The Top 8 Ways To Advertise Your Business

Advertising your business is absolutely essential if you want to succeed and make money online You should regularly be putting yourself out there, attracting new customers and reminding old ones about your business. Make sure to make the most of your advertising dollar, though, by using the right methods.

Here are 8 tried and tested ways of getting your business name out in public.

1 ) Put Your Logo on Your Car
Use your car as a roaming billboard. Put your logo on your car, making it as large as possible. Also include a tag line that sums up what your business does or what you specialize in. If you have a really compelling tag line, people will look you up online for more information; be sure your website is up to date so people can find you.

2 ) Join Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites are a great way to generate excitement for your business, and they are free to join. Make your page as fun and interesting as possible. If you have a party or event at your place of business, take pictures and post them with captions. You could also post a tip of the day on a topic related to your industry. Or you could write about issues related to your line of business or simply write how-to blogs.

3 ) Write Press Releases and Articles
Press releases and articles are free ways to advertise in a newspaper. To get a newspaper to print your press release or article, it has to be relevant. For press releases, write about major developments in your company such as a new product line that can change people’s lives.

For articles, you could write about industry trends or give advice about seasonal issues. For instance, a garden supply store owner could write about the best way to grow tomatoes. Make sure the article or press release does not read like an advertisement, or it probably will not get printed.

4 ) Put an Ad in the Yellow Pages
You can advertise in the printed yellow pages and online. This method of advertising can be pricey, but it will usually pay off. Lots of people still turn to the yellow pages when they are looking for a particular good or service. Plus, the good online yellow pages are shown whenever people do a keyword search on search engines.

5 ) Attend Networking Events
Get involved in your community. Join the chamber of commerce, go to school board meetings, or be a member of a local charity. Do not be pushy about advertising your business when you attend meetings and events. Make sure people can see that you really want to be involved.

Then, when you have conversations with other members, get them to talk about what they do and ask for a business card; they will usually then ask you about your line of work, which is when you can pull out your business cards.

6 ) Get Current Clients to Refer You
Your best source of business is from current customers. Treat them really well so they will keep coming back and also refer you to others, and be sure to give your clients an incentive to refer you. Hand your current customers some of your business cards, have them write their names on the back, and then tell them that if a new customer turns in the card, the original customer will get a free gift or substantial discount.

7 ) Advertise on the Internet
Try several methods to see which works best for your Internet advertisements. Google Adwords is a great way to do contexual and banner advertising across the web. Learn more about Google Adwords and pay per click to advertise your product online.

You may also want to use affiliate marketing, in which you strike up agreements with other web pages with a similar target audience to place ads on each other’s sites. Search engine optimization (SEO) will make your website more noticeable to search engines as well as other websites. Pay-per-click advertisements give other websites an incentive to place your ad on their pages.

8 ) Place Print Ads in Strategic Locations:
Print up flyers, brochures, and business cards and place them in locations you know your target audience visits. For instance, brochures and business cards can be placed in racks in other businesses that have a similar customer base as your company.

Hang flyers on community boards, street corners (following city laws, of course), and in windows of other businesses. Mailing flyers, brochures, or postcards directly to customers and prospects puts your ad directly in front of them, the most strategic location of all!

Be sure to thoroughly research each advertising strategy you plan to use or hire a professional. If not done right, then no amount of advertising will work.

Finally, keep in mind that not all advertising methods work for every business, so if one does not seem to be working for you, scrap it and try another.

Bottom line: Use what brings you measurable results

This is a guest post by Anna Cruz, she writes about Graphic Design, Desktop Publishing, Marketing and Advertising. Anna works for PrintPlace.com, an online printing company offering brochure printing, poster printing, postcards, business cards and other custom printing services.”

