Marketing Your Way to Success
Starting out I did not know much about marketing promotion, but along the way I learned. The techniques I am sharing with you today are affordable – some won’t cost you a penny, and others may only cost you a few dollars.
You must begin your marketing plans by finding the markets, and also by creating and distributing promotional materials. Following are a few ways to help you get started with your marketing plans:
Send press releases
Advertise in print
Sign guestbooks
Use e-zines & newsletters
Use the message boards
Create a Web site
Contact bookstores
Send spam-free e-mails
Get into the search engines
Participate in link exchanges
Participate in banner exchanges
Add signatures to your e-mails
Invest in or create your own business cards
Invest in or create your own brochures
Invest in or create your own bookmarks (for authors)
Invest in or create your own flyers
Press Releases
There are Web sites on the World Wide Web that will allow you to promote your press releases for free – use your favorite search engine and search for “free press release distribution” (include the quotes). Visit the Web sites you have found and submit your press release to all of them.
Another way to distribute your press release for free is through newsletters and e-zines. Search the Internet for newsletters and e-zines that relate to the product, service or business you’re promoting. Upon finding the newsletters and e-zines search their Web site for information on how to send a press release to them. If you cannot find information on how to send press releases to them, contact the editor of the newsletter or e-zine and ask him/her if they publish press releases, also ask how they prefer to receive the press release.
Other than the World Wide Web, you should also target your local media. Local media, especially newspapers, love to announce news which relates to local residents.
The first press release you need to write should introduce your new product, service or business. Later, as you run free offers, discounts, giveaways and etc. you should create and distribute another press release – do this for every offer or special promotion you make available.
Print Advertising
Begin your print advertising by placing an ad in your local newspapers. Next, find print magazines that relate to the product, service or business you’re promoting – these magazines will be the ones you need to place an ad in. These methods of marketing are not free, but you will know how much each will cost before placing your ads – allowing you to work it into your marketing budget.
Advertising in print can be free too! A simple Internet search for “free print advertising” (leave the quotes) will provide you with some “free print advertising” sources. Using Google as your search engine will return over 150 sources.
Guestbooks
Visit Web sites that are in relation to the product, service or business you’re promoting. Once there look for their guestbook and sign it. When signing the guestbooks ask the Web site owners if they would like to exchange links with you free, and be sure to include your e-mail address or your contact information so that they may contact you. In addition, when you sign guestbooks be sure to also include a link to your Web site (if allowed) in their guestbook too.
E-zines and Newsletters
Search the Internet for e-zines and newsletters related to your business. For example, if you’re offering beauty products find e-zines and newsletters that offer beauty tips and etc.. Finding the e-zines and newsletters which relate to what you’re selling targets the correct consumers – consumers who have an interest in what you’re selling. Once you find the e-zines and newsletters relating to your business try to find out what their circulation (number of subscribers) is, and also the cost to run a small advertisement with them. It’s best to target the e-zines and newsletters that have a circulation of at least 100 or more subscribers. Placing your advertisement in e-zines and newsletters can pay off!
If you don’t have the budget, at this time, to advertise in e-zines and newsletters you can always offer to do an exchange with them (a.k.a. ad swap). How do I do an exchange when I don’t have an e-zine or newsletter? Easy, create an e-zine or newsletter that your potential customers and/or clients can subscribe to, and then you will have one. After you’ve built up your subscriber list contact other e-zine and newsletter owners and make them an offer. Tell them you’ll run a small advertisement of their business in your e-zine or newsletter (which ever you offer) for free, if, in exchange, they will run a small advertisement of your business in their e-zine or newsletter for free. You’ll find many will be happy to take you up on your offer, because, they too like free advertising. In addition, you can also do a Google search using any or all of these terms (leave the quotes around the terms): “newsletter ad swap,” “e-zine ad swap” and/or “ad swap.”
Using Message Boards
Message boards are a really great way to drive traffic to your Web site, and promote the products or services you’re selling. First, find the message boards which fit the category of what you’re selling, and when looking for the categories I have learned to check out the categories first. Checking out the categories allows you to see which categories list only a few. The categories that list only a few promotions, announcements and etc. are the best categories to use. Why, you ask? Because some message boards will not list your advertisement at the top even if it is new, so it is always best to list where there are few things mentioned so you have your spot to keep – right at the top.
The thing you need to remember when advertising on message boards is not to spam. Spamming can get you into trouble, and it can also get your advertisement removed from the board. In addition, spamming can also get you banned. To prevent spamming, read the rules of posting for each thread before you post. If the rules say not to post advertisements on that thread, don’t. If the thread says it’s okay to post advertisements, you’re safe. Another form of spamming a message board is when you post your advertisement in more than one of their threads. Only post in one thread – the one which relates to what you’re selling or promoting.
