1. Get a website for your business. A website
is the first step to establishing yourself as
a legitimate business in the eyes of your customer.
Often, after introducing yourself, your prospective
client’s first question is “do you
have a website”? Customer’s like
to check out your website because it will give
them a feel for who you are and how you do business.
While ideally a website is designed and maintained
by some super-techie, that doesn’t have
to be the case if you’re on a limited budget.
Check with family or friends to see if anyone
just happens to have that techie talent for creating
form out of chaos, or take a class from your
local community college in website design. There
are also online resources that walk you through
the process of designing your own website using
standard templates. The important thing is to
get a well written website up and running quickly
so that you appear to be a legitimate, customer-focused
business with a professional image.
2. Get classy looking business cards. Many word
processing software programs now come with a
business card template and some standard clip
art. When designing and printing your own business
cards consider using at least two complimentary
colors in your text and logo (no black and white
cards, please!) and use the highest quality business
card stock that you can afford. Good business
card stock will help you to achieve that professionally
printed look without the professionally printed
price.
3. Develop a splashy brochure. Your brochure
should give a brief summary about you, provide
a complete listing of services and prices, some
comments from satisfied customers, and your complete
contact information. Try to make your content
concise, interesting and the layout easy to read.
It’s always a good idea to incorporate
the same general “look” you used
in your business cards in your brochure. An attractive
brochure can be mailed to potential customers,
handed out at a seminar or presentation, or left
with members of your referral network.
4. Send out a Press Release. The “news” we
read in the papers or see in the media is often
a result of someone sending out a press release
about themselves and their accomplishments. All
you need to do is get a list of newspapers (local
community papers are great) and media outlets
that cater to your ideal customer. Your press
release should be interesting but not too long.
Try to write your paragraphs so that each paragraph
stands on its own. That way the editor can cut
paragraphs that may not be “interesting” or
make the article too long for publication. Make
absolutely, 100% sure, that you spell check and
grammar check your press release. And please
make sure you’ve included all of your contact
information, especially your website. A well-written
press release is an invaluable source of free,
free, free advertising.
5. Establish a referral network. Referral networks
are used to minimize the cost of advertising
while targeting people who are likely to purchase
your services or products. To develop your network,
start by thinking of the businesses and professionals
that will come in contact with people that would
be ideal customers for your business. For example,
a professional handyman might contact a Real
Estate agent and a house painting business with
information about his services. Make a list of
the businesses or professionals that would serve
your ideal client. Then drop by with your business
card and brochures, ask for their business cards
and marketing materials, and offer to include
them in your referral network if they’ll
do the same for you. As you build your referral
network you’ll find yourself with a free
source of advertising perfectly targeted to your
ideal customer.
Utilizing these five low cost and no cost marketing
concepts can quickly get your new business venture
headed in the right direction. Best wishes for
success!
Valerie Hayes is an entrepreneur who survived
a corporate layoff by starting her own consulting
practice using only cash on hand, her laptop
computer, and readily available resources. Within
two years she had matched her corporate salary,
was writing for national magazines, and was featured
on MTV. She accomplished all this while working
a part-time schedule from her home office! Now
she offers her simple strategies to others looking
to create their own vision of success. Please
visit her website at http://www.HayesSuccess.com
