10 Marketing Tips For Your Business

Here are a few ideas to get you started, all with low or no cost, which should especially help you in the early days of your business.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is just a few ideas to start you off.

1. Get a domain name in the name of your business or of what you do. Marketing is all about building others' perception of you and using hotmail, aol, blueyonder etc just screams "I'm a one man band working at home" - even if you're not!

2. Have some business cards printed. Keep them clear and concise - and don't forget the back.

3. Think about a logo and branding. This may just be a colour scheme to start with, but keep it consistent in everything. From business cards, to headed paper to your website.

4. Ask people you know to introduce you to others who might benefit form your service or products.

5. Collect testimonials and case studies from happy customers. Use them to provide evidence of how good you are.

6. Run seminars and workshops for your target audience.

7. Find out more about Public Relations. PR is free, and you get more exposure than if you advertise.

8. Use good quality paper for your business stationery - back to perceptions again.

9. Write an executive summary about your business. Use it as the basis for leaflets, an email attachment, an appendix to letters or anywhere else where you need to define what you do as part of your marketing activity.

10. Get out and network. Go to networking events and free seminars to meet others who might be able to help your business. You can also network on line through various discussion groups and networking sites. Don't forget to see how you can help others, don't just be a taker.

Julia McDaid is a business coach and author, specialising in helping business start ups. . For more information on these issues or on coaching for new business owners, see www.startupright.co.uk">http://www.startupright.co.uk or enrol on Julia's unique Start Up 101 ecourse, where you can go into each subject in a lot more depth.

Julia also publishes a free ezine 'Secrets of the Successful Entrepreneur' - to sign up just send an email to ezine@startupright.co.uk

RELATED ARTICLES

---

5 Things You Must Do Well When Buying a Business to Not Get Burned
Are you not sure what Business to buy? Need to know what is a fair deal?Martin Smith thought he was buying an established business with good credit and collectable accounts receivable. The day after settlement the surprises began.

---

Learn to Improve Sales - 10 Ways to Get More Business Starting Today
You need sales and you wanted them yesterday. Here are ten ideas to start those sales pouring in.

---

Top 10 Ways Websites Makes Me Suffer
I believe some people create and publish websites for the sole purpose of tormenting their visitors. Browsing various websites and navigating the Web can often be like trying to read on an airplane while a kid kicks the back of your seat and the baby next to you alternates between screaming, crying and drooling on you.

---

The Top Ten Ways to Attract Buyers, Not Just Visitors to your Web Site
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money into your site and are frustrated with low sales? If you are like many professionals out there, you know your subject; you are excellent at your craft. You have a great service and maybe a great product to sell.

---

Top Ten Tips When Business is Slow
How's your business going to keep growing with the holidays just around the corner? What can you do when most people don't want to spend money now?If you are concerned the cash flow won't flow and you won't have enough income for the next months, check out these ten tips:1. Create written copy to email your subscribers and other email lists.

---

10 Dos and Donts Of Customer Services
Email etiquette is the key to help calm down anxious and impatient customers. People assume that once they press the "send" button that we will get everything sorted out in an instant! Of course we all know that this is not an accurate representation of how things work.

---

Sales Marketing: 10 Tips On How To Promote Yourself And Generate Sales
A lot of people are insecure about buying something or doing business with strangers.To make people feel comfortable to buy from you or do business with you, give them a little information about yourself or business.

---

Top 10 Items to Review & Build Your Business Now!
In building and runnng an independent private practice or small business, there are many items that need to be monitored closely and should be reviewed periodically. Year-end is a traditional time do this, and this week's Letter is a "Top Ten" of items to review as the year draws to a close, or whenever you decide to pause, reflect, take stock and re-assess.

---

How To Make $20.00 For Every $1.00 Invested
It has been said you can lift the Rock of Gibraltar if you have a fulcrum point and long enough lever. When we refer to "financial leverage" we are talking about the same principle.

---

10 Incredibly important business basics EVERYONE needs to know BEFORE they start a business!
In my career, I have had a total of 3 businesses myself and a few others where I am in partnerships. Each time you start a business the basics are pretty well the same.

---

7 Tips To Increase The Success Of Your Online Business
1. Outsource what takes you too long to doWhen you don't have time to do something, you either don't do it, or do it faster and make mistakes.

---

Never Sell Again: Get Repeat Business and Avoid the Need to Prospect
If you're a business owner, you know that repeat business is critical to your success. It also makes your life much easier because you can count on ongoing business without having to continuously find new prospects and convince them to hire you.

---

How to Become an Expert in Your Niche Business
What is a niche business? A niche business is one that caters to the common needs and interests of a focused group of people. For instance, people who play golf forms a niche market and people who are golf instructors form an even tighter and smaller niche.

---

Reminders For Running A Better Business
The following tips are from an article we contributed to Compute magazine. These are ideas that we all should know, but many times forget.

---

Top Ten Tips: Where to Get the Best Business Books Now!
There are many places you can get books, and I don't pretend to know them all. I've listed a few of my favorites below.

---

Bookkeeping Techniques For Morons
Please don't think I am calling you a "moron" to hurt your feelings in any way. I was a moron when I first started setting up my files.

---

Top Ten Ways to Develop New Success Habits
1. Make a clear, specific commitment to what you want.

---

10 Things To Do When Business Slows Down Over The Holidays
I'm sure you've seen it happen every year: your business slows down during predictable times, like the summer vacation months or year-end holidays. For the self-employed who rely upon steady cash flow, this can be a disconcerting time.

---

Top 7 Reasons You Should Back Up Your Data Online!
How much is your data worth to you? In this modern electronic-age we rely more than ever on our computers to supply us with the information we need. Chances are every piece of data you might ever rely on to make an important decision has been reduced to a digital format and resides somewhere on your computer's hard drive.

---

7 Tips On Getting Ready To Put Attraction Marketing Into Action
Attraction marketing is about making a customer for life not just making a sale. It's about connecting your passion in business with your perfect clients and customers and giving them a enjoyable experience with your company.