Don’t just advertise on the boards and leave for good. At least once a week go back to the boards and try and participate in the discussions – you never know who you may be able to help. If allowed, place a link to your Web site in your signature, and every time you post on that board your link will be in your post.
Creating a Web site
Having your own Web site is a wonderful way to promote what you have because you can control what is said, and you will also be able to display images of what you’re promoting. In addition, you can add descriptions, prices, specials and free giveaways.
Building and hosting a Web site does not have to cost you money, and you do not need to have HTML experience. With a simple search for “free Web sites” and also “free Web site hosting” you will find Web sites that allow you to create without HTML experience, and many also offer free hosting. One of my personal favorites is Geocities. Geocities offers 15MB of disk space free, along with a drag and drop editor. The drag and drop editor allows you to write your Web site’s content, and display pictures of what you have, plus much more – all without the knowledge of HTML.
Bookstores
Promoting a book? Mail a sales kit to bookstores in your local area, and even bookstores outside of your local area. Your sales kit should include: the press release on your book, a business card, your bio, bookmarks (for the bookstores to giveaway), a sales sheet (brief introduction of your book), a table of contents to help the bookstore find what they need, without them having to search through stacks of papers, a market information sheet (tells the bookstore your target market), endorsements (what reviewers and readers had to say about your book), an in the news sheet (details your appearances in the media – start with the most recent. Include copies of the appearances if you have them) and a recent picture of yourself.
After sending your sales kit to bookstores they may place your book on their shelves (this means sales for you), and some may even contact you to do book signings. Make sure that your book can be ordered from Ingram and/or Baker & Taylor – a lot of bookstores buy their books from these two distributors.
If you haven’t heard back for the bookstores within two weeks, make a follow-up phone call (ask to speak with the manager). During this phone call you can check to see if they received your sales kit, ask if they have any questions and this is also a good time to try and arrange a book signing with the store.
Spam-Free E-mails
E-mail is another method of promotion. Again, be sure you’re not spamming. Make sure the person you are e-mailing has given you permission to send them promotional e-mail. You can also buy e-mail lists pretty cheap. E-mail lists contain e-mail addresses of people who have requested to be a part of the list – usually by opt-in. If you buy mailing lists, make sure the lists relate to what you’re selling.
Search Engines
If you took my advice earlier on and built your Web site, you will now need to get it listed in the search engines, as soon as possible. In order to do that you need to submit to the search engines by hand, or you can find some free search engine submission services to do it for you. Personally, I like to make the submission myself. By submitting the Web site myself I have more control over the categories I’m listed in and more.
If you’re submitting by hand you will need to know a few things. One, search engines definitely do not put you on top unless you pay. So being as you may be promoting through the free route, look over the categories you fit into. Next, see which of those categories have the least amount of listings – the category with the least amount of listings will be the category you want to submit to.
If your budget allows, I recommend paying for search engine placement. You can do this affordably if you do it right. By using pay-per-click you can stay within your allotted budget, and it is more effective. Have you ever run a search at Yahoo or Google? Sure you have. Anyway, during that search, when the results came up, I’m sure you seen the ads at the top of your results, and also the ads to the right. These ads usually say “sponsored links” – that is where your link would be placed.
Link and Banner Exchanges
Visit Web sites that relate to yours. Once there, look for information on how you can do a link or banner exchange (which ever you prefer) with the Web site’s owner. If you do not find any information on a link or banner exchange, contact the Web site’s owner to see if he/she will do a link or banner exchange with you. The more Web sites that link to your site, the better your ranking in the search engines.
E-mail Signatures
Another great way to get your Web site noticed is by placing a short signature in your e-mail. Make sure this signature provides a link to your Web site, and every time you send an e-mail to someone they can visit your Web site. Make sure your signature is short, but catchy .
Business Cards, Brochures, Bookmarks (for authors) and Flyers
Finally, when promoting business cards, brochures, bookmarks and/or flyers you are able to put your Web site address, contact information and etc.. This allows your potential customers and/or clients to contact you, as well as, find out more about what you have to offer. You can make these items yourself with software programs, a printer and the special paper to print them up on.
When promoting with any of the methods mentioned above, it never hurts to place a special offer for your potential customers. Consumers love ways to save money, and by offering them something as simple as a discount or free shipping you could land your very first sale.
I hope I’ve been of help to you with your marketing plans. I would love to hear your feedback – just post your comments. In addition, if you have any marketing questions, or would like to share your own marketing tip, post a comment and let me know. Good luck with your marketing adventures, and may you be blessed with much success!
