Help with Advertising

[Marc123]

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to advertise my business without paying. I know it's not the bestw ay to promote but my boss wants me to do it this way. My question is this: How can I promote a sale and the site without spamming. Does anyone know of chat rooms, forums or any other place I can do free advertising?

Thanks.

[silversteve]

One of your best bets is to leverage SEO (search engine optimization) and Social Media, together.

First, identify the keywords that are important to your business. Use Google's own, free tools to identify the most important, frequently searched terms. If you google "traffic estimator" you can just click on the first result and you'll be inside the tool. Use their "keyword tool" or you can even put in a competitor's site and it will pull out the keywords used by them.

Once you know what keywords to pursue, you can create a FREE blog (use wordpress, its easiest). There, you can write on topics that are relevant. You can get tons of "SEO copywriting" advice online, just search, click and read.

Once you have some compelling content up, create some free social media accounts (facebook, twitter). Find some friends, and start sharing your own blog on your social media - that way you dont have to wait for search engines to pick you up, which, lets face it, may take a long time and some more work.

This is a very crash course of the first few steps you can take to get some publicity. Its a difficult process. Good luck!

[thebizinator]

Mark,
What's your time frame to get this done?

[Patrysha]

If your boss is looking for free for a locally geared business the best thing he can do is go to the library and take out Guerrilla Marketing, The Purple Cow & PR for Dummies.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum Marc.

You can definitely promote your business without spending any money. I haven't spent anything promoting mine. However what you don't spend with money you spend with time and effort. So be prepared to work harder and wait longer for results. A lot of what you'll be doing is learning so also be prepared to dedicate some time to that each week.

Do you have a website? If so step one is adding a signature here on the forum with a link back to the site. You can see most of us here do that. A big part of promoting your business is letting people know it exists and providing a way for them to get there. Online links are a very big part of that.

silversteve is right about seo (assuming you have a site to promote). You won't be able to get search traffic overnight, but it's something to start learning and working on right away. I've read 2 of the 3 books Patrysha recommended and I'll trust that the 3rd is just as good.

Marketing is going to come down to identifying who your customers or clients are, figuring out where and how they spend their time, and then building a presence in those places to convince them to buy from you. There are forums and other social communities online for most anything so there's a good chance you can find your customers online somewhere. Once you do you need to participate in those communities. Get to know people and help them as best as you can. You're not looking to sell directly through social communities. Instead you want to go in with the mindset of giving. In helping people you'll show them you know what you're talking about and you'll be building a brand. When they want to buy whatever it is you sell they'll likely think of you.

If you hold the mindset of how to advertise to people in social communities though it generally won't work. People get turned off when others advertise in places where it's not appropriate. People don't mind seeing ads, but they don't want to see ads outside of the places they expect to see them.

[Marc123]

Mark,
What's your time frame to get this done?

None whatsoever. I've been scratching my head for a week on how to do this because most business pay for advertising.

[Marc123]

Welcome to the forum Marc.

You can definitely promote your business without spending any money. I haven't spent anything promoting mine. However what you don't spend with money you spend with time and effort. So be prepared to work harder and wait longer for results. A lot of what you'll be doing is learning so also be prepared to dedicate some time to that each week.
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I am learning because this is a first for me. I've never worked for anyone that wasn't willing to shell out any money for business.

Do you have a website? If so step one is adding a signature here on the forum with a link back to the site. You can see most of us here do that. A big part of promoting your business is letting people know it exists and providing a way for them to get there. Online links are a very big part of that.
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We do and I think I've included that in my siggy. Not sure.

silversteve is right about seo (assuming you have a site to promote). You won't be able to get search traffic overnight, but it's something to start learning and working on right away. I've read 2 of the 3 books Patrysha recommended and I'll trust that the 3rd is just as good.
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I was just told that SEO is expensive to use and therefore, we won't be using it.

Marketing is going to come down to identifying who your customers or clients are, figuring out where and how they spend their time, and then building a presence in those places to convince them to buy from you. There are forums and other social communities online for most anything so there's a good chance you can find your customers online somewhere. Once you do you need to participate in those communities. Get to know people and help them as best as you can. You're not looking to sell directly through social communities. Instead you want to go in with the mindset of giving. In helping people you'll show them you know what you're talking about and you'll be building a brand. When they want to buy whatever it is you sell they'll likely think of you.
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This is all easy if I knew where to go. I need to know where I can go chatroom and foroum wise w/o being a spammer. I do use facebook but I already got asked to not post in one of the groups I belong to.

