Marketing and Advertising When You Have No Money
If you have limited funds and need to market and advertise, this article may interest you. Is it really possible to market and advertise successfully, when you have no (or little) money? I argue that it does. I say this from personal experience gained doing it, as well as observing others who did it.
You may not get the same results in the same time period, as persons with funds. But you CAN – over time – earn more funds using zero cost strategies, to even adopt paid marketing and advertising media.
Marketing and Advertising Is About Getting Noticed By Your Target Audience
Not everyone will consider your products useful. This is why we are advised to always define our target audience profile. In other words, try to carefully research and summarize key attributes of people most likely to be interested in paying good money to get what you offer.
Some people assume that if they don’t think you’re making a useful impact with your business promotion, they would be right. If you value the opinions of such persons, they could make you go off track.
I say this because, if you’ve done your homework – including consulting widely with those who have reliable insights – you will often have a decent action plan to guide your efforts and actions.
However, working an action plan to get the results we want can take time. And during that period of delay, even though “results may be on their way to you”, as a human being, you may suffer some doubt.
This is when you become most vulnerable to critics who may come around to lend their opinion on their perception of your progress.
I’m not saying it’s wrong or bad to take advice from others to improve the results we get. But in doing so, I suggest you remember that a lack of money limits access to resources that make things happen faster. Therefore, we may need to wait longer to see results for our marketing and advertising.
How Can You Promote Your Business Without Money? (A Real Life Facebook Conversation)
One effective and reliable strategy I’ve discovered that works, quite well too, is smart use of PC and Internet Technology to complement other efforts you make.
Recently, I had a Facebook chat with a young man who used to work in a Real Estate client company I served a few years back. He’s now self-employed and offers IT related products and services.
A few weeks before, he’d invited me to like his new facebook page. Then later on we chatted in more detail about what he was trying to do.
He explained that he was “trying to draw traffic and market my services with adverts”.
I replied saying “tell me more…with specifics. What services are you selling, and how do you advertise?”
After he supplied a list of products and services, he ended by saying “So I try to look for what people need, to catch their attention through any Tech news.”
Reviewing his response, I saw he was missing some important things.
For instance, he’d built his business promotion launch pad on a social media page. That’s not a wise thing to do. Read “2 Dangers of Using Social Media as Your Business Home” to understand why.
He also did not have a website, and was apparently not working to any specific web marketing plan.
So I asked him the following questions about the promotional efforts he had made/was making:
1. What has been the response so far?
2. How long have you been doing this?
3. Do you have a web based newsletter that you publish regularly?
4. Do you have a system to generate sales leads by capturing emails, phone numbers etc of potential clients/subscribers?
He replied that he lacked funds to operate at the level I was referring to.
But I quickly shot him the following message:
You’re wrong. All those things can be done using free resources, IF YOU are willing to do the alternative research and hard work.
There’s a saying: When in doubt, Google it!
…Don’t let a negative mind set prevent you from using PC and Internet Technology to YOUR advantage.
What I’m asking you to do is what I’ve personally done before. All you need do is THINK!
Final Words: Some Resources for Further Reading…and Action
A word on advertising. Normally, one has to pay to get it.
However, know that what you pay does not always have to be money.
Instead, it could be an equivalent product or service YOU have to offer, that the "advertising medium" provider wants. Just initiate the discussion – online and/or off the web, and integrate whatever you agree with him/her into your web marketing system.
I’ve done this many times, in so many different ways. And I learnt to think that way from reading Burt Dubin‘s articles.
The following articles will help you get started with practical ideas you can use. They were written based on achievements I have recorded for myself and my clients. Don’t forget to Google for more ideas!
1. Why You Need a Web Marketing System (Part 1)
Subtitle: Why You May Need To Change The Way You Find Buyers for Your Products and Services
2. Why You Need a Web Marketing System (Part 2)
Subtitle: Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU
3. Why You Need a Web Marketing System (Part 3)
Subtitle: A Passion for What You Do, Will Help You Use A WMS to Get New/Repeat Business At Close to Zero Cost
4. Potential Benefits of Promoting Your Business Online Via Articles, Newsletter and Facebook Marketing