10 Best Ways to Promote your Business at a Shoe-String Budget

Have a business? Need to promote it? Is the promotional cost giving you a nightmare?

Not always business promotion will take a toll on your spending plan. It just needs proper planning and a few hours from your daily schedule to figure it out.

It’s the owner who knows the best about the product.

Being the owner, it’s so obvious that you know the product better than anyone. But when the budget is tight, you can’t help but to axe down the marketing expenses.

“Business only has two functions—marketing and innovation.” – Peter Drucker

Business promotion is something you have to chalk it out on your own. Even an outstanding product/service demands exclusive attentiveness when it comes to promotion.

Business promotion has been one crucial part of the business.  In this article, we will share 10 best ideas to promote your business remunerative spending check. Read on-

1. Where there’s communication, there should be a promotion: You have a business. Let people know about it as many as possible.

Business cards definitely speak for your credibility. Make sure your business name, logo, slogan, communication address, web details are there in your correspondence.

It’s necessary that all the business documents (whether it’s a letter or emails) that are sent outside should contain a letterhead with the company details.

Your email-id must have all your company information and your active social media account links so that people can easily communicate with your brand.

Newsletters are the best marketing tool these days to promote your business and make your existing/potential consumers aware of your brand.

2. Spread your brand awareness with vehicle wrap: Those who think that white delivery vans are exclusive vehicles for mobile business promotion, are not totally right. You can actually use other vehicles having your business details printed.

These days business wraps are mostly removable stickers with business logos and information. One amazing fact is these removable stickers are digitally printed and don’t damage the vehicle’s skin.

Outdoor Advertising Association of America says a single vehicle wrap can generate 30,000-70,000 views on a daily basis depending upon the population size of the area. Surprisingly, this is the most cost-effective method of local business promotion.

3. Grab 2X more audience with social media promotion: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are the most-used social media platforms for business promotion. In fact, both the small business owners and large-scale industries use multiple social media platforms to promote their products on a global platform.

Here also you should have a strategy to tap the right kind of audience who could be the future buyers. Social media platforms do convert sales only if upholding the trend.

Upload your business promotional video and on YouTube if you have a skilled video shooter.

4. Blogs and Articles are the two key marketing tools: There’s no better way to describe your products through a detailed blog/article. A sound article can provide free advertising to the business.

Suppose you are an interior decorator, writing blogs on home decors can help your business promotion to a great extent. Just add a small author bio before making it public.

The more specific topic, the bigger the user connectivity.

You have to choose your words carefully before you publish a blog on any particular website. Publishing unique content accumulates more traffic only when the content is interactive and relevant.

There is a gamut of websites that are looking for blogs, articles, and guest posts regularly. But choosing a high traffic website for publishing your blog will eternally give you a trump hand. Because it gets you a way better visibility.

It’s essential for a blogger to have a clear knowledge of the target market. If you are selling apparel, publishing your blog on a website development site certainly won’t help.

Publish your blog on a suitable site so that it can promote the product as the best possible.

Magazines

Alike the web industry, magazines, and journals also have a steady requisite of quality content. Even rich content goes unnoticed when it gets published on a less popular magazine.

Here also you need to search for a popular magazine which is popular among your target market. There are multiple freelance writing sites that can provide a great deal of information about publications where you can show up your skills.

Newspapers

There’s no substitute to circulate your product or service through print media. Connect with a business editor of a local daily and pitch your article.

Another idea is to get your piece printed as a letter to the Editorial section.

5. Press releases are advantageous for business promotion: Need some free business promotion? Try sending out press releases.

Here the catch is for press release you have to have some business content that is newsworthy and engaging enough to grab readers’ interest.

In case you have a business expansion, a recent product launch, you have sponsored in any charity event, company has won an award- all these prime events can be capitalized as ‘product promotion’ through a press release.

Press releases can be published both online and print.

6. Try cross-promotion: Cross-promotion or Buddy-marketing signifies tying-up with another business/s and unite your resources to promote all the business together. When any business gets labeled as a joint-venture, cross-promotion grows into an important tool of business promotion.

Not only it expands your business reach but it also gets you the best chance to tap a new and bigger potential market. For example send out business cards, brochures, and even leaflets to likeminded business groups who are likely to be an active part of the promotion.

This is also a cost-effective way to bring your business into the limelight. Suppose you consider that promoting a business singlehandedly is a pretty penny, go for affiliation.

7. Freebies aka free promotion: Distributing free goodies is another popular promotion technique for letting people know about a new product. People love to receive products for free. Trust us, this won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

For instance, if you have a new baby product to introduce in the market, you might tie up with likable merchandise which has been selling baby clothes for years offer them to gift your product with their items for free.

If 25 people buy those clothes, they get to know about a new product, ‘your product’. This kind of promotion just smears with word of mouth publicity.

The other way is to give out inexpensive goods with your new-launched products. You can also go on with this promotional scheme on a regular basis as customer “rewards”. Business promotion gels well with customer rewards. Maximize your efforts with this much-explored technique.

8. Giving a seminar is always a good idea for business promotion: If you have the gift of gab why not using it for business promotion?

Associate with brands that are holding seminars nearby. Not necessarily you have to speak about their brand, you can present your business on the same platform even if there’s no direct tie-up.

Several educational academies often organize entrepreneur’s seminars. Join the league. There are many government-sponsored organizations and non-profit programs look for eminent speakers and business people who are willing to give a presentation and motivational speech on these types of events and forums.

9. Promoting is fun amid leisure activities: There is a gamut of unconventional ways to bring your business into the limelight. Include business promotion in your daily regime. Adopt different innovative methods to reach your business more and more people.

Let’s assume you have a well-run Yoga teaching center nearby offer them free t-shirts your brand’s name imprinted. Ask the retailers to staple your business card with the bills.  Give out free paper caps to several sports events.

There are multiple ways you can make your audience know about what you do and what you sell. Try not to overdo it anyway.

10. Promote your brand in a talk-show: Local radio stations and TV channels run by local cable operators are two affordable resources to promote your business in your locale.

If you follow online business programs, try to connect with the host, and approach him/her agrees to share your proficiency on a relevant subject.  Call-in shows are the best interactive platform to market your business as an expert.

Before you approach these shows, make sure you are clear and confident about your proposal.

Creating a podcast is the most advanced idea in this category. If it connects with your target group then the time and resources are worth investing.