The
opportunities for getting free advertising for your product or services are
limited only by your own imagination and energies. There are so many proven ways
of promoting your objectives without cost that it literally boggles the mind
just to think of listing them.
One way is
to write an article relative to your particular expertise and submit it to all
the publications and media dealing in the dissemination of related information.
In other words, become your own publicity and sales promotions writer. Get the
word out; establish yourself as an expert in your field, and
"tag-along" everything you write with a quick note listing your
address for a catalog, dealership opportunity, or more information.
Another
really good way is by becoming a guest on as many of the radio and television
talk shows or interview type programs as possible. Actually, this is much easier
to bring about than most people realize. Write a letter to the producer of these
programs, then follow up an in-person visit or telephone call. Your initial
contact should emphasize that your product or service would be of interest to
the listeners or viewers of the program--perhaps even saving them time and
money.
Other ways
of getting free or very inexpensive exposure include the posting of advertising
circulars on all free bulletin boards in your area, especially the coin-operated
laundries, grocery stores, and beauty and barber shops. Don't discount the idea
of handing out circulars to all the shoppers in busy shopping centers and malls,
especially on weekend. You can also enlist the aid of the middle school students
in your area to had out circulars door-to-door.
Some of
the more routine methods include having a promotional ad relative to your
product or service printed on the front or back of your envelopes at the time
you have them printed with your return address.
Be sure to
check all the publications that carry the kind of advertising you need. Many
mail order publications just getting started offer unusually low rates to
first-time advertisers; a free-of-charge insertion of your ad when you pay for
an order to run three issues or more; or special seasonal ad space at greatly
reduced rates. And there are a number of publications that will give you Per
Inquiry (PI) space--arrangement where all orders come in to the
publication, they take a commission from each order, and then forward the
orders on to you for fulfillment.
Many
publications will give you a contract for "" space. In this
arrangement you send them your ad, and they hold it until they have unsold
space, and then at a price that's always one third or less the regular price for
the space need, insert your ad. Along these lines, be sure to check in with the
suburban neighborhood newspapers.
If you
send out or publish any kind of catalog or ad sheet, get in touch will all the
other publishers and inquire about the possibilities of exchange advertising.
They run your ad in their publication in exchange for your running an ad for
them of comparable size in yours.
Finally,
there's nothing in the world that beats the low cost and tremendous exposure you
get when you advertise a free offer. Simply run an ad offering a free report of
interest to most people--- a simple one page report with a "tag-line"
inviting the readers to send money for more information, with a full page
advertisement for your book or other product on the backside. Ask for a
self-addressed stamped envelope, and depending on the appeal for your report and
circulation of the publication in which your ad appears, you could easily be
inundated with responses!
The trick
here, of course, is to convert all these responses, or a large percentage of
them, into sales. This is done via the "tag-line," which issues an
invitation to the reader to send for more information, and the full page ad on
the back of the report, and other offers you include with the complete package
you send back to them. As mentioned at the beginning of this report, it's just a
matter of unleashing your imagination. Do that, and you have a powerful force
working for you that can help you reach your goals.
