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Extra! Extra! Read All About It! (And for Free, too!)
So in my October 18th, 2007 blog article I talked about advertising exposure that claims to reach a large audience but fails to reach your target audience. I also briefly touched on the need to have good advertising exposure, effective advertising, as it’s all about quality over quantity.
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.
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