What could be better than low-cost advertising? Not having to pay any money to advertise - and actually earning a few dollars in the process.
It may seem too good to be true, but the catch is that this marketing strategy possibly costs more time and effort. It is ideal for budget-conscious entrepreneurs looking for a creative marketing alternative who have some extra time they can spare.
That said - the business exposure, qualified leads and potential customers that can be generated may be well worth the effort. When compared to paying for targeted leads or the cost of ad space on a high traffic website, the lead quality can be equivalent while the cost savings is significant.
The strategy I'm talking about I call "Selling Stuff for a Couple Bucks". In fact, you may have heard of websites like Fiverr, Dealerr, GigHour, Uphype, JustaFive or GigMe5 - but maybe not in terms of advertising. You can sell small services for cheap - generally tasks you can tackle in 5 to 30 minutes, but that others cannot do themselves.
For example, Fiverr calls itself "The world's largest marketplace for small services, starting at $5". As their tag line states, anyone can sell their services for five bucks. Getting paid five dollars may not sound like a lot of money, but when you look at it from an advertising perspective, it sounds like an awesome deal.
Here are the three major benefits to using this tactic:
Free Advertising with Lots of Exposure
Get free advertising space on a high traffic website where people are looking to spend money. This is not like advertising on a free classifieds site which receives few visitors. It is also not like advertising within content, where readers are there to acquire information, not to shop.
Think about it. When business owners are looking for customers, they generally want to reach as many people as they can for the least amount of money and connect them at the time when they are ready to spend money.
Reach Shoppers When They are Ready to Buy
If someone decides to hire you for your $5 service, you get a chance to demonstrate your skills and expertise and potentially win that person over as a lifetime customer. She can then hire you again for higher-paying jobs, keep your contact information and buy from you again in the future and she can also refer you to her network of friends.
Typically, people like to work with people they like, people they already know and people they trust will do a good job. If you have already proven you can do it once, why would they use someone else?
Customers Do the Work of Finding You
Although entrepreneurs are great business people, many do not enjoy selling. It can be a constant hassle and struggle trying to locate customers and then persuade them to buy.
With sites like Fiverr, GigHour or JustaFive, people are ready to buy when they visit. They do the looking, and they find you. Of course, this saves sellers time and of course the headache of chasing the sale.
So What?s the Bottom Line?
 "Advertisers" can't lose money because they don't invest any money. If advertisers invest their time performing services, they get paid for their time.
Although I think it would be virtually impossible to make millions by exclusively selling stuff for $5, it's the cheapest way of advertising that I've heard of. That's if negative-cost marketing counts....
Now I'm all about saving money, cutting costs and not over-paying for stuff - but at the same time, I believe we get what we pay for.
Yes, you can start a business for free, in fact there are many. However, it's going to cost you more time and more work in exchange for the "free" part. Are you up to it?
Starting any business is hard work. There's no way around that. Ask any business owner. That's why you always hear about "Start a business doing what you love", because that's the only way you'll ever make it through the "hard work" part.
Avoid the "Cookie Cutter"
Besides doing what you love, you've got to be different. Joining a cookie cutter business opportunity is just not going to cut it. Sure, it is free to start, but then what? You're competing for a little piece of market share against thousands of other people doing the exact same thing.
In order to compete, the little guy essentially has to eliminate his competition... meaning create his own little "sub-industry" or niche that differs enough from the big guys that they don't directly compete.
Getting Out of the Box and into Your Own Niche
Lots of clever entrepreneurs are now thinking outside-the-cookie-cutter-box and have started going online to share their unique ideas. You've probably seen many blogs and consulting businesses online run by individuals who market themselves more than the product or service they are selling. This is what I am talking about.
Where this really stands out to me is in the coaching/consulting industry. I see so many coaches popping up online, that I don't know how they all find clients. But you know what they've done? They've created their own niches that basically no one else can compete with.
