lot. Despite that, you can get your business in the local paper for free by sending out press releases about upcoming events at your place of business or items of interest, such as an announcement about a charity event your employees raised money for or competed in.
Television
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Get a news crew to come to your business and feature it in the five o'clock news by hosting an event or activity worthy of a news crew. For instance, hosting a sponsored charity event or some other crowd drawer will make your business publicity worthy. Send press releases before the event and on the day of the event to ensure coverage.
Considerations
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Getting free advertisements for your business requires perseverance. It may take a while to get a good following on MySpace or Facebook, and it may take a few press releases before one catches an editor's attention at your local newspaper. Don't give up. Likewise, your first publicity event may draw just a few people, but word of mouth is powerful, and the second or third such event may find you with many more attendees and television cameras.
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References
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