Well just to briefly revisit this topic, there is nothing wrong with a free lunch when you can find it.  Regardless how effective the exposure is, if you can find it for free, there’s nothing that you can possibly lose by taking advantage of it.  I came across a way to submit your business into a directory on the Cincinnati.com website, which is the online presence of The Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper.  You simply fill out this page with information about your business, namely what it is that you do, how to contact you, and then submit it for approval.  It costs you absolutely nothing, except your time… and if you don’t have enough time to fill out a one page submission for free advertising then your business is obviously doing well enough that you don’t need to advertise.  Or you need to manage your time better; we can do a separate blog series on time management and delegating work loads.

Another way to get free exposure for your business is to send (usually via fax) press releases to newspapers and local media outlets like radio stations.  This form of free press is best used when you have a specific item or event to promote, or it’s a special occasion for your business (like your 10th year in business, landing a big contract or order, expanding your facilities or hiring more people, moving locations, under new management, and so on).  If the message is good, and you can incorporate a few extra details about your business – ESPECIALLY if you can use the press release to draw people into your store or onto your website, then it will most likely have a positive return.  The most it will cost you is the time to create the letter that you will fax.

I welcome any additional ideas on how to promote your business for free and hope to hear some great success stories as well.

Thomas Goodwin is an Ohio licensed real estate agent (Realtor) and insurance agent.  He is the Founder and CEO of Northern Pine Properties, Inc., a real estate investment, development, and management company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I recently got a call from a gentleman that is selling ad space on the back or sides of trivia cards that are distributed to bars and restaurants.  The idea is that people will be waiting for their food, or sitting at the bar drinking, and will look at these trivia cards or use them to make conversation with their friends and those around them.  Ok, simple enough. 

It turns out that of the 5 locations that he offered me, I was only even remotely interested in getting some advertising in one of them.  Why you ask?  Well, four of the establishments really didn’t attract young professionals, nor were they in growing areas.  Then there was the “traffic count” that he was touting.  “XYZ Restaurant has approximately 2,000 people visit it each month.”  I paused for a moment and replied, “yes, but the same 500 people visit that restaurant each week, it’s a local hole-in-the-wall.”  It seemed like he was trying to sell me too much exposure (number of restaurants) that wasn’t enough exposure (actual or unique traffic count).

He was taken back.  He never recovered from that statement.  He never brought up XYZ in the conversation again; rather, he focused on the other restaurants.  But he knew I wasn’t going to spend advertising dollars chasing after so few people in the customer base.  Besides, the more modern upscale restaurants have computerized trivia games at the bar instead of plastic or laminated cards.  So he was pushing yesterday’s technology and lackluster locations.

Here’s what I learned from this encounter that I try to think about anytime I am asked to open the purse strings and spend money on advertising:

• Is it geared toward the customer base that I am wanting to target?
• Does the advertising give me a decent amount of exposure for the price?
• How much control will I have over the ad and how my name is being used?
• How will I be able to measure the effectiveness of the ad? (I have found this one to be especially important in online advertising).

These kind of questions fit in nicely to having an overall marketing plan in place.  Think of your own business and some unique questions you would need to use as a screening process or criteria before committing advertising dollars.  You can expand on some questions more than others depending on your particular business needs.  In the end, it’s important that you have a plan in place and your budget reflects that plan and the goals that you have for your business.  I welcome your feedback and hearing what you do to make advertising decisions in your own business.

Thomas Goodwin is an Ohio licensed real estate agent (Realtor) and insurance agent.  He is the Founder and CEO of Northern Pine Properties, Inc., a real estate investment, development, and management company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users provides a great list of ways to Be Provacative

• Be Visual
• Be Different — Break Patterns and Expectations
• Be Daring
• Change Things Regularly
• Inspire Curiosity
• Pose a Challenge
• Be Controversial and Committed
• Be Fun
• Be Stimulating. Be Exciting. Be Seductive.
• Help Them Have Hi-Res Experiences

The full article goes into detail about each of these tactics. Definitely worth reading: Be Provacative

1. A good business card starts a conversation
2. Make sure your card can be scanned
3. Don’t make non-standard sizes or shapes
4. Make sure the basics are on there
5. Include a line about what you do

Read on for the full list and descriptions: Business Card Best Practices