Instead of marketing their services - they focus on marketing themselves. There may be thousands of coaches, but there is only one Bob Jones.
But I digress...
Starting a coaching or consulting business is not free, but sharing your ideas through a blog is. However, the drawback to a blog is that is takes time to attract readers to your blog. They've never heard of you.
Squidoo and HubPages
That's where sites like Squidoo and Hubpages come in handy. You can essentially set up your own unique individual pages on their high-traffic websites and share your knowledge and ideas with the world. On these sites, page-builders talk about all sorts of fun stuff, like cooking recipes, pets, home decor, traveling and every sort of interest you can think of.
These interesting and unique topics drive visitors to the site because as we all know - people go to the web to find out about stuff.
Creating pages on Squidoo or HubPages is free to do, of course, or I wouldn't be telling you about it. However, the catch is that it will cost you extra time and work. Don't expect to make money the first few weeks or months, but there are plenty of people that create Squidoo Lenses and HubPages for a living. And they never paid a cent.
It's worth looking into, if you're up for the work.
 A prospect or customer can be expensive to acquire - so why not keep them once you've got their attention? Here are five simple ways.
1. Ask your website visitors to bookmark your site. Sounds simple and obvious - but are you doing it? Sometimes all it takes is asking. People are busy and usually have a million things on their mind when they are surfing the net. It's easy to get distracted (as most of us know), so don't assume everyone has your best interests in mind.
Social bookmarking widgets are easy to add to your site, and several are free, including AddThis.com and ShareThis.com.
2. Share useful advice. If visitors can learn from you - either through little-known industry tips, how-to instructional advice, product reviews or interviews with field experts - this gives them a great reason to return to your site. When you are writing, keep the reader's time and attention span in mind. Make your content easy to read, get to the point quickly and make sure it's informative and interesting.
Need ideas? Look at newspaper articles you read or popular blogs online, intriguing infomercials you see on tv or hear on the radio.
3. Provide useful tools for your visitors. These can be in a variety of different formats. You can offer free reports, audio downloads, on-site calculators, maps, charts, etc.. The more interactive and personalized to your visitors you can make them, the better.
Google has gadgets you can add, Facebook does too. FreeSticky.com provides lots of sticky content you can use and WidgetBox.com shows you how to build your own widgets.
4. Add a forum or discussion group to your website where visitors can join as members. This gives people an easy free way to get their questions answered, meet people who share common interests and feel like they are part of a group. As we've seen with sites like Facebook and Twitter, once people join a social group that they like, they want to come back for more.
5. Offer a free newsletter that includes news, tips, special deals and updates on your site. What if people forget to come back to your site? You already know they're busy. A newsletter is a great way to remind them to come back without having to go find them again.
Advertise your free newsletter on your website and give them an awesome reason to subscribe. Email newsletters and be easy, fast and cheap, and you can send out letters as frequently or infrequently as you like. There's no rule here. We use YourMailingListProvider.com, and you can set up an account with them for free.
Keeping your old customers is much easier and cheaper than trying to find new ones all the time. Long-time customers can also be a great source of referrals, too, so don't underestimate the power of getting people to come back to your site...
I was just reading an article in Sunset Magazine that covered a variety of interesting and different sandwiches offered by local restaurants - and the recipes behind them.
They talked about turning "classic into fancy" or using unusual cuts of meat, etc.. By classic, I'm talking the egg salad sandwich, tuna melt and BLT. Stuff you've probably not thought much about because it's been around for years.
However, what I thought was so interesting was that many dishes were so unique - but the recipes revealed that only one ingredient was different.
It got me thinking about unique business ideas.
In order to come up with a new product or service that is perceived by consumers as being unique and totally different - you may only need to change one ingredient. The whole concept of product development suddenly seems so much easier and less intimidating.
If you're struggling to come up with a really cool product or service idea, why not start with something that already exists? It can be a popular product or not-so-popular product. The goal is to make one simple or small change to create the perception of an entirely new item that either offers new benefits, is used in a different way, can be enjoyed by a whole new group of consumers, etc..
