Do You Want to Keep Your Company’s Name in the Forefront While Keeping Costs Down?

A myriad of free marketing methodologies are available to any business owner with an energized desire to succeed. Most of the tools necessary to get one’s business name circulating are common, everyday items that typical business owners already possess:• Telephone

• Computer

• Printer

• Digital camera

• Email

• Transportation

1: Start taking pictures – You’ll need current photos of your staff, yourself, your storefront, your vehicle and work your company has performed. If applicable, snap “before” and “after” shots that depict the quality of your efforts. Your goal is to develop an ongoing bank of photographs that paint your business in a positive light.

2: Benefit from the business section of your local newspaper – Whenever you hire a new face, prepare a photograph and a brief bio. If your hometown news is online, you can send an announcement and picture via email. If this option is not available, send the information by snail mail.

3: Begin blogging – There are dozens of high-visibility sites on the internet that will enable you to publish how-to features, or professional know-how columns. If your pieces are newsworthy or topically relevant, search engines will automatically pick them up and offer them as results. To top it off, some sites even offer small payments for well-written contributions.

Try visiting these sites to get started:

Associatedcontent.com

Ehow.com

Helium.com

Hubpages.com

4: Carve a niche on the ‘net – Key in the words “free website” in any search engine and you’ll se a handful of reasonable results. Grab one and get a feel for building a website. Most offer easy-to-use tools that enable just about anyone set up a decent looking site with photos and text.

Eventually, you can establish a customized business domain as you become increasingly internet-savvy. And believe me, right about now you’ll be glad that your company has a substantial bank of digital photos to plaster across lively web pages.

5: Design a logo – Create and develop a logo people will recognize. You can dabble in Word with different fonts, clip art, and/or photos until you hit on something memorable with a dash of pizzazz. After you’ve struck the right chord with your company’s logo, use it heavily. It will brand your product and help instill pride and confidence.

6. Hook it – A frequently overlooked component to effective marketing is the hook, or slogan. This is a distinct grouping of words that people will associate with your business. A good rule to follow is that the fewer words, the better. Try for two, three or four words only. Avoid more than six words because you want people to easily remember your message.

To illustrate this point, check out how many words are in each of these catchy phrases designed to “hook” you in:

What’s In Your Wallet? – Capital One

I’m Lovin’ It – McDonald’s

Just Do It – Nike

7. Frequent Flyers – To build creative flyers, all you need is basic desktop publishing, which comes standard on most computers. Here’s where your company’s photos, logo and hook all intertwine to present an interesting representation of what you have to offer. Be concise, yet catchy, and feature borders, bullets and pictures with a noticeable, bold headline. Post your flyers on any public bulletin boards you can find, and ask other proprietors with whom you do business to place them in a visible location.

8. Speak publicly – It’s amazing how many “career days” and other public events are ready to hear what you have to say. Contact local universities and keep an eye on civic events to see if there’s a niche you can fill with your expertise.In today’s economy, many small businesses are trying to cut costs wherever possible to stay afloat in a sea of rising expenditures. Often one of the first things to be slashed is advertising, which is self-defeating. Even if your company has little or no marketing budget, try these time-tested free techniques to stay one step ahead of the game and to keep your company’s name etched in the public’s mind.