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Getting Started Advertising Your New Home Business on a Shoestring Budget
Getting Started Advertising Your New Home Business on a
Shoestring Budget
Copyright ©2005 Eric Mathieu 1-2-3-work-at-
home.com
So, you've started a new business? Congratulations! Now, you
need to start advertising.
When you are just getting started in your new home business and
no one knows that you or your business exists, the largest
challenge will be becoming well-known and getting the business
coming in.
Everyone knows that in order for a business to be successful, it
is necessary to advertise. Many people wish that business would
come in without them having to embark on this task, but that
very rarely happens. For everyone who is serious about getting
their new home business off to a good start, they should begin
advertising sooner, rather than later.
Unfortunately, for most people who are just starting a business,
there isn't much of an advertising budget available, and it is
going to be necessary to be creative in order to reach your
advertising goals on a limited budget.
Many people have a common misconception that it is a necessity
to spend a huge amount of money in order to successfully
advertise their home business. When you are just starting out, I
actually recommend that everyone take spending on advertising
very slowly - even if they *do* have a large budget available.
It is just too easy to make mistakes at the beginning, so we
want to limit the possible expenditure loss right from the
start. No matter how much money you have available for your
efforts, it is important to spend it wisely.
Now that you have decided that you are ready to begin your
advertising, I'm going to share with you some important
advertising truths that I have learned.
Advertising Truth #1
It absolutely does NOT have to cost an enormous amount of money
to advertise your home business, and it won't - unless you do
not plan properly.
I cannot stress enough the importance of testing your
advertising! If you get too excited and just jump right in and
start advertising like crazy, just dumping money on top of money
without properly testing, you will quickly find that you have
spent much more that you should have (and wanted to spend)
without the results you are after. Many people make this mistake
either just out of the sheer excitement of getting the word
about their new home business out there, or simply because they
don't know. When this happens, it is all too common for people
to blame their failures on the business they chose rather than
their poor advertising decisions. It is important to take a deep
breath and approach this the right way.
Advertising Truth #2
All of your ad testing should always be done in blocks. If you
start out and advertise in newspapers, radio, magazines, and on
television all at once, how will you know which of your ads is
bringing in the business? Chances are that you won't be able to
discern who came from where. What makes it worse is that you
will know that SOMETHING is working, but you won't have any idea
as to what it is that is actually doing the trick.
I know that you will often see people putting messages in their
advertising to be sure to tell them where you found them, but
experience shows that only about 5% of people will actually tell
where they found the ad (many probably don't even remember!).
You should never rely on your actual customers to tell you what
is working in your advertising campaigns. If you want to
successful at advertising and only spend what is necessary, you
will have to work at it so that you know what is and isn't
working yourself.
Advertising Truth #3
Once again, start small! Until you have come up with a solid and
proven advertising campaign, you should not spend large amounts
on advertising. Even once you do have a good advertising
foundation underneath you, you should always be careful and
constantly review and monitor your advertising to determine just
how effective an ad may be. In some cases, you may come across
what seems to be a great advertising idea that may allow you to
reach five times as many people as you have been able to
previously, but depending on the type of advertising, the
additional exposure may not generate many more sales than your
current advertising. Be sure to pay attention to ensure you
always get the most from your advertising budget.
Advertising Truth #4
There ARE very cost effective ways to advertise your business.
When first starting out, the main goal is to get people talking
about your business and getting some mindshare. This doesn't
need to be an expensive proposition - there are rather simple,
cost effective ways to accomplish this goal when getting
started. Here are a few ideas:
Word of mouth - This is obviously the least expensive
advertising available, as it doesn't cost you anything. Tell
everyone who will listen about your business - even if the
person you are talking to doesn't need or want what you're
selling, someone they know might. Also, be sure to ask your
existing customers if they know anyone else who could also find
value in your products or services. If you conduct business
properly and ensure that your customers are happy with your
service, they will be willing to tell you other people you can
contact, and/or they will refer new customers to you.
Business cards - You can usually pick up 250-500 business
cards for ~ $20. When you get them, hand them out, but only give
each person 3-5 cards. This way, if they don't pass them on, you
aren't just throwing them away, and they will ask you for more
if they need them. You can provide people with an incentive to
give them out by offering them a few dollars for any referrals
they give you. You can do this by telling them to write their
name on the backs of the cards, and have the customers present
the card to you when they purchase. Think of this as a sort of
offline affiliate program. Also, get into the habit of leaving
your business cards at places you frequent - leave a business
card on the table when you finish eating at a restaurant. I know
it sounds crazy, but this actually can and will bring in the
occasional customer and at approximately 8 cents per card, it is
really cheap advertising.
Press releases - I know, I know, many people think that
they can't do a press release without hiring a professional
publicist. This simply isn't true. A self-made press release can
be a very good source for generating buzz about your new home
business. The editors of the business section of your local
newspaper are always looking for good local business stories to
fill up the business section of the newspaper. In some cases,
they will be slightly reluctant to publish your press release
without you purchasing some advertising in the paper, but even
if they don't print it right away, they will often hold on to it
for times they need some "filler" for the section. Also, if you
call them and really emphasize the fact that this is a "grand
opening", they are much more likely to print it.
Remember that your press release must be formatted in the style
of a news story - make sure that any quotes from yourself are
presented in the third person, like this: Eric Mathieu said,
"Blah, blah, blah". So, even though I'm the only person there,
it will be presented as if it is an interview.
In Closing
Hopefully, this article helps you get some ideas of cost
effective ways to advertise your business when getting started
without breaking the bank. I'm not trying to make this seem
overly simplistic, but these ideas will give you a good
foundation with which you can get started. Once you have
mastered these simple tactics and started making money, you can
move on to some of the more advanced (and more expensive)
advertising techniques. These should always have a place in your
arsenal though.
Much success,
Eric Mathieu 1-2-3-work-at-home.com
About the author:
Eric Mathieu can show you how to get your own Money Making
Website that is built just for you and that will be 100% ready
to start making you money and setting up a residual income
stream within 24 hours! You can get all the details and signup
now at: 1-2-3-work-at-
home.com
ATTENTION: You have full permission to reprint this
article!
Eric Mathieu
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