ITworld.com:

*Send out an e-mail newsletter. Even if you have a small bricks-and-mortar business, you should be collecting the e-mail address of every customer who walks through your door.

That way you can send them a regular newsletter with special offers, special events, coupons, and more.

“Your newsletter will keep your best customers coming back again and again,” says Tribby. “You can send your newsletter with cheap software like Get Response, which for only $17 per month Early to Rise uses to send e-mail to more than 440,000 subscribers. Or you can set up a new account with free e-mail services like Yahoo or Gmail to send messages to your list of customers.”

* Try your hand at online public relations. If you have a new product coming out, you should announce the news online. Write an informative press release with plenty of “contact” info that leads back to your own website or business. But because not too many people will be interested in reading only about your business, be sure to link your “news” with a hot topic of the day. It could be something that’s been in the news or that is controversial in your industry. Then submit it to online press release sites like PRWeb.com or Free-press-release.com.

For example, Tribby reports that she had the good fortune to interview Newt Gingrich in March 2007. Immediately after the interview, ETR posted a press release to several online press distribution services. It also uploaded comments about the interview to news-aggregating services, blogs, and political forums (with a back-link to the release posted in its Investors Daily Edge archive).

“Within the weeks following the initial interview, website visits and traffic ranking more than doubled and conversion also showed a spike,” says Tribby. “Three months later, the release was still being picked up by the media and through syndication… and the Investors Daily Edge website was enjoying residual traffic and back-links from this effort.”

* Hold teleconferences (a.k.a. teleseminars). Anybody can pick up a telephone and start talking. And that’s the key to using teleconferences to promote your business. It works like this: You find an expert in your industry to interview over the phone, you arrange a number for your customers to call in to hear the interview either for free or a modest fee, you offer another product to your customers during the call, and you record the call (which you can sell later).

“Essentially, you could have hundreds, or even thousands, of your customers listening in to your marketing message for minimal cost,” says Tribby. “My own company does teleconferences that cost less than $1 per attendee to produce. We actually had one that brought in $330,000.”

* Participate in joint ventures. Leverage your relationships with other, likeminded businesses in your niche or in related industries through joint ventures. Each JV is different, but it basically involves working together to promote each other’s products, with each side taking a split of the profit. It’s a great way to accelerate the growth of a business without spending much money.

“When joint venturing, look for strong partners, businesses that have skills or resources you lack,” advises Tribby. “Make sure each side’s contribution is equal and decided in advance. Make agreements simple, but put them in writing. The idea is to create joint ventures that are easy to maintain, financially lucrative, and long-lasting.

“Agora Inc., the ‘parent’ company of Early to Rise, grew its business from $1 million to $60 million primarily through joint ventures,” she adds. “It partnered with outside investment writers to publish financial newsletters and grow each publication’s subscriber list.”

* Use pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Services like Google AdWords offer a great low-cost way to advertise online. The best part is that your ads are targeted to Web surfers who are looking for products or services just like yours. You can even target your ads to specific geographic areas—perfect for bricks-and-mortar businesses.

In PPC advertising you pay only when someone clicks on your ad on the results page of Google. And your ads, which are three lines with a headline and your URL, show up only when someone is searching for keywords you have designated for your ad. You bid on these keywords, which should be terms that you think your target market is searching for. Because you bid and control how much you spend, you can limit your investment to as much or as little as you’d like.

“The key to success with PPC is testing,” notes Tribby. “You have to change your headlines, copy, and offer until you find the combination that brings in sales.”

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Entrepreneur’s Tips:

Although 97% of U.S. small-business owners have some degree of concern about today’s dismal economy, 26% plan to spend more on advertising – especially online – and another 60% plan to spend about the same as in 2008, according to a report from Ad-ology Research as reported by Marketing Charts.

The “Ad-ology Small Business Marketing Outlook” survey found that though 25% of owners of small businesses with less than 100 employees are fearful about the current economic situation and 58% are concerned, they are also cautiously optimistic. Some 83% expect 2009 sales to be up or about the same as 2008.

In terms of 2009 spending on various media types, more than half of small business advertisers plan to spend the same or more on the following: Online advertising (69%), Yellow Pages (54%), newspapers (51%), and direct mail (51%). The biggest factors for small-business owners in making the decision to select specific advertising vehicles are rates (50%), proximity to business prospects (48%) and doing what the company has always done (41%).

