Guest star on a radio talk show
Radio talk shows are hot these days and make a great platform for you to get your name out there.
Get yourself on television
Do a local television show as a guest. If you have the money pay for a local commercial spot. Television is an amazingly effective medium.
Be a guest speaker
Got o local clubs or organizations and volunteer to be a guest speaker for their next function. This works best if the group is somehow related to your product or group members are a part of your target market.
Make yourself into an expert
Being an expert gives you status and makes people believe in you. Start establishing yourself as an expert in your community so you can have people start vouching for your expertise.
Advertise in a local magazine
Local magazines are affordable and a good way to get your name to the public.
Get in a newsletter
Many local organizations and groups publish newsletters that go out to all their members. You need to get your name in there. Write a guest article or do an interview.
Put up a billboard
Billboards are attention grabbing and they send your message out to a large number of people.
Place newspaper ads
Newspaper ads are surprisingly effective and affordable. Use them to your advantage.
Hand out flyers
Flyers allow you to target customers and add that personal touch because it gives you face time with them as you are passing them out.
Use direct mailings
Direct mail is a proven method of advertising. You can make highly targeted mailings and reach your customers with a fairly inexpensive method of marketing.
Start up a telemarketing campaign
Telemarketing is a very effective. It is also something you can do on your own so it is cheap.
Print up business cards
Business cards are tools that can be used in many different ways. You can hand them out, leave them at local stores and even send them with orders.
Sponsor a contest
Offer your products as a prize for a contest. Be sire to include your label or business card with your URL in the prize package.
Sponsor a sports team
Local non-school associated sports teams rely on sponsors to fund their programs. In exchange for sponsoring the team you get your business name displayed on their uniforms. It is a great trade off.
Give to charity
Give in the name of your business and you will help your business reputation.
Get in the church bulletin
Church bulletins are well read and they are a great place to get your business name published. You should contact the pastor to see how you can get in the bulletin.
Develop an offline affiliate program
Affiliate programs are not just for online. If you have a product that can be easily carried around and showed off then you can make an offline program.
Become a news story
Do something newsworthy or become part of a news story and you will get free publicity from the news.
Host promotional product giveaways
Giving away promotional items is a great idea because you are giving away something free and people love that. Plus you are giving away something that advertises your business, so that is good for you. It is a win-win situation.
Print up tee shirts
Tee shirts are great advertising tools. Think about how many times you have stopped to read someone’s tee shit. Now think about how amazing that could be for your business.
Pass out bumper stickers
Bumper stickers are a cheap way to get your business name out there. You can give them away with orders or just hand them out to people who already have one on their car.
Use the old stand by of word of mouth
Word of mouth has been a great tool for building many businesses. Put it to work for you by encouraging people to tell others about you.
Set up shop at fairs or festivals
Fairs and festivals allow you to reach a large group of shoppers. You can set up a booth for a small fee and sell quite a bit of product.
Print up pamphlets
Pamphlets allow you to put all the important information is an easy to read package. People do not usually mind taking a pamphlet and looking it over. Plus it is a nice reminder of your URL and business name.
Send out text messages
People use text messaging as a main form of communication these days. Get into the trend and send out text messages like you would email messages. People like to forward messages so make yours catchy enough to be something they will forward and get more mileage out of your efforts.
Post ads on bulletin boards
Bulletin boards are underused tools. They are simple to use and free. Post a flyer on one for a boost in sales. Make sure you get permission, though, and follow the rules.
Be a part of the Sunday paper
The Sunday newspaper is the most popular newspaper and the prime market for advertising. You can either put an ad in the classifieds or you can add a flyer to the loose pages of the paper.
Team up with a local business
Find a local business that complements your business and see if the owner wouldn’t mind working with you. You can give the business an online presence and you can use them offline. You can trade business cards and even team up for package deals.
Create a phone book listing
The phone book is still a great place to get found. You can even buy an ad where you can put your URL. People still use the yellow pages a lot to find businesses so this makes this a natural place to advertise.
Think outside the box
Try off the wall ideas. See every situation you encounter as an opportunity. You might just be surprised at the results.