Tweet

Business Advertising

Written by: Jorge Cruz

Article Overview: As entrepreneurs, we may not have much money to spend on promotional means, but that doesn’t mean that small business advertising has to be limited to word of mouth and the like. Over the years, this creative class of business people has come up with some tried and true strategies to get word of their businesses out there, and I’m here to share some of them with you.

Business Advertising

As entrepreneurs, we may not have much money to spend on promotional means, but that doesn’t mean that small business advertising has to be limited to word of mouth and the like. Over the years, this creative class of business people has come up with some tried and true strategies to get word of their businesses out there, and I’m here to share some of them with you.

First of all, despite what you’ve heard or what you may think, the Yellow Pages are still alive and kicking. Yes, people still do use them to find businesses much of the time. But, there is a kicker – if your business is just listed among the myriad of others, then chances are people are not going to find it. But, if your business has a big ad with a big picture, then the odds of people’s eyes being diverted directly to your ad are higher. It doesn’t cost too much extra money and it is definitely value for your dollar.

Second of all, look to newspapers. Yes, people still do read print offline. Focus on creating ads that look like actual newspaper articles. Studies have proven that the chances of people reading them go up dramatically. Another option would be to look for special interest newspapers in your region. Some papers might be directly in line with your target market.

Thirdly, some people might not consider this business advertising, but business cards are most definitely one of the best ways to promote your company and get word of it out there. Every time you meet someone, even if you can not see how they could become a prospective client or not at the time, give them your business card. Make sure you always have some on hand. You never know when somebody will be needing your service and just happen to reach into their pockets to find your card.

Fourthly, when thinking promotions, think big. Don’t just limit yourself to small-scale newspapers or Yellow Pages or radio or the like. Think cars and billboards. The reason buses are full of ads is because people like you and me read them every day. Whether we’re sitting in traffic in our cars or on buses, we’re surrounded by ads. And yes, often times we do actually notice them. Why not make your companies one of those ads we take note of?

Finally, never lose the opportunity to promote your company. Even something like sending a client an invoice could be used as a chance to advertise. Include with the invoice a special promotion, such as a limited time offer for returning clients. They will appreciate the special and might just take advantage of it.

With all of these tips, it’s important to remember that small business advertising is all about thinking outside of the box. What can you do to get your company out there that no one else is doing? Answer that question and find a surefire way to make your company stand out.

Related Articles
  Is Online Advertising Cost Effective?
  Advertising And PR Guidelines In All Forms Of Media
  Advertising: The Nuts And Bolts Of Making It Work: Step Three: Make sure your advertising is specific, has substance and is credible
  Why Use an Advertising Agency
  What Is The Point Of Advertising?

Article Tags: business advertising, business card, business cards, small business advertising, small business advertising, Yellow Pages, Yellow Pages



Related Forum Posts
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Personal duties - Great topic Kevin! My business is obviously my website, a part of which are these forums. In terms of tasks I usually do the following: - Business vision and direction: 10 - Strategic partnerships: 8 (I do it for most of my site while Kevin has begun for the forums) - Managing staff and assigning tasks: 8 (Again, I do it for most of my site while Kevin has begun for the forums) - Content development: 2 (Most of this is done by my authors and staff but I get involved in the management from time to time) - Advertising / sponsorship: 10 (I'm very hands on here as it's the way that I make my money) - SEO: 10 (With so much of my traffic coming from the search engines, if I'm not on top of new developments then I'm not driving traffic and I'm not in business) Generally I've picked the tasks that I most enjoy and feel that I can contribute my skills to. The other tasks are given to people who have expertise in those areas and produce great work.
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Kooiii Business Resources Can Save you Thousands of Dollars - Socialtisers Social Media Advertising: Every month as a part of your membership you get a $25 coupon code for purchased of targeted pay-per click advertising from Socialtisers.com. In addition you will receive top level training and opportunities to grow as a publisher if you choose to tap into 3 amazing revenue streams from Socialtisers membership. Socialtisers members are paid for click through traffic on display advertising, they get paid to send us new advertisers, and they also get paid when they refer successful publishers as well. E-mail marketing with Rapid Marketer Autoresponder: Also included in your membership is a $200+ a month package from Rapid Marketer Autoresponder, which allows you to use our powerful bulk e-mail auto-responders to mail up to 500,000 e-mails a month. They say the money is in the list in online marketing but managing that list can be expensive. Our responders rival the top names in the business and this one comes with your Kooiii Business Social membership. Business CMS Fan Pages: A Social Media Fan Page for your business is a virtual must and can be your most powerful sales and engagement tool. Kooiii's Business Fan Pages or Biz Pages allow greater freedom in design and function even allowing promotion of for sale goods directly on site and creation of ready to run business models directly from Kooiii Business Social like this example page we have created for people Visiting Yuma Arizona. Pages like this one can generate a full time income, promote your existing business, or bolster the work of your non-profit. Coupon Directory: If your business markets using digital coupon codes then the coupon directory is a must. Combine our QR Code generator with the Coupon offering and you have a powerful mobile media promotion tool as well. Article Marketing, Forums, Niche Groups, and Blogs: From our powerful article and press release directory to your member blog, private forums, and niche business groups, Kooiii is a article marketer's dream. Members share wisdom, and interest daily and grow together in a peer to peer hot bed of ideas and know how. We sort of think of it as one big Internet Think Tank allowing connection and innovation on a global scale. Kooiii Search and Business Directory: Unlike most social media platforms we don't just embrace site search but deliver global search results, social media focused results, and a full indexing of websites and links shared on Kooiii and in the Kooiii Business Directory. Kooiii Search is accessible by our web toolbar, on site search boxes, 3rd party webmaster API, and through MyCroft for Firefox, IE, and Opera. Being on Kooiii Business Social ensures that your websites and shared content are picked up in Kooiii Search. Classifieds Advertising: List 50 of your top products with links, Google Maps, and more in the Kooiii Business Social Classifieds. Add your business opportunities, services, and private sale items as well and have them promoted by our social presence and indexed in Kooiii Search within minutes. Non Stop Training: From member added topics to robust training in social media, search engine optimization, ppc advertising, content generation, Internet marketing, and affiliate tips we help members grow their minds as well as their business. Topics range from Public Relations to business management, product reviews, and details on the latest technology. Kooiii members contribute as well so the number of new topics is limited only by the desire to learn. Affiliate Program: In addition to all of the paid membership benefits we have added an additional free bonus for you in our powerful 2 tier affiliate program. When your business sends new members to us through unobtrusive promotion tools you will earn a percentage of their membership dues every month. When they bring someone into Kooiii Business Social you will earn 20% of their commissions as well. Again this is an optional bonus


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Halloween Howl Seven by Author Paige Agnew

Five Daily Marketing Habits to Increase Sales

Starting a Business a Brave Move or a NoBrainer

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.