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PowerHomeBiz.com:

Video Marketing – Video marketing is a powerful and versatile tool for your online business. You can introduce yourself, detail what you offer on your site, demonstrate your products/services, offer free instructional videos etc. Use your imagination and propel your business forward!

Online Radio – Radio has always been a powerful medium and it continues to be on the internet. Make yourself available to do online radio interviews. This is very cost effective and can get you and your business established all over the world. One place you can find online radios shows is the BusinessResourcesPodcastDirectory.com

RSS Feeds – RSS meaning Really Simple Syndication is an easy way for you to distribute your articles, blogs, and other content all over the net. You need to set up your feed and then maybe start with a weekly article until you get more used to it. You need to promote your feed so people subscribe to it and you can also make your feed available to other websites for more exposure. One good tool for getting started is the RSS Channel Editor.

Social Networking – This marketing method has hit the internet like a tornado! There are numerous social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Ryze, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn and many others. These sites allow you to open an account, add your info and network with thousands of other people. They can really bring attention to your website/business.

Blogs – Although blogs have been around for awhile, they are one of the newer online marketing techniques. Blogging is becoming a very popular method of publishing as it does not require any technical knowledge and it can greatly increase the popularity of your site. Some blogs allow the visitors to post and enter their thoughts and opinions as well.

A blog keeps people coming back to your site and a blog is also very helpful with the search engines because of the ever changing content. Search engines love new content! A good free blogging tool is WordPress.org.

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The B2B Lead:

Every marketer makes mistakes. As an entrepreneur with a limited budget, and only a few chances to make your business a success, the goal is simply to avoid making too many.

The five marketing mistakes every entrepreneur is tempted to make are:

1. Betting On the Big Event: Gambling Instead Of Planning
2. Depending on Others / Outsourcing the Wrong Things
3. Marketing Nonexistent Product
4. Failing to Measure
5. Adding Complexity

The good news is that you don’t need to learn from your mistakes – you can learn from other people’s mistakes, saving yourself trouble. Here’s how.

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RisMedia.com:

With so many Realtors facing a more challenging market, the agents who best differentiate themselves, will be the ones to ultimately lead the pack and obtain the most business. To get started, here are a few tips from Simon Payn, founder of Ready to Go Newsletters, for agents who are looking to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

1. Decide which niche you want to dominate. For example, become the dog-loving Realtor who is an expert at helping dog-owners find their ideal home-or helping dog owners sell their home with a resident pooch. Alternatively, become the empty-nesters’ Realtor, who specializes in helping empty-nesters downsize or relocate. Naturally, it helps if you already have knowledge about or passion for a niche.

2. Prepare a basic written report on the needs of homeowners in your niche. This written information will form the basis of all your marketing efforts in the future. The act of writing will help you determine the needs of your niche and help you find out if you have enough knowledge to serve them. If you feel you lack knowledge, set about learning what you need to learn.

3. Develop and implement your marketing strategy. The plan you create will include deciding how to reach out to your niche and how to develop a strong presence within that niche.

To plan your marketing strategy, Payn suggests… read on.

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Wall Street Journal Blogs:

Most small businesses can’t even dream of sponsoring the Olympics. But that doesn’t mean the games can’t be part of their marketing efforts.

VerticalResponse, a direct marketing firm, offers some fun ideas on its blog for Olympics-themed promotions and ad campaigns a business might try. Here are some of its suggestions:

* Offer a 5% discount for every gold medal your country wins, capped at a certain number.

* Tie discounts to the win of your favorite athlete. If, say, Michael Phelps wins a gold, give customers $10 cash back on that day.

* Advertise Olympics specials: 25% off all athletic gear until Aug. 24 (the last day of the games).

* Selling special products or services, such as a special Olympic-themed mixed drink, especially for the Olympics.

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CNNMoney.com:

It was too weird to be true. In late 2006, a series of videos appeared on YouTube about a Willow Springs, Ill., resident named Kyle Bone who’d created a successful product called “the anti-shirt” – a shirt that exposed the area of one’s torso that a normal tee shirt would cover and revealed the area that would otherwise be exposed. In short, said Bone, it cured the age-old problem of “farmer’s tan.”

