While it is true that 25% of the world population is online today and 55% shop online, marketing online is a tough job. How else do you reach the millions of potential customers? How can you let them know how you can help them? Answer: off line advertising.
There are a number of ways that you can advertise off line. Before I give you a list, there are just a few tips to keep in mind. Always carry your business card with you. Do not use glossy cards. You won't be able to write on them if you want to give out your home phone or other information that may not be included on your card. Neither will your prospect. Do not solicit without permission.
- Leave business cards everywhere -
doctors offices,
restaurants,
grocery stores,
hair salons,
rest stops (I once left mine in rest stops up and down the entire east coast on a road trip),
day care centers,department stores
- Leave them in books at bookstores and libraries (with permission)
- Send them with outgoing mail, especially all those postage paid direct mail pieces
- Ask local businesses if you can leave them on display at their cash registers
The point is to keep cards with you, in your car, your purse, your pocket, at all times, so that you can leave them everywhere. You don't have to pay a lot of money for business cards either. Go to www.Vistaprint.com for 250 free business cards.
- Car magnets, bumper stickers and car window cling-ons. Ask your friends and family to put them on their cars, too
- Local advertisements in penny savers and newspapers. You can usually run some low cost ad campaigns. Run them several weeks or months in a row to give people a chance to recognize and trust you.
- Make up your own flyer or direct mail piece. Pay the neighbor kids to pass the flyers out for you. Target your direct mailings to appropriate area organizations. Never put anything in mailboxes, though, since it is illegal to do so. You can put flyers with tear-offs up in colleges, groceries, Laundromats and other similar places.
- Make up postcards and leave them on cars. Hit a couple of Wal-Marts and Targets on the weekends. You can combine work with recreation and stop by the neighborhood parks on the weekends and holidays. Take your friends and reward them with pizza. Make a party out of it or a competition to see who can place all of their postcards the fastest. This does not have to be an expensive endeavor either. You can print them up on your own computer and print them out.
- Network with other business owners. Go to local job fairs, women's business meetings, and neighborhood meetings.
- Order jackets, t-shirts, and caps with your logo and website URL. Pass them out to your family and friends to wear. Wear them when you go out. Put your URL on pens, pencils, memo pads, refrigerator magnets, cups and sports bottles and pass them out to everyone.
- Get a personalized stamper. Customize your checks with your business information and logo. Address labels and envelopes are also great ways to advertise.
- Distribute ad packages that you make up to include your business card and tri-folds or brochures
- Advertising co-ops are great for high price, high profile types of advertising. You split the costs for magazine ads, newsletters, newspapers, and TV and radio.
You really are limited only by your own imagination. These are just a few ideas. I'm sure you can come up with tons more. Some of these ideas are more costly than others, but there are free resources as well. If you want to succeed, you have to do the work. There really are no get rich quick businesses. So get cracking and Good Luck in all of your endeavors.
For more on business matters, visit my latest blog.
