Market Yourself (and your Co.) on the cheap!

Monday, May 11, 2009  //  0 Comments  //  Blog, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Collateral, News, Resources

I hate spending money on marketing and advertising for my clients, hate it with a passion and really believe that paying money is just not the way to go… Sometimes however, forking out some dough is an evil necessity. I have contacted the best of the best in the marketing world – on topics like traditional media (paper, face-to-face marketing and good old fashioned flyers, biz cards etc.) and social media and e-marketing (Twitter, FaceBook, blogging and more) and asked them what their tips were; what did they offer to their clients in terms of marketing and saving money at the same time..
I received floods of answers for both mediums – some not so “great”, some redundant (so you know they’re tried and true) and some “really out there!” but fabulous… Jello Shots anyone!?
Read on for some money saving tips on how to get your name out there in the traditional methods and then sign up for our e-newsletter or follow me on Twitter @fdnstudio to be notified of our sequel on Social Media!!

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HARO

My personal favorite (and that of about 75% of my responses) is HARO (Help A Reporter Out). HARO is run by Peter Shankman – a visionary in regards to pairing media ops with sources.
The list (at http://helpareporterout.com) is FREE to join (doesn’t get any cheaper than that) and will give you tri-daily emails of who is looking to cover what story. A plethora of possibility!!
You do need to spend time honing your pitch, and you need to make sure you pitch to only those that asked for your type of pitch (you’ll get in trouble if you don’t) and you do need to stay on top of the emails (they come fast & furious).. I can say with the utmost of confidence that I have received client coverage quite a few times because of HARO – a definite go-to resource in my Fave tabs!!

SHOP-DROPPING

Maybe once a month I go to a local big bookstore in a nice area of town and tuck our business cards into books about pregnancy, in the section that talks specifically about Doulas and other labor support. Hits on our website are up!
Krysta
MilwaukeeDoula.com

FLYERS @ THE ATM

I do old-fashioned flyers on ATM’s and soft-drink machines.
Ilena Di Toro – Freelance PR Consultant

BIZ CARD DROP

Purchase business cards online but instead of name/phone/title/etc, use the provided fields to make it into an ad for your biz (just cause it says to put your phone number in a field, doesn’t mean you can’t put your business hours or slogan). Order 1,000 of them (for as little as $25) and leave them behind everywhere you go. Table tops at Starbucks, counters and toilets in public bathrooms, the library, food court at the mall, etc. Cost $0-$25 per 1,000 (some web sites will give you FREE cards if you allow them to print their name and web address on the back)

SEIZE THE CITY NIGHTS

Set up a digital projector outdoors and shine the image on the side of a building. Do this near freeway’s or around busy area’s of town. Works best at night. Cost: free if you know someone with a projector.
Jeff Martens – Co-founder
www.CitySpeek.com

TOLL BOOTH MARKETING

When you go through the toll booth, pay for yourself, and the next 3 cars…tell the toll operator you want to pay for the next two people and give them 3 cards….one for themselves, and one for each of the people behind you.

GAS GUMPTION

When you pump gas, stick some cards on the pump.
Maurice Evans, Business Coach
1-800-691-2WIN
http://www.NetworkingCity.com

FISH BOWL BOUNTY

You know the fish bowls at stores offering to choose a random card for a free lunch? Well, there are two ways to benefit from this. – 1. put your card in the fish bowl (hey, a free lunch is a free lunch, and who knows, the owner of the store might need your service) – 2. ask the store to let you have the losing cards each week/month which will generate a ton of free leads for you.
David E. Johnson
CEO and Co-founder of Strategic Vision, LLC

JELLO SHOTS ANYONE?!

I just spent about $25 making 200 jello shots to promote my blog. I went to Biznik meeting for entrepreneurs that was a ‘recession friendly BYOB’ and approached each person with the question “want a jello shot?” I brought a girlfriend, we offered whipped cream on the top of the jello shot (lots of whipped cream jokes) and then handled them a flier the size of a business card that I made by searching the clearance items at an office supply store (got a pack of 250 sheets of heavy dark pink card stock) printing at the office of my condo (free) and cutting at my local Kinkos (free). Cheap vodka, jello for .88 a box, and the plastic shot glasses and lids at a cash and carry story. Got a lot of attention and I noticed a spike in hits the next day.
MakeNooSense
www.single-in-seattle.com

TATTOO TANGLE

I run a skatepark so it’s tough to spread the word to the masses, we hit tons of non skateboard events all summer long and our most succesful grassroots approach has been temporary tattoos, not that they are all that novel, BUT, when you are at an event when it is scorching hot out and you have spray bottles of water, EVERYBODY will wear your logo. The cost was about $200 for 5000 tattoos, $3 per spray bottle, water was free, interns were free. It builds great brand awareness and based upon the number of kids rolling in the door for days after the event with our tattoo, we know it works since the tats only go out through events.
Beau Lambert
Rye Airfield “New England’s Premier Skatepark & BMX Track

THE REVERSE SALE

We have TEAMS of people walk in to the store and ask for the brand. By the 3rd query they start to ask where did you hear about the brand…answer: it’s all over the blogs. The word gets back to the buyer…. who then goes on the website and makes an appointment to shop the line.
Mercedes Gonzalez – Director
Global Purchasing Companies

EVENT AMBUSH

I have been helping homebuilders do inexpensive marketing for years. My best guerilla marketing tip is: Let your competitors advertise – and then join the party! Often, builders are clustered together on the same street or neighborhood in a “builder’s row.” When one builder pays money to advertise a grand opening, open house or some kind of traffic-generating event, they generally also festoon the exterior to alert passersby that something special is happening. I recommend duplicating their “celebration” with balloons of your own! The competitor draws the traffic – and you capitalize on it simply by tying balloons out front and looking like you’re part of the party! No dollars out of your pocket and you get some or all of their traffic.

Joyce Wilden
BUZZ Biz PR
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These ideas are certainly not exhaustive by any means.. an event is always a good choice, a press release sent to your targeted media contact will probably work (but not always) and of course your surest bet.. leads to our next article.. conversation (of the new or traditional age). Genuine interaction with your current or potential client will lead to the sale!!! Therefore, use these tips but mix them with the sound of your voice to back them up and you’ll have a marketing hit on your hands…

Have a tip we didn’t cover? Comment and give us some feedback.. we LOVE to share!

Have a great day!!

Ariane