Viewers who investigated Bone’s site found a link to another site, www.ideawins.com, where they could enter an American Idol-like search for the best small business idea in America. And, oh, they would also download a free copy of Microsoft Office Accounting.

As you’ve probably guessed, Bone doesn’t actually exist. He was invented by StrawberryFrog, a ten-year-old ad agency based in New York City. StrawberryFrog is one of those small, self-styled renegade shops like Mother, Brooklyn Brothers, and Our Man in Havana that big companies call when they are having trouble moving products and don’t feel they are getting results from their large agencies.

Thanks to StrawberryFrog, more than two million people have downloaded the free version of the accounting software. (The company won’t disclose how many users have upgraded to the paid version, but it claims the number was substantial.) Meanwhile, the agency’s campaign was short-listed for a prestigious Lion award in June at the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival. “StrawberryFrog hasn’t been around that long,” says Jane Bedford, founder of The Bedford Group, a consulting firm that helps large corporations select ad agencies. “But they are very well known for their creative work and their digital skills.” Full article.

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SmallFuel Marketing Blog:

Small businesses are on the rise, and many economists wholeheartedly agree that opportunities are rife. The time is right. You can start a business, even if is just a small one.

Barriers to entry are dropping quickly and so are the startup costs. Poor economics, the rising costs of living and soaring gas prices aren’t discouraging people from launching a startup either. Quite the contrary.

Minority groups have fewer obstacles, and more people can make their dream a reality, online or offline. Consumers are looking for a more personal connection for their purchasing needs, and they’re leaning towards B2B and one-man shops.

All people need is an idea, a product or service, the will and a way to reach consumers – it’s that easy. A business is born.

Even more so, small business owners now have the power to blend offline and online marketing to reach customers, promote products or services and increase sales to create a successful venture.

But are people tapping into that potential? Are small businesses making the most of the low-cost marketing opportunities available?

Are they being effective in their efforts, using every tool and resource possible to boost potential success?

The answer is, unfortunately, no.

The 5 Basic Markteing Essentials… read on.

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Search Engine Land:

According to comScore, U.S. Internet users watched 11.5 billion online videos in March, 2008. The average viewer watched nearly three hours of video online. These statistics make video an attractive means for advertisers to reach their audience, and in turn, a potential windfall for online video hosts such as YouTube and Google. So far, however, online video sites are finding that users want to be entertained with online video and not necessarily watch commercials. So how do small business advertisers effectively tap into the online video craze and relay their messages to target audiences? Well, that opportunity is here but is not always easy to figure out.

Here are some things that advertisers will want to consider as they ponder their first – or next – online video advertising campaign.

Understand how consumers use commercially-oriented videos in their search and buy process. Consumers watch non-commercial videos on YouTube for entertainment. Unless your video is funny, informative, or entertaining in some way, it’s unlikely that people will simply want to watch it. However, when consumers need a product or service, they are active and more willing to view content like video to help in their buying process. Consumers typically will watch online videos when they are trying to finalize a vendor selection or purchase decision. That is why local search and IYP sites may offer the best opportunity to get in front of the right audience that has the “right” mindset.

Know who to target and where to reach them. Is the audience local or national? If national, advertisers will obviously want to take a broad-based approach and focus on some of the larger search sites. For many small businesses, however, local targeting is more important. If this is true, the advertiser will need to find ways of getting their video to display where the local audience will see it, including local media sites, newspapers, and local search sites, such as Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) sites.

Decide on the appropriate type of video and determine the cost… Continued.

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BusinessKnowHow:

1. Obtain free or low cost business cards at a company such as www.VistaPrint.com.

2. Have a new or rebuilt shopping center opening in your town? Attend the grand opening and chat with the business owners and staff and hand out your free or low cost business cards.

3. Create flyers with your phone number on tear off tabs and place them at the library, grocery store, coffee shops, etc.

4. Hold a contest. People love freebies.

5. Write an article that would appeal to your target audience such as small business owners, add a four to five line biography with your e-mail address and web site address.

More ways here.

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EastOregonian.info:

A recent trade show in Houston filled the Astrodome, Reliant Center, adjacent halls, and exhibit tents in the surrounding parking lots. There were 2,400 exhibitors and over 50,000 visitors. Ironically, that was a “medium size” show by industry standards.

