When you’re running any kind of business, the budget often gets depleted by seemingly important things, sometimes overnight.  Suddenly there’s nothing left to market with.  Since marketing is everything, how do you consistently get your message to your audience without emptying your bank account? 

 Here are three very effective and low cost ways to get your name “out there” without breaking the bank.

1) Internet Article Marketing

One of the primary ways you can drive traffic to your Web site is position yourself as an expert on your subject. You can do this by writing articles.   

Article marketing simply means creating informational articles about a topic that is relevant to your audience, based on your keyword research.  You can then submit or post your articles to:

 -  online article directories,

 -  your blog,

 -  related business blogs

 -  your web sites.

Now, there are two options here:  You can write the articles yourself, or hire someone else to write the articles for you (with you as the author.)  The second option is good if you are pressed for time, but it will come with a fee, of course.

The hardest part about writing an article is just getting started.  There’s also a misconception that you must be a professional writer to do this; you don’t.

You will want to do a little research on tips to writing great articles, but don’t do too much.  Remember, you have something to say, and the best way to start is with a few sentences, on your topic.  Then formulate some tips by asking yourself questions.  For example: “How to Grow the Best Tasting Tomatoes,” or “5 Tips for Growing the Best Tomatoes.”

Start filling in the blanks, and before you know it, you will have your article.

Then, submit your articles to the major directories, at least three.  Once you have submitted several articles, you will be considered an authority, and will begin to attract an audience who is interested in your topic. From that point, there is a very good chance they will become leads for your business.

2) Online SEO Press Releases

Online SEO press releases are different from standard press releases. An online SEO press release is written so that keywords are scattered throughout the copy of the release. These press releases are then distributed online, posted on the business Web site, blog, etc., all with the purpose of driving traffic to your Web site and gaining a high position in the search engines.

Write your press release in third person, and submit it to a paid service such as PRWeb, or to various free distribution sites.

There are many “news worthy” things that happen in small businesses.  If you are not sure about what to include or how to do it, read other press releases, or you can out-source it.

3) Blogging

Business blogs are extremely important in your marketing.  Why?  They are the number one way to drive traffic to your Web site — which is traffic that you then have the opportunity to convert into a sale.

One of the reasons that blogs are so successful is because blogs are constantly updated with fresh content and search engines love fresh content. That means you have a higher ranking on the search engines organic side (the left) which you did not have to pay for.  Again, use keywords and build your posts around topics that your audience is interested in.  

Post to your blog two or three times per week.   Add images, videos, video blogging (also called “vlogs.”) Constantly ask yourself how you can help someone else solve their problem.  Then write about it. 

This will keep visitors (and the search engines) coming back to visit….your goal.

There are other low cost ways to market, but I have found that these three are highly effective and will get you on your way quickly.  You can either use any or all, but the key is to be consistent, and you will drive lots of high quality traffic to your site.

And the best part is that it won’t cost you anything except a little time!

Would you like to be shown more methods for driving massive traffic to your site without draining your bank account?
You’re invited to receive my newsletter, “Marketing Is An Art, Learn to Make It Yours.” 
 Here you will find user-friendly, creative tips and tricks for running a successful business from home, or anywhere.  Learn step by step different methods of marketing, and exactly how to put them in action. You’ll be able to use these methods to market anything, anywhere, on any budget.
To receive your 10 free issues, visit http://www.dianejdavis.com
Written by Diane J. Davis
Article Source

So you want to start a business on your own. You want to sell a product that you think is on par with others in the same category or maybe it’s better than the others. The only hitch is, that you don’t know how to market the product simply because you are starting your venture on a shoestring budget and therefore, you have very little or no money for marketing. In a case like this, how would you promote and advertise your product so that it builds equity in the market?

As a common practice, the marketing budget should be about 2% to 5% of the overall gross sales, but this is not the same for all markets and products. So the first thing you need to do when you start a business is to figure out what your marketing budget would be for the first six months.

You could use the following promotional activities to begin with – events, aggressive advertising, internet marketing, word of mouth, strategic partnerships, public relations and direct marketing. For a low budget start-up unit, the following marketing tools can be useful:

Newspaper write-ups – You can get articles that talk about your product in a broader perspective, published in a newspaper. For example, if you are selling a sauna belt, the article can be about the effects of sauna treatment for weight loss. The article can also have a word or two from a famous personality who religiously believes in the sauna treatment.

