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Getting Started Advertising Your New Home Business on a

Article:

Getting Started Advertising Your New Home Business on a

Shoestring Budget

Copyright ©2005 Eric Mathieu 1-2-3-work-at-

home.com

So, you've started a new business? Congratulations! Now, you

need to start advertising.

When you are just getting started in your new home business and

no one knows that you or your business exists, the largest

challenge will be becoming well-known and getting the business

coming in.

Everyone knows that in order for a business to be successful, it

is necessary to advertise. Many people wish that business would

come in without them having to embark on this task, but that

very rarely happens. For everyone who is serious about getting

their new home business off to a good start, they should begin

advertising sooner, rather than later.

Unfortunately, for most people who are just starting a business,

there isn't much of an advertising budget available, and it is

going to be necessary to be creative in order to reach your

advertising goals on a limited budget.

Many people have a common misconception that it is a necessity

to spend a huge amount of money in order to successfully

advertise their home business. When you are just starting out, I

actually recommend that everyone take spending on advertising

very slowly - even if they *do* have a large budget available.

It is just too easy to make mistakes at the beginning, so we

want to limit the possible expenditure loss right from the

start. No matter how much money you have available for your

efforts, it is important to spend it wisely.

Now that you have decided that you are ready to begin your

advertising, I'm going to share with you some important

advertising truths that I have learned.

Advertising Truth #1

It absolutely does NOT have to cost an enormous amount of money

to advertise your home business, and it won't - unless you do

not plan properly.

I cannot stress enough the importance of testing your

advertising! If you get too excited and just jump right in and

start advertising like crazy, just dumping money on top of money

without properly testing, you will quickly find that you have

spent much more that you should have (and wanted to spend)

without the results you are after. Many people make this mistake

either just out of the sheer excitement of getting the word

about their new home business out there, or simply because they

don't know. When this happens, it is all too common for people

to blame their failures on the business they chose rather than

their poor advertising decisions. It is important to take a deep

breath and approach this the right way.

Advertising Truth #2

All of your ad testing should always be done in blocks. If you

start out and advertise in newspapers, radio, magazines, and on

television all at once, how will you know which of your ads is

bringing in the business? Chances are that you won't be able to

discern who came from where. What makes it worse is that you

will know that SOMETHING is working, but you won't have any idea

as to what it is that is actually doing the trick.

I know that you will often see people putting messages in their

advertising to be sure to tell them where you found them, but

experience shows that only about 5% of people will actually tell

where they found the ad (many probably don't even remember!).

You should never rely on your actual customers to tell you what

is working in your advertising campaigns. If you want to

successful at advertising and only spend what is necessary, you

will have to work at it so that you know what is and isn't

working yourself.

Advertising Truth #3

Once again, start small! Until you have come up with a solid and

proven advertising campaign, you should not spend large amounts

on advertising. Even once you do have a good advertising

foundation underneath you, you should always be careful and

constantly review and monitor your advertising to determine just

how effective an ad may be. In some cases, you may come across

what seems to be a great advertising idea that may allow you to

reach five times as many people as you have been able to

previously, but depending on the type of advertising, the

additional exposure may not generate many more sales than your

current advertising. Be sure to pay attention to ensure you

always get the most from your advertising budget.

Advertising Truth #4

There ARE very cost effective ways to advertise your business.

When first starting out, the main goal is to get people talking

about your business and getting some mindshare. This doesn't

need to be an expensive proposition - there are rather simple,

cost effective ways to accomplish this goal when getting

started. Here are a few ideas:

Word of mouth - This is obviously the least expensive

advertising available, as it doesn't cost you anything. Tell

everyone who will listen about your business - even if the

person you are talking to doesn't need or want what you're

selling, someone they know might. Also, be sure to ask your

existing customers if they know anyone else who could also find

value in your products or services. If you conduct business

properly and ensure that your customers are happy with your

service, they will be willing to tell you other people you can

contact, and/or they will refer new customers to you.

Business cards - You can usually pick up 250-500 business

cards for ~ $20. When you get them, hand them out, but only give

each person 3-5 cards. This way, if they don't pass them on, you

aren't just throwing them away, and they will ask you for more

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if they need them. You can provide people with an incentive to

give them out by offering them a few dollars for any referrals

they give you. You can do this by telling them to write their

name on the backs of the cards, and have the customers present

the card to you when they purchase. Think of this as a sort of

offline affiliate program. Also, get into the habit of leaving

your business cards at places you frequent - leave a business

card on the table when you finish eating at a restaurant. I know

it sounds crazy, but this actually can and will bring in the

occasional customer and at approximately 8 cents per card, it is

really cheap advertising.

Press releases - I know, I know, many people think that

they can't do a press release without hiring a professional

publicist. This simply isn't true. A self-made press release can

be a very good source for generating buzz about your new home

business. The editors of the business section of your local

newspaper are always looking for good local business stories to

fill up the business section of the newspaper. In some cases,

they will be slightly reluctant to publish your press release

without you purchasing some advertising in the paper, but even

if they don't print it right away, they will often hold on to it

for times they need some "filler" for the section. Also, if you

call them and really emphasize the fact that this is a "grand

opening", they are much more likely to print it.

Remember that your press release must be formatted in the style

of a news story - make sure that any quotes from yourself are

presented in the third person, like this: Eric Mathieu said,

"Blah, blah, blah". So, even though I'm the only person there,

it will be presented as if it is an interview.

In Closing

Hopefully, this article helps you get some ideas of cost

effective ways to advertise your business when getting started

without breaking the bank. I'm not trying to make this seem

overly simplistic, but these ideas will give you a good

foundation with which you can get started. Once you have

mastered these simple tactics and started making money, you can

move on to some of the more advanced (and more expensive)

advertising techniques. These should always have a place in your

arsenal though.

Much success,

Eric Mathieu 1-2-3-work-at-home.com

About the author:

Eric Mathieu can show you how to get your own Money Making

Website that is built just for you and that will be 100% ready

to start making you money and setting up a residual income

stream within 24 hours! You can get all the details and signup

now at: 1-2-3-work-at-

home.com

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