But what if you already have a business with existing products or services? Then what? Think about it this way: how could you step it up a notch or make a simple change or upgrade that results in a dramatic perceived difference?
Some ideas that you might think at first to be a little too crazy may be just what the market wants - something new, different and exciting. You never know until you try - and if nothing else, you can get your business some valuable free press.
 Mobile businesses that operate locally often customize their cars, trucks and vans to advertise their products and services. This can be a great way to let people know about what you do - while you're driving or at your job site.
But what if you use your personal vehicle for business, and it doesn't have your company name on it? Or your truck or van is not in plain sight when you're on the job? Or you simply want another way to market your business without spending a lot of money?
Then yard signs may be for you. They're so simple, they're often overlooked. However, when they are placed in a yard, at a job site or event location - they easily stand out because they're generally not competing with a lot of other ads.
They're portable, can be seen by lots of people at once and can be used over and over again. That's pretty economical when compared to other forms of offline advertising.
There are a few potential downside to advertising with yard signs. You can't place them everywhere - in many cases you will need to ask permission from the property owner. They aren't large enough to be seen from far distances, so drive-by or foot traffic needs to be in close proximity. Keep this in mind when you are designing your signs - aim for maximum readability and use attention-getting colors.
You've probably seen lots of yard signs used by contractors, landscapers and real estate agents. But other businesses can use them too - and they are not limited to just front yard lawns. Here are a few examples:
- Personal trainers who conduct classes outdoors in parks
- Event planners hosting activities in high-traffic public facilities
- Businesses that organize and throw children's parties
- Artisans or farmers who sell their goods at farmer's markets
- Caterers or restaurants that service local events
- Cleaning and maintenance companies that travel from site to site
SignsontheCheap.com sells 100 yard signs for $99 and wire stake sign holders for less than $1 apiece. They also have a sister site that sells custom vinyl banners starting at $12.
 You've probably heard of VistaPrint - the online printing company that gives away free business cards. They've been around for years, and I love them. Really.
Something I just found out, though, is that they have free business logo templates too. You can use them to create your logo, and then proceed to order your new logo design printed on business cards, envelopes, stationary, baseball caps, t-shirts, magnetic signs for your car and lots more.
As if designing your own business cards wasn't easy and cheap enough, now they've made company branding a one-stop-shop. This is ideal for new businesses who are on a budget, because you can do everything yourself and get a significant discount on your order. You also don't have to buy 100 t-shirts or caps to get the cheap price. The minimum order is 1.
Image and branding can be a very powerful selling strategy, especially for new businesses that have not yet developed a reputation or network of clients who can vouch for them. New businesses many times are relying on their first impression to win clients and make money. This is an easy, inexpensive way to do it.
Another note - included free with your order are logo images that you can use on your website and anything else you want to use them for. VistaPrint also keeps your image in their database, should you decide you need more business cards, sticky pads, etc... Just go back to the website, and they'll have your logo design ready and waiting for you.
Just scroll down their website until you see "Free Logo Design" under the free products section on the left-hand side of the page.
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Blog Directory ID: 5774
Blog URL: http://www.home-business-opportunity-start.com/
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Blog Description: Discover hundreds of Home Business Ideas, Advice on How to Start Your Home Based Company, Tips on Growing Your Startup Venture and Home Business Opportunity News. Topics Include Small Business Information and Online Businesses with inside coverage from entrepreneurial experts on each specific industry so that internet readers can get their questions answered from an experienced businessperson in the field of their interest. Links to valuable entrepreneur's resources are included in articles.
Blog Tags: home business ideas - how to start a business - home business news - home business opportunities - home business tips - home business advice - home business information - work at home ideas
Blog Category: Small Business Blogs
Blog Owner: Sue Barrett
Blog Added: January 19, 2009 03:21:44 AM
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