Direct marketing – Instead of going for expensive marketing techniques when you start a business, go for direct marketing. Keep your target audience limited and specific to reach them in the most effective and the cheapest way. For example, fliers inserted in newspapers and informative emails are two inexpensive direct marketing tools.

Word- of- mouth publicity – Get your friends and colleagues to spread the word about your product. This is the most effective and economical way to advertise. Get your friends and colleagues together for a small gathering and introduce your product to them. Keep in mind not to sell it too aggressively!

Internet marketing – Get people familiar with your product through internet write-ups and blogs. Most enterprises depend upon blogs to garner awareness for their products. This is again an extremely cheap and hassle free exercise. Similarly, market your product via social networking sites. Keep people intimated about new schemes, discounts, product enhancements and other new developments.

Make a website of your product – This is a relatively inexpensive option. Making a website of your product gives you a better chance to display your product and explain its features to millions of eyeballs everyday.

While all these could be effective marketing techniques that you can use when you start a business, you would eventually need to have a more consolidated and planned marketing strategy to promote your product and services. Therefore, keep putting aside a small part of your profits every month for your marketing budget. Use your marketing budget judiciously and keep a track of the results on each front. A marketing tactic that does not give you the desired numbers should be dropped.

All in all, make sure that every penny of your marketing budget is used to effectively project and promote your product. Follow a strategy that convinces your target audience to follow the lead and lets your business grow.

For more information and to learn how to work with Maryjean.

Starting a home business or any kind of business can be a difficult task.  Having little or no marketing budget can make it that much more difficult.  To find out more about starting a business without a marketing budget or other internet marketing strategies, contact Maryjean Howe.
Maryjean Howe is a professional internet marketer and business coach based out of Oceanside, CA. She works with people to help them start a business and continues to help them use training materials to effectively run a successful business. Maryjean has worked with people from all different backgrounds to help them start a business without any experience. For more information, contact Maryjean.
Article Source

Ami sent me an email today asking a question and I want to share with all of you what my answer was. She asked,” If you had to completely start over, knowing what you know now, where and how would you start?”

This is what I told her:

If I was starting over today, I will do the following:

1.) Pick a niche. – I would make it narrow and nice so that I will dominate this niche.

I would not target getting into a broad niche like dog training. I plan to start small then grow big later on. An example is starting with dog agility training (I’m not in this particular niche. This is for example purposes only.) You can check out the YouTube videos that I made and uploaded which talk about picking a niche.

2.) Allot one day in gathering keywords. – I will gather both broad and long-tail keywords.

You might think that an entire day is too long. But I disagree. You must allot a day in getting the keywords that you will use. First, start with broad keywords and work your way down to the long-tail keywords. Use these keywords alternatively – first broad then long-tail. Also, you must exhaust using these keywords. Use them anywhere you can – blog, Hub, lens, EZA, etc.

3.) Start blogging on my own domain. – Google loves blogs. These are authority to consumers and can be easily managed. Make sure that you update your blog regularly.

First, I will buy my own domain and have it hosted by Hostgator because its customer service is great and the cpanel is very easy for beginners. Then, using a Fantastico button, I will install a WordPress blog. I would start blogging everyday – more than once a day will be great. I will use 250-word blog posts and use the keywords in them.

4.) Start list building from day one.

Once the blog is up, I will start list building. I will use Aweber. Even if not a single person signed up for a couple of weeks, my list builder will be ready to gather information. I will also add an autoresponder email to follow-up the list everyday. This way, my subscribers will hear from me once every 4 days.

5.) Start making my own information product to sell.

The information product is important. Don’t let anybody else do this for you. When it comes to quality, you must rely on yourself only! I will use the program Building an eBook Empire in making my own info product. The people in my list can purchase the info product at a discounted price.

6.) Partner with someone who has a bigger list.

I will partner with someone who has a bigger list and create add-ons for their list only. And when I say that, I will be true to my words. I will not say it just to get someone to promote my info product then cut the same deal with other JV prospect.

Knowing what I know now, this is how I will begin. This is how I actually start when I am planning on launching something new.

Learn how to make money online using the 7 Steps to 7 figures by Simon Stepsys at www.SimonStepsysCoaching.com
Article Source