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Seven easy ways to promote a new product or service

Written by: Ross Fattori

Article Overview: Inexpensive ways for companies to promote their products and services.

Seven easy ways to promote a new product or service

In today’s global economic slowdown, marketing budgets are being stretched, slashed and eliminated. Companies are often looking for effective and cost-effective ways to deliver a message about a new product or service.

Here are seven quick and easy ways to tell your story to clients, suppliers, colleagues and associates – without breaking the bank.

1) Email. Send a short email message announcing your new product or service. Be sure to include the proper salutation; and try to personalize each message. Your call to action might be “Call or email me for more information.”

2) Telephone calls. Telephone calls may seem outdated in this Facebook and Twitter era. Pick up the phone and talk to someone in real time, or leave a message. People still take calls and listen to their voice mails.

3) Post a blog. Post an article on your own blog, or offer to write a guest post on someone else’s blog. If you aren’t familiar with blogging yet, bring yourself up to speed on this popular phenomenon. Blogging is quick, easy and inexpensive.

4) Networking groups. Announce your product at a networking group or Chamber of Commerce meeting. These organizations often allow members to speak briefly on a topic of their choosing. This is a golden opportunity to deliver a message to a receptive audience.

5) Postcards. Include a postcard promoting your new product in the next round of invoices that you send out. You’re not paying extra for postage, and the message may prompt a positive response.

6) Query a business editor. Suggest an article about your product to the business editor at a newspaper or magazine. Business editors are always looking for story ideas, and your unique new product may trigger a story idea. An article written in the newspaper could even be incorporated into your marketing materials.

7) Update your web site. Post a short press release or product announcement on the “News” or “What’s New” section of your website. You could even post a video demonstrating the product and discussing its features and benefits

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Article Tags: breaking the bank, budgets, business editor, business editors, facebook, global economic slowdown, golden opportunity, invoices, magazine business, marketing materials, networking group, networking groups, postcard, product announcement, proper salutation, receptive audience, story idea, story ideas, telephone calls, voice mails



Related Forum Posts
Selling a Service - What sort of service are you trying to sell? I have a good friend who headed up the marketing for a good number of service companies and showing pictures of before and after (if applicable) is good. Putting together a flyer with a bulleted list (quick and easy to read) of the benefits to the customer and testimonials from satisfied customers are all great ways to help sell your service. Cold calls are horrible and I've done them, but never liked it. Besides, your normal return on cold calls is low. I joined a BNI (Business Networking International) networking group to promote my home improvement business and that worked well. I got to know the members and many used my services. At this point they were able to refer qualified leads to me. Let me know what you're selling and I can try to think of some other ideas. Chris
Joint Ventures?? - I read this following paragraph in another business forum. Has anyone used joint ventures and had successful results? How do you go about setting up joint ventures? [quote:3vnvuml9]Joint Ventures have been, and always will be one of the most powerful marketing tactics ever, and for good reason. They are easy to set up, and they cost you nothing and if set up correctly will allow you to have more customers than you can handle! So if you promote a great product or service and want to expose it to more prospects, or you you seek ways to increase your sales, but aren't quite sure how to go about it you should definitely consider harnessing the power of Joint Ventures And the best part is that anybody can start using joint ventures to skyrocket their profits. It doesn't matter what you sell, or where you sell it.[/quote:3vnvuml9]
Determine Your Target - Ramon - Congratulations on your new venture. First priority is to make a list of the people and businesses who are your target market. Who needs your product or service? Make a list of the things you can offer them. They need to understand the value of your service. Once you have a clear idea of who needs your product and what you have to offer, then you can begin to promote effectively to the right people. Promoting to people who have no use for your product or service or who don't have the authority to make a decision - is a waste of your time and money. One last thing - when you determine your target market - narrow down the options. For example - if you sold a product that could be used for computers, its not good enough to say your target is any computer owner. Would it be best for residential or commercial use? Is it better for teens or adults? Is it better for beginners or more experienced computer owners? Do small businesses or large businesses need your product? The more precise your answers are, the more successful your efforts will be. Shri
Re: Which is the best for beginners? - Hi Apu, It sounds like you already have an interest in setting up your own site and this is a good way to get into affiliate marketing. You can promote products or services with links or banners from your own site or just promote other people's websites, if it is the latter then you don't need a site of your own at all. The two main expenses you can’t really get away from are the cost of choosing your domain name and website hosting fees, neither of which are greatly expensive but that is a must with your own site. Then of course you have to generate traffic to your site and this takes time and consistent effort which is where a lot of people give up because it doesn’t happen overnight. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) of your site or how comfortable you are with article writing but these are the two ‘biggies’ when you are starting off. With articles, you can promote a service or product you are familiar with and post your original article to directories and on your own site and over time you will start to get traffic but it is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the info at the beginning so I would advise you to keep things simple, become proficient with one thing at a time then move on but keep busy and keep supplying fresh content for your site. regards, Mal.
Blogging - Some good points have been made. But, you don't have to blog every day. I know people with very effective blogs which post a few times a week. Its better to go a day or two without a post than to post something that isn't good. One secret I've found is to stay on topic. If you just want to chit chat, then that's fine. But, if you want to promote a business, service or product, the blog posts should be related to your product etc. Its a very easy way to stay up to date with your clients and/or prospective clients. I don't think its a waste, IF you plan to use it and post at least something relevant a couple of times a week. Or make it clear that you will post once a week unless there is something special that you want to share or announce. You could start a blog and include an easy to find link on your website, a link in your email and forum signature block and send an invitation to each person on your mailing list to join. Then, through effective use of keywords, you can draw new people to your blog and to your business or website. Shri


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