How To Advertise a New Business: 101 Tips & Ideas To Promote

Starting a New Business and Marketing is itself a Great way to check your Acumen to Start of your Career. Irrespective of the creative fields that you are into, there will always be days when work and stress will be less in comparison to other days.

These days, it is not only perfect for revising your administration but also a great chance of marketing your business. Whether you have started your business as a freelancer or you are currently established, marketing is crucial for your business and its growth.

This is how people are going to discover you and know the services and products that you are offering.

However, the competition is rising steadily and with all the noise, it can be extremely difficult to make your business reach potential customers as well as new clients.

Contents

List of ideas that’ll help you Advertise a new business

1. Get into the local newspaper

You can write press releases about events that are newsworthy and are going on constantly within your business. Before you write a press release, make sure that you have knowledge about certain basic tips.

You also have the option of talking to a journalist and seeing if they will be interested in doing your work. 

2. Create newsletters

You can publish regular e-newsletters to the existing customer base. However, you definitely need to have their permission to contact them.

Keep informing your customers regarding your business and the new services and products that you have already launched. This will help in keeping your business within their radar and also encourage repeat purchases. 


3. Write blogs

Blogs are undoubtedly amazing opportunities for extending the marketing strategy by crafting numerous long-tail keywords. They are considered to be an ideal chance to show off the expertise that you have while building a huge amount of trust.

Make sure that you are keeping the blog updated regularly with crisp and unique content, and you can be assured that both the web visitors as well as Google are going to love your business. 

4. Cold call

It is a good idea to start every day by following up with new leads by making numerous cold calls. It is a great idea to keep the marketing strategies on track as well as investigate various opportunities that are going to come in the way of your business. 

5. Carry business cards

It is suggested that you avoid leaving your home without business cards. You do not really know who you are going to come across.

6. Offer tiny versions

You can consider creating mini versions of either your services or your products at discounted rates. This is going to entice both your new as well as existing customers to try out the mini versions.

7. Find your niche

You need to carry out proper research and discover an ideal niche within the market that is going to benefit greatly from the products and services that you have to offer. After this, you need to subsequently target them.

Find out anything that is missing and also gain knowledge about what people are expecting. Make sure that you are offering solutions to the problems of people. 


8. Talk to the customers

You should not be scared to talk to existing customers and understand why they have chosen you. You need to find a chance to ask these people if there is anything that you can do to improve your products or services. 


9. Make use of Twitter

Twitter is undoubtedly one of the most business-friendly social networking platforms because it helps in networking online and builds the personality of your brand. However, there is always the right as well as the wrong way of tweeting, and therefore, you should not forget certain basic Twitter etiquette. 


10. Get testimonials

Nothing is going to work better for marketing in comparison to getting genuine testimonials from happy clients.

If you have not added any testimonials to the website or your marketing materials, it is suggested that you consider doing it. However, make sure that you are asking for permission first. 

11. Get in touch with influential bloggers

There are a number of blogs present and therefore, you need to conduct your research and find influential bloggers so that you can connect with them on a personal level. Request them to write reviews regarding your business, services, or products. 


12. Advertise on blogs

You should consider investing in online opportunities for advertising while getting information regarding where the target market likes visiting. You need to find out if there are any blogs that your customers love. Contact the owner of the blog and offer to sponsor them in return for advertising space. 


You need to make the most of every blog post by making sure that you are writing posts, which will encourage other people to link to these posts. If more people are recommending the articles, it is obvious that you will be able to generate more traffic, which will eventually lead to more sales as well. 


14. Using email signature

You should link almost everything by ensuring that you are adding links to the social media profiles and your business website from the email signature. You should also consider adding the marketing message as well as the slogan of your company. Keep reminding people why you are great. 


15. Sponsor an exciting award

It is true that this is going to be one of the most expensive options, but if you are sponsoring an award ceremony, it can help your business to gain exposure. However, all awards are definitely not expensive. There will be niche award ceremonies as well, which will perfectly suit the budgets that you have. 


16. Sponsor competitions

It has often been observed that there are media competitions. You can think of sponsoring one media competition so that you can raise your own profile.

You are not only advertising the brand and the name of the company but you will also end up pushing yourself into a wider market, which will help in bringing exposure for you. 


17. Giving things away

Magazines and newspapers are going to offer free editorial spaces if you are giving them something in exchange. Remember, they only want prizes of minimum value. 


18. Offer discounts

Offering discounts at a certain time is always going to bring popularity for you. Offer your services or products at discounted rates. For instance, you can offer Winter Deal or Summer Savings. There is no denying the fact that people love bargains. 


19. Create e-brochures

It is obvious that the hard copy of brochures is not only expensive but also difficult to design and print. In order to save money, you can create PDF versions, which can be downloaded through your website. You need to sell yourself and explain why your potential customers should choose you over other businesses. 


