How to Advertise Your Small Business for $40

A small investment can lead to big profits.

If you are starting a new small business, one of the most common hurdles for gaining customers is knowing how to advertise and how to do so effectively with very little money. Though some work is required to build your brand, there are some very effective ways to do so with as little as $40. The following provides perspective as to how to advertise for just a few dollars.

Things You'll Need

• Avery business card paper

Instructions

1. You don't need to spend hundreds on hosting and design services to establish an effective web presence. It's entirely possible to build a website of your own for free; however, spending just a little may increase the site's professional look and feel. A good business web hosting service can provide you with clear instructions, customer service, a free domain name, access reports, email and an overall superior online experience. For example, Yahoo! offers relatively inexpensive sites for new customer accounts. Your start-up costs will be about $10. For that money, you will get hosting, user-friendly design tools, a free domain name of your choosing provided the name is not taken, volumes of resource information, automated billing and customer service. Standard pricing for the basic package, even after the introductory period, is about $15 per month. Once your website is designed, you should invest some time in free promotion. This includes submitting your website to multiple search engines, social bookmarking sites and submitting links of your business website to relevant forums. Also be sure to include your website's address on your fliers and business cards.

2. Pin-up advertisements can be designed on your computer using basic word processing software. They should include your company name, contact information, a brief and concise description of the service you provide and tear tags -- hand-cut tags with your contact information that can be pulled off by potential customers. It should be designed in black and white to save money on reproduction. Print a master copy of your pin up and take it to a local copy shop. Request as many copies as you can purchase with $5, including tax. Distribute those copies to local bulletin boards and to shops your clients frequent. For instance, if you are advertising a pet waste removal business, you should ask the local animal shelter if they would post your flier.

3. Using the same word processor you used to produce your pin up, you can design your own business cards. You will print these business cards on formatted and perforated business card stock. Avery business card paper will cost around $15 and provide 250 business cards for those using an inkjet printer. To save more, test the alignment of your business cards by printing a single sheet on standard computer paper and checking the alignment against that of the Avery paper. These business cards will be of great value when a client offers to refer your services to their friends or when you randomly meet potential customers. Business cards can be made on regular card stock rather than more expensive perforated paper, but your business cards will likely come out uneven or crooked. It's worth the money to avoid the hassle of cutting 250 business cards.

Tips & Warnings

• See the Resources Section of this page for direct links to associated with this article.

References

• Yahoo! Small Business: Home
• Computer Companion: Create Business Cards in Word