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10 Sales Tips for Small Business Owners
Running a business is easy compared to the act of selling. As a small business owner you started your business to deliver a superior product or service, not to become a salesperson. None-the-less you must master basic sales skills or risk losing...
How Merchant Accounts Can Save You Money
We all know that accepting credit cards is the key to online sales. Unfortunately, most merchants are unaware that acquiring a merchant account can actually save them money. And in many cases, big money!
For this experiment, we will use a...
Leverage Your Way to Profits With Joint Ventures
You can't conduct business on the internet for very long without hearing the term "Joint Venture", but do you really understand them or how and why a Joint Venture works?
In broad, simple terms -- a Joint Venture is partnering with others to...
Successfully Adding a Service To Your Business
There will come a time in your business where you feel ready to add another service offering. To make this successful, there are ten tips to consider before moving ahead.
1) Revisit your business plan. If you don't have one, write one for...
Triple Your Business In Three Ways
There really are only 3 marketing functions...once you master them, the rest of the game is pretty simple.
Every small business owner wants more business. So what do they do. They focus all of their marketing attention one thing -...
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Super Cheap Ways To Promote Your Small Business
Small business owners tend to have a common problem: where can they go to find effective cheap advertising?
It used to be that a small business' best low-cost advertising bet was radio. Radio is still quite affordable in many communities, but ad rates have gone through the roof in many others.
This leaves lots of small businesses with nowhere to go for local advertising. Fortunately, America's oldest form of mass media is coming to the rescue. Many cities are seeing a big return of neighborhood newspapers.
Small neighborhood papers focus on a particular part of town. They carry news on events within a few mile radius of their readers. Neighborhood papers also work hard to appeal to businesses in their immediate area.
One consumer told me she pays closer attention to ads in her neighborhood paper. "I know they're all a very short drive away. The big daily paper is advertising stores that are an hour or more away," she said.
Neighborhood papers not only feature far lower rates than larger papers, they let you tightly focus on a particular part of town. Specific neighborhoods feature specific income levels and lifestyles. This helps you target your ads more than you can with other kinds of local advertising.
Direct Response TV is also a great place to find cheap advertising. Just like any other kind of direct response marketing, television's response rates can be low. But there are so many people watching TV that it doesn't take a very high response rate to keep you awash in sales.
Nothing gets direct response on TV like infomercials. The best feature exciting video on a popular subject related to the product being sold. The product is marketed during the program's six minutes of commercials. Three two-minute
commercials are common.
Shop for infomercial space during off-peak times. Late at night and weekends are best. Even though these times aren't big ratings- getters, the total numbers of people watching can still be impressive.
Look for especially low prices in smaller markets and on cable TV outlets. Thirty minutes can sometimes go for as low as a few hundred dollars.
Save on product costs by hiring a small, capable one or two- person production house.
Internet advertising also tends to be cheap, but it can take quite a bundle to keep your messages consistently in front of a lot of prospects. Buying audience for your website is almost always an expensive proposition.
One way to stretch your reach on the Internet is to team up with other businesses that are reaching a lot of prospects with advertising. Have them include your ad, banner, link, or (even better) article on their website or in their advertising.
Watch for web-based businesses that advertise frequently in top ezines, in card decks, on TV, and in magazines. Get mentioned on their site and harvest some of the benefit of their aggressive ad campaign.
You are more likely to receive cooperation from businesses that have clients similar to yours. Show the business how you offer a valuable product or service their customers will appreciate. Including you on their site must be a benefit for them.
Many intense Internet advertisers are looking for ways to defray their marketing expenses. Offer to pay a portion of the cost in exchange for being included in ads and on their site.
About the Author
Kevin Nunley provides marketing and copy writing. Read all his free tips at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com or (801)328-9006.
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United States Small Business Administration |
An electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. Search engine for contracting officers, marketing tool for small firms, ... |
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business start up small business finance start up advice. |
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Business Entry Point - Helping small business in big ways. An Australian Government initiative. The content from this website has now been consolidated into ... |
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Business & Small Business |
Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. |
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Microsoft Small Business Center |
Your home for information about Microsoft's small-business products and services, tailored business advice, technology tools, and more. |
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Advice and assistance for starting and operating a small or home based business. |
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SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs. |
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Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
IR-2006-2, January 3, 2006 - Temporary and proposed regulations will significantly reduce tax filing burden for nearly 950000 small business owners. ... |
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Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
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Small Business Service | Home |
Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
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NSW Small Business |
A site developed by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development for small businesses. Topics include management, resources, current issues and ... |
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Information and legal sites relevant to small business. |
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Small Business Funding Opportunities (SBIR and STTR) |
Links to Small Business Funding Opportunities and SBIR / STTR Applications. |
grants.nih.gov |
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Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
Directory categorized by industry with company business card feature. |
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Small Business Development Corporation |
Our business information services provides guidance to improve business skills and knowledge on advice on starting, buying, selling and expanding a small ... |
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