20. Traditional mailers

Maildrop campaigns are responsible for pushing the leaflets through the doors of your customers for sending postcards to the existing database of customers. It is true that this can be old school, but you should never underestimate them because for several businesses they are still working. 


21. Writing columns for the local paper

You should contact the local newspaper and understand if they are going to gain benefits from the regular column “ask the expert”. After that, you can provide regular features, which they can publish. 


22. Become a great spokesperson

Any journalist is always going to be after an industry expert in order to add something spicy to every news report.

You can contact the local newspaper channel, TV channel, and radio channel if you are interested in pushing yourself as an expert within your industry. Make sure that you are preparing yourself for any interview. Also, doing media training is a good idea. 


23. Create press kits

Pull background information regarding yourself as well as your business and get ready for sending it to journalists. Make sure that there is a press section on the website, which will help the media to find more information regarding you.

Do not forget to include your contact details, which will help the media to contact you in case they need anything. 


24. Add interaction to the website

People are constantly interested in interacting with websites, therefore, it is your duty to create appealing as well as helpful content for your audience.

For instance, you have the option of adding live chat, and you are going to be available instantly for answering any and every question. There are certain fantastic solutions that can be added quickly and easily.

This will ensure that your customers can reach you easily whenever they are facing any problems. 


25. Mobile advertising

It is a great idea to create cute but professional stickers for your car so that you can advertise the business even when you are moving. You should never forget to add the website link along with the contact number.

In order to make things fun, you can add special discount codes. These codes can be used when people are calling you. 


26. Charity auction

You can think of donating your services or products to charity auctions. This is undoubtedly an amazing way of networking, meeting potential customers, and also raising the business profile within your locality. 


27. Teach the expertise that you have

It is a great idea to organize workshops, classes, talks, etc., on the basis of the expertise that you have. If you are amazing with social media, you can conduct classes on that. Keep teaching others, and they can turn into your customers eventually. 


28. Guest blogs

Find influential blogs and online communities, which have high traffic, so that you can contribute to writing articles. This will help in tackling search engine optimization. Apart from that, you will be able to reach a wider audience base, while maintaining the personality of your brand. 


29. Blog comment

You should never underestimate the huge power associated with commenting on different blogs.

It is suggested that you comment on every possible blog. Make sure that you are writing intelligent and worthwhile things, which will help in driving people directly to the website. 


30. Taking advantage of forums

Irrespective of the creative field that you are in, there are numerous forums, to which you can not only join but also contribute to.

Numerous people make use of forums to find answers. You should remain helpful constantly so that you can end up getting more clients. Ensure that you are also making the most of the forum signature by adding links to the website along with the company slogan. 


31. Don’t forget the SEO

Search engine optimization concentrates on ensuring that your present, as well as potential customers, are going to look at your website when they are looking for the kinds of services and products that you are offering.

You should make search engine optimization an important priority. You can hire professional SEO firms, or you can also do it yourself. 


32. Create Facebook pages

Facebook is a lot more focused on consumers in comparison to Twitter. You should create a page on Facebook only if you think that the business is perfect for this particular medium. Keep posting interesting updates so that your customers are hooked.

Ensure that you are not spamming and self-broadcasting. Create a tiny budget so that you can advertise as well as boost your posts to different audiences. 

Have a look at a Guide to Creating the Perfect Facebook Page.


33. Hook up the social media accounts

You should not miss providing links from the website to all the profiles on social media and vice versa. Ensure that you are hooking everything up, and also, do not forget to include them in the literature or marketing materials. 


34. Get the pricing right

You can conduct thorough research and also call competitors in order to understand the amount that they are charging for the services and products.

Pretend that you are a customer so that your competitors do not understand who you are. As soon as you have a good idea of the price that the market is charging, you can get the pricing right. 


35. Sending thank you cards

You should value the existing customers and always send them thank you cards to show your gratitude. This helps in adding a personal touch and also gives birth to loyal customers. 


36. Throwing in freebies

If you are thinking of delivering printed brochures or sending marketing plans, it is a good idea to add freebies so that you can make the client happy. This is definitely going to be an effective marketing idea. 


37. Rewarding repeat business

If you have received more work from existing clients, you have the option of rewarding them with loyalty strategies.

It completely depends on you as to how you are going to reward them. You can offer discounts. Irrespective of what you are choosing, you can encourage loyalty when you are being loyal. 


38. Add personality to the social media accounts

One thing that you have to understand is that people are not interested in talking to logos, they are only interested in communicating with real people.

You should add your photo to social media accounts. Ensure that you are not shouting about your business always. Make sure that you are keeping it real and not being afraid to show who you are actually. 


39. Adding an “about” page to the website

People are interested in knowing about you before they are going to hire you. This is why you should ensure that your website has a perfect “About