If you hold the mindset of how to advertise to people in social communities though it generally won't work. People get turned off when others advertise in places where it's not appropriate. People don't mind seeing ads, but they don't want to see ads outside of the places they expect to see them.
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Can you be more specific about this?




Note: I did offer my boss the option of flyers and hanging that up or 250 free business cards and he turned them both down (stupid move in my opinion)

I also asked him to sponsor an organization I belong to for free advertising.

[Steve B]

I'd quit and get yourself a new boss. If you're working for someone who can't afford advertising he probably won't be able to pay you pretty soon.

[vangogh]

Marc I'm not sure what you want me to be specific about. Specific questions will get you specific answers. A couple of points though.

SEO is expensive if you pay someone else to do it. It costs $0 if you do it yourself. There's a lot to learn so it's going to cost time, but again $0 for DIY.

As far as where to go you have to do that research for yourself. However looking at the site in your signature they shouldn't be too hard to find. Tech communities and specifically tech communities around mobile devices are everywhere. I typed cell phone forum into Google and Google said there are nearly 1 billion results. Try things like android forum and iphone forum. Substitute blog for forum and you'll find even more sites with communities you can become a part of.

You've mentioned a couple of times where to go without being a spammer. The spamming part has nothing to do with where you are. It's about how you act. If you're looking for communities where you can post ads then you're going to look like a spammer most anywhere you go. If you're looking for a community where you can interact with the people and generally contribute to the community you won't be a spammer anywhere.

The way you're describing your boss and how he's reacting to some of your suggestions it sounds like what he really wants is for you to spam the internet and just not get caught. He's either going to have to spend money to place ads or be willing to accept that it will take time and he'll need to be creative to market his business. In general the only places you're going to get free advertising are places where it's ineffective to advertise. Otherwise you have to be more creative. You can exchange an ad on your site for one of yours on another site, though I'm guessing your boss will reject that too.

[Dan Furman]

I'd quit and get yourself a new boss. If you're working for someone who can't afford advertising he probably won't be able to pay you pretty soon.

Totally agree with this.

[Marc123]

I'd quit and get yourself a new boss. If you're working for someone who can't afford advertising he probably won't be able to pay you pretty soon.

He can afford the advertising and I've always gotten paid on the day scheduled. He just DOES NOT want to pay for it.

[Marc123]

Marc I'm not sure what you want me to be specific about. Specific questions will get you specific answers. A couple of points though.

SEO is expensive if you pay someone else to do it. It costs $0 if you do it yourself. There's a lot to learn so it's going to cost time, but again $0 for DIY.
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1) Where do I go for the SEO? I'm not exactly tech savvy with computer speak so I hope I can do this on my own.

As far as where to go you have to do that research for yourself. However looking at the site in your signature they shouldn't be too hard to find. Tech communities and specifically tech communities around mobile devices are everywhere. I typed cell phone forum into Google and Google said there are nearly 1 billion results. Try things like android forum and iphone forum. Substitute blog for forum and you'll find even more sites with communities you can become a part of.
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Yes this is ok but the idea is to post that coupon for a discount anywhere I can. By being a part of this forum/s, do you think this will work.... I mean after introducing myself that is.

You've mentioned a couple of times where to go without being a spammer. The spamming part has nothing to do with where you are. It's about how you act. If you're looking for communities where you can post ads then you're going to look like a spammer most anywhere you go. If you're looking for a community where you can interact with the people and generally contribute to the community you won't be a spammer anywhere.
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So how would I contribute to the community and advertise the discount at the same time WITHOUT being a spammer (which I hate by the way)? Although, I did post on my facebook page and some groups I belong to.


The way you're describing your boss and how he's reacting to some of your suggestions it sounds like what he really wants is for you to spam the internet and just not get caught. He's either going to have to spend money to place ads or be willing to accept that it will take time and he'll need to be creative to market his business. In general the only places you're going to get free advertising are places where it's ineffective to advertise. Otherwise you have to be more creative. You can exchange an ad on your site for one of yours on another site, though I'm guessing your boss will reject that too.
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I think that's what my boss wants me to do but I can't say that to him. He wants me to be creative regarding this and I am VERY creative however this is really becoming increasingly hard to do because most business do advertise at cost. By exchanging one add for another, is that free? Why would my boss reject this? Again, can you exchange an ad for another with a discount code in it? Oh, and how do you try to exchange ads with someone?


I am sorry for bothering you with all these questions but this is new for me and I am trying to learn how to do this.

