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A.
Dear Tom,
You are NOT alone!
There are so many eBusinesses and individuals wondering the
exact same thing: How do I market on little or no
budget?
I am going to assume, for ease of
answering, that you know what your target audience is (i.e.
who buys your products, demographics, etc.). This is a
crucial element in marketing.
Believe it or not, there are
numerous ways to market without spending a lot of
money....but, you will be exchanging your time in place of
your wallet. You could check out online communities that
service your target audience and write/submit articles that
are of interest.
To do this, and be successful at it,
you must create articles that are not blatant advertising--you
put that info in your bio. You could join active
listserves (again, those that cater to your target audience)
and participate in them, using a signature line to draw
attention to your site. You could participate in link
exchanges. You could create awards and give them to
websites that qualify. You could begin a "finder's
fee" program (much like an affiliate, but you handle
everything instead of CJ or LinkShare, etc.). You could
do ad swaps with various eNewsletters. You could partner
with other websites, exchanging content and ads. Start
a banner exchange, a webring, message boards, chat room, etc.
There is so much available to get
your name and web business out and about! A couple of
great experts in this field are Dr. Ralph Wilson (http://www.wilsonweb.com)
and Dr. Marcia Yudkin (http://www.marciayudkin.com).
Dr. Wilson has a checklist on his website that I have sent
many clients to. Dr. Yudkin has a book available that
lists marketing on a budget of $500 or less--I have a previous
version of one of her books and it is super.
Decide how much time you have to
devote to marketing, make a list of items that are feasible
for the amount of time you have and then jump in! You
are sure to notice results in no time! Best,
About
the PowerHomeBiz.com Guide:
 Tammy Harrison
is a successful home-based working mom for over five years.
She holds a degree from Mizzou in Consumer Economics. Her
business focuses on Marketing and Creativity for Small
Businesses as well as numerous other small businesses. For more
information, you may contact her at http://www.jdharrison.com
The opinions expressed in this
column are those of the author, not of PowerHomeBiz.com. Users should not
treat the Guide's response as legal, accounting, or professional advice as all
answers are intended to be general in nature. Such advice can only be properly
given by qualified professionals who are fully aware of a user's specific
geographical areas or circumstances, such as an attorney or accountant.
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