Every year, tens of thousands of companies reach millions of customers through trade shows. From local farmers’ markets to the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with 140,000 attendees, trade shows are a proven channel to market.

The industry is as old as history. From ancient Mediterranean markets to medieval city squares and tribal trade gatherings, trade shows enjoy a colorful and profitable tradition. It would be fun to see the reaction of ancient merchants to today’s show booths. Billboard size digital arrays, two-story exhibits with offices and conference rooms, and fiber optic feeds from worldwide projects would take some getting used to.

If you’re in business, you may already be using trade shows in your industry to sell or buy products and services. The recent Gifts and Accessories show in Portland welcomed more than 300 wholesale exhibitors and 3,000 retail visitors. Some exhibitors wrote orders for shop owners they see only once a year before the summer tourist season. Others renewed contacts with retailers and suppliers who order and ship throughout the year.

How effective are trade shows? That depends. It depends on your products and services, your market, available shows in your industry, and your ability to work them effectively. We met one wholesaler who has been doing shows for 30 years. He once owned eight stores, but all of his annual sales now come from trade shows. He wrote a gift shop order for $1,700 while we were visiting with him. A manufacturer at the Houston show wrote an order for a $250,000 industrial pump after 10 minutes with a new customer. Continue reading.

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Boston Herald:

Vinod Bagdwal, who started bagging ice by hand in a garage in Pennsylvania three years ago, recently started selling bagged ice to Stop & Shop Supermarkets because he showed up at a trade show looking for customers.

In an age where the Internet has made it easier to reach vast numbers of people and get your name into the marketplace, it seems that interest in time-consuming trade shows would be dropping off.

Not so. In fact, they’re becoming even more important with a growing number of small businesses clamoring for attention.

“It presents you an opportunity to get that face-to-face interaction,” said James Sturgis, who attends trade shows on behalf of Stop & Shop and then organizes internal events for the grocery stores buyers as director of supplier diversity.

He wasn’t looking for bagged ice when he met Bagdwal, but he was impressed with the man,s story and his drive. That is the sort of personal experience that can’t be replaced by the World Wide Web.

Sturgis was in Medford last week giving small business owners a pep talk at a trade show boot camp sponsored by the Center for Women & Enterprise.

Trade shows are an irreplaceable way for entrepreneurs to reach big customers. They can help companies selling everything from organic jams to long-distance trucking services reach the big players in the market.

The key is to find the right show and then develop a strong strategy. More.

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PowerHomeBiz:

Green marketing is the new “in” thing.

Celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Leonardo di Caprio prefer to drive hybrid cars. HGTV channel is giving away a “green” home. Ikea has done away with the free plastic bags. Crate and Barrel is marketing ecofriendly furnitures. Name it – from baby clothes to appliances to home furnishings to food – “green” is the main thing.

According to Good and Green, which sponsors the Green Marketing Conference, an increasing number of consumers are embracing green marketing:

* In the US, the Green Marketplace is conservatively pegged at $250 million – and growing!

* Over 66% of Americans believe “Doing well by doing good is a savvy business strategy.”

* Over the past five years the sales of organic and all natural products have increased 18% to 25% year over year.

* 30% of American consumers are willing to pay up to a 20% premium on clean, green products over non-sustainable alternatives … and that number grows each year.

So how can small businesses ride this growing crest of green marketing?

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Andrew Grant:

One of the greatest benefits that comes from technology is that the cost of communicating with your customers and prospects keeps getting lower and the number of opportunities to interact with them keeps increasing.

E-mail and websites are an incredibly cheap resource and once you have captured a customer’s contact details, you can send them information at any time you like. If it is good information they will actually thank you for it. One area of technology that is growing even faster is mobile phones.

Did you know that at the end of 2006, there were over 2.7 billion mobile phone users in the world? Do you reckon there might be a few prospects for you among them? If you have the type of business that relies on getting timely messages to customers then this has to be an area for you to explore. Here are a few suggestions:

* Appointment reminders for medical checkups, hairdressing, eye tests

* News bulletins in your sector, price fluctuations, opportunity alerts

* Stock availability, special offers, time limited promotions

* Dispatch and delivery alerts

Read full article.

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