[vangogh]

Here's a good beginner's guide to learning seo (http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo). There are some aspects of seo that require technical work, but much of the work is simply marketing. You will have to read and learn beyond the guide I just linked to in order to really understand seo.


but the idea is to post that coupon for a discount anywhere I can

That's something you're going to have to pay for. People aren't going to let you advertise on their site for free. If you post coupons here on the forum I'll delete them and if you continue to post them you'd find your account no longer working. If your boss wants to advertise he needs to pay for the advertising. He's going to end up paying you more to find the handful of sites that might allow an ad than he will paying for ads.


So how would I contribute to the community and advertise the discount at the same time WITHOUT being a spammer

You don't advertise the discount. If you contribute to the community people become curious about you and your business and will visit your site. You'll get to know them and they'll get to know you and understand you work for a company that sells mobile devices and accessories. You can place a coupon in your signature as long as it's not too over the top selling.


I think that's what my boss wants me to do but I can't say that to him.

Why can't you say it to him? The worst thing he could do is fire you and quite honestly if he's asking you to spam the internet that might be a good thing. Aside from the question of why you'd want to work for someone like that, his methods aren't going to be effective meaning his site stands less of a chance of being profitable.


because most business do advertise at cost.

Yes. Why should another business let you use them for free. If they place your ad on their site it leads people away from their site. You're basically asking another business to make less money to help you make more. Why would anyone do that?


By exchanging one add for another, is that free? Why would my boss reject this?

Because something tells me your boss will be unwilling to do for others what he expects others to do for him.


I am sorry for bothering you with all these questions

Don't feel like you're bothering anyone. You're just asking questions to learn more and that's a good thing. The gist of all your questions is if your boss wants to advertise he needs to pay for the advertising. There's little to no reason for anyone to give you free advertising and it's closer to no reason than little. I'm sure you can find some places that won't charge you for an ad, but I doubt any of those ads will be effective. You'd be placing a random ad on a random site. You might as well wander the streets and periodically drop a business care on the ground.

If your boss doesn't want to pay for advertising there are other ways to get the word out there about his business, but advertising coupons isn't going to be the way to do it.

[JeremyJ]

Have you looked into putting to together a referral system using online marketing?

Have you found anything that has worked out yet?




Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to advertise my business without paying. I know it's not the bestw ay to promote but my boss wants me to do it this way. My question is this: How can I promote a sale and the site without spamming. Does anyone know of chat rooms, forums or any other place I can do free advertising?

Thanks.

[alphadore]

The fact that he is asking you to do the advertisements is a paid advertisement. Since you are an employee and have a monthly salary, your salary is dedicated now for the advertising expenses, especially if you are doing this full time. And since you are not a SEO expert or a marketing expert, that may not be the best usage of resources in the organization as you have to spend significant time on learning how things are done.

[vangogh]

that may not be the best usage of resources in the organization as you have to spend significant time on learning how things are done.

Agreed. Even when you do know there's still a cost to the time spent working. It's possibly cheaper to just pay for the advertising than trying to get free promotion.

[Marc123]

Have you looked into putting to together a referral system using online marketing?

Have you found anything that has worked out yet?


No to both however wouldn't a refferal system be by word of mouth or through social media?

[AllCeasonsDesign]

Welcome to the forum Marc.

Do you have a website? If so step one is adding a signature here on the forum with a link back to the site. You can see most of us here do that. A big part of promoting your business is letting people know it exists and providing a way for them to get there. Online links are a very big part of that.


Vangogh, I am new to forums, this is the first I have EVER used! Can you explain to me how I go about making a signature with a link back to my web site?

[vangogh]

Sure. It's relatively easy. In the top right of the forum there's a link for Settings. Clicking it takes you to your control panel where you can change a variety of different things about how the forum works for you personally. It's a good idea to check some of the links in your control panel just to see what you can do.

One of the links will be an Edit Signature link. Type what you want into the box and you'll have a signature. You can use the WYSIWYG editor to format and add links or you can type out the BB Code (http://www.small-business-forum.net/misc.php?do=bbcode) directly. BB Code is html like, though it's not exactly the same thing.

After you've created a signature look for the General Settings link on the left in your control panel. Toward the bottom in the section on Thread Display Options, there's a checkbox for showing your signature. Check it and from now on when you post your signature will display at the bottom.

If you have any problems let me know. I can always set up a signature for you if you're having trouble.

I see from other posts that you already figured it out so I guess I didn't need to give the explanation. :)