With the sad state of our economy, it is important for all of us to reduce expenses and conserve cash flow. Here are some free, easy-to-implement marketing ideas that you can use today to promote your business.
1) Add a special offer or call to action to your e-mail signature. For example: "Ask me about my December marketing special." "Our new widgets are flying off the shelves. Reserve yours today!" "Sign up for my e-mail newsletter and I'll send you my free report on Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Business Under $50." "There's still time to shop for Christmas. Stop in today!"
2) Add the same offer to your voice mail message. Make it short and sweet, so your message doesn't drag on for too long.
3) Volunteer for your favorite nonprofit, school or church. You will feel good about serving your community, make new friends and potential business contacts.
4) Offer to speak at an upcoming meeting or event, or teach a workshop or seminar for free. This is a great way to showcase yourself and to leave a lasting impression.
5) Create a free blog to share your insight and expertise. People love getting things for free, and you can position yourself as an expert.
Do you have a favorite free marketing idea to share? If so, post as a comment or e-mail it to me and I'll post.
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
Showing posts with label free marketing ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free marketing ideas. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Learn to Delegate
One of my biggest challenges as a business owner is delegating work to others. This is primarily because I am a sole proprietor and I work alone. It is also because it seems easier to do something myself than hire someone else to do it for me. After all, by the time I show them how to do it, I could have it done myself, right? This type of thinking, unfortunately, has kept me stuck.
Fortunately, however, I have recently had so much business (yeah!) that I've had to hire someone to help me with research, editing and writing tasks. It was a tough call to make, as well as an unexpected investment, but it has allowed me to take on more new clients and to continue meeting deadlines. Here are my tips on how you might delegate more in your business:
1) Make a list of tasks that absolutely MUST be done by you, as well as a list of tasks that you might delegate (bookkeeping, appointment setting, filing, shredding, marketing, etc.).
2) Make a list of people who might be able to assist with the duties you might delegate. For example, do you know someone who does bookkeeping or who has a virtual assistant? If so, start there.
3) Talk preliminarily with those people to see what their availability and rates are. Can you afford them? Are they available when you need them? If you aren't sure if you can afford an assistant or to outsource your work, consider what you'll lose if you don't - clients? time? sanity?
And think of what you'll gain by sharing some of your growing workload - clients? time? sanity? Win, win!
4) Interview several people and see which of them match or complement your working style. Choose the one that seems to be the best fit.
5) Once you make your selection(s), try a test project to test the waters. Explain each project clearly, provide the necessary information or tools to do the job, state a clear deadline and how and when you will pay for the work. After the project is complete, evaluate the quality, timeliness and ease of working with the person. If each item is rated an A+, hire away! If not, keep looking.
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
Fortunately, however, I have recently had so much business (yeah!) that I've had to hire someone to help me with research, editing and writing tasks. It was a tough call to make, as well as an unexpected investment, but it has allowed me to take on more new clients and to continue meeting deadlines. Here are my tips on how you might delegate more in your business:
1) Make a list of tasks that absolutely MUST be done by you, as well as a list of tasks that you might delegate (bookkeeping, appointment setting, filing, shredding, marketing, etc.).
2) Make a list of people who might be able to assist with the duties you might delegate. For example, do you know someone who does bookkeeping or who has a virtual assistant? If so, start there.
3) Talk preliminarily with those people to see what their availability and rates are. Can you afford them? Are they available when you need them? If you aren't sure if you can afford an assistant or to outsource your work, consider what you'll lose if you don't - clients? time? sanity?
And think of what you'll gain by sharing some of your growing workload - clients? time? sanity? Win, win!
4) Interview several people and see which of them match or complement your working style. Choose the one that seems to be the best fit.
5) Once you make your selection(s), try a test project to test the waters. Explain each project clearly, provide the necessary information or tools to do the job, state a clear deadline and how and when you will pay for the work. After the project is complete, evaluate the quality, timeliness and ease of working with the person. If each item is rated an A+, hire away! If not, keep looking.
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
Monday, September 22, 2008
Make Time for Marketing
When business owners are busy, marketing is often the first thing to be set aside, but its importance remains key to business success. To make time for marketing, try scheduling your marketing activities on a daily basis so that you accomplish a little bit every day. For example, try something like this:
Monday - Client and prospect follow-up
Tuesday - Networking, new blog post
Wednesday - E-mail marketing (newsletter, promos, coupons, etc.)
Thursday - Change voice mail message to talk about newest product or service.
Friday - New blog post, place ad in local paper
By biting off your marketing activities in small chunks, marketing suddenly becomes easier to manage and less overwhelming. Stay tuned for more free marketing ideas!
Virtually Yourz,
Dana
Monday - Client and prospect follow-up
Tuesday - Networking, new blog post
Wednesday - E-mail marketing (newsletter, promos, coupons, etc.)
Thursday - Change voice mail message to talk about newest product or service.
Friday - New blog post, place ad in local paper
By biting off your marketing activities in small chunks, marketing suddenly becomes easier to manage and less overwhelming. Stay tuned for more free marketing ideas!
Virtually Yourz,
Dana
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