Contact us if you want to guest post on this blog. Image Credit: Roobottom

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24 comments

Galway Accountants June 22, 2010 - 12:13 pm
Nice article, the only one I haven't tried is the yellow pages. I find it very hard quantify if printed advertising is having a result so I prefer to stick to facebook and goolge ads. Ralph
Football Trophies June 22, 2010 - 12:45 pm
I like these ideas and i will put them to good use for my business
OpenVMS June 22, 2010 - 1:59 pm
Great tips im sure my business can expand if I use your advice wisely
Lee Ka Hoong@Make Money Online June 23, 2010 - 12:37 am
I would like to add one more, print the logo on t-shirt and wear it to anywhere which relates to your business, that might help too. Great tips Anna, these methods are for offline and online advertising. Regards, Lee
Web Tasarım June 23, 2010 - 6:38 am
I like these ideas and i will put them to good use for my business thanks for article.
maz1987 June 23, 2010 - 9:53 am
nice tips.. really like them....
Uzi June 23, 2010 - 11:01 am
Keep sending newsletter to existing customer and offer rewards to loyal customers.
cubicles June 23, 2010 - 11:48 am
Not sure if printed yellow pages are still relevant now, but online directories are a good medium for advertising. Thanks for the all the tips though I'm not putting up ads on my car - my car's my baby!
Colleen June 23, 2010 - 6:48 pm
Yikes ZK, print advertising is dead! For what it is worth, we do not do any type of print advertising. But then again, perhaps some print advertising works for some businesses. I'll tell ya, the number 1 way we advertise is by being found through search.
Ajith Edassery@Make Money Online June 24, 2010 - 11:12 am
Nice brand building and marketing tips. By the way, unless my business or income from therein bought me my car, I wouldn't spoil my car with the URL and tagline :)
Julius June 24, 2010 - 4:12 pm
I think creating a free product is also another way to promote your business. You can choose from several types: workbooks, small aps, and even free service
Promotional Products June 25, 2010 - 11:16 am
Great advice. Thanks for sharing, not sure I can think of much more.
Helena June 28, 2010 - 3:06 am
Thanks for providing these ideas. I believe that this would be very helpful specially to those who are planning to start their own business.
Design Services June 29, 2010 - 10:32 pm
Advertising your business is a must. When you are in direct sales this is the only way people will know you are in business. Advertising is the only way people will visit your site, purchase your products, and join your business.
Web Design June 30, 2010 - 1:47 am
Hmm that's nice, I got these tips helpful but advertising the product is must. If you have a business then no one knows about it and no one ever heard your name before then it can also be a loss. So advertising helps in branding this will help you to improve the traffic to your business.
Web Design Los Angeles July 1, 2010 - 10:50 pm
I think online marketing can generate you lots of leads and traffic. Even it be any type of business. But in this internet era, advertise your business through internet medium.
jtGraphic: James Thompson July 11, 2010 - 8:37 pm
Another great one is to have a branded sign for your business. Make it easy to find you.
Disseration Writing Services July 21, 2010 - 12:53 pm
Yup, branding this is the most important thing that grows the business. Well great article you posted here.
smart metering July 31, 2010 - 2:45 am
I agree with your ways especially joining social networking sites as they are really going well for advertising your business well in the market. And creating article and press release also promote your business regarding your product or services.
Joel Gray@TrafficTips101 September 7, 2010 - 3:32 am
I think marketing and advertising your business through the internet is the most useful tool at this time considering that it can go beyond boundaries. Thanks for this post!
runescape private servers September 10, 2010 - 8:11 am
Hmm that’s nice, I got these tips helpful but advertising the product is must. If you have a business then no one knows about it and no one ever heard your name before then it can also be a loss. So advertising helps in branding this will help you to improve the traffic to your business.
sell used textbooks November 12, 2010 - 2:21 pm
Is yellow pages even valid anymore. I never go to the site and I don't use the paper version, but does anyone?
LA Party Rental November 29, 2010 - 3:48 pm
They still make Yellow Pages. And the site works wonders.
Fatherhood Coach Ward March 3, 2011 - 9:04 am
Hey ZK, When you mentioned posting your ad on your car as the first thing you can do to advertise, I almost thought it was rather comical. But giving a thought about it, I guess your right. As long as you get your "line" right, then people will be really curious about it and search it online. Ward
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