I'd like to ask a related question. I'd like to ask whether or not your promote your home business offline.
Since this is a blog, it's easy to focus too much on how to promote your business online. However, offline promotion of your business can be just as important a factor in generating income as online promotion -- even if your business is offers primarily online services such as graphic design or affliliate marketing.
Think about. Where do you spend most of your money, offline or online? If you're like most people, you answered offline. Promoting your business offline makes sense because that's still where most people spend their money.
Here are five offline promotion tips:
1. Business Cards
Make sure that you have them. Too many work-at-home moms make the mistake of not ordering business cards. However, they're too inexpensive to skip. Once you have them, use them religiously. Enclose them with every piece of correspondence that you mail. Send them to friends and relatives. Hand them out when you meet someone. You never know when someone who knows someone who knows someone ... and so on ... might refer business your way.
2. Trade Shows
If you get the opportunity to attend a tradeshow or convention for your field, do so. An opportunity to speak at a tradeshow or convention is even better than just attending. If your product is selling crafts, make sure that you sign up for the craft fairs and craft shows in your area. Participating in these kind of programs helps potential clients put a face with a name. Statistics show that people like to know who they are doing business with.
3. Ads in papers and magazines
Try advertising your business in print newspapers or magazines. Advertising in local papers and magazines is often quite reasonable for the small business owner. An added benefit to advertising locally is that you can stop by a client's office to pick up work if you need to. You can also usaully buy print ads in your child's school publications. Check with your child's school for details.
4. Direct mail
Do some research. Who in your area could use your product or service? While there are companies that sell mailing lists, you may be able to create your own mailing list by going through the phone book and noting down the names of businesses that could use your services. Or, let's say your product is ideal for moms, try contacting a local mom's group (maybe a mother's day out program or your child's sport progam) and offering to provide your product or service at a discount to members of that group for a limited time.
5. Word of mouth
Make sure that all of your friends and acquaintances know that you own a business and what your business does. When you meet someone new, try to work your business into the conversation, if appropriate. When you visit your child's teacher or the parents of their classmates, you can also mention your business.
Have you used offline promotion to grow your business? If so, leave me a comment and let me know how it worked.
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Thanks, Laura, for mentioning Home Biz Notes and my post about resumes. You have some great tips here about offline promotion, something which home business owners, especially those with online businesses, tend to forget. When I wrote a post about business cards, a business owner mentioned that she doesn't use them nowadays because of all the online promotion. However, I find it's very useful to have business cards to hand out to the people I meet locally and in my travels. Even though much of my business is conducted online, the people I work with have lives offline and I often meet them offline. (If this all makes sense!)
Posted by: Mary Emma Allen | August 23, 2007 2:11 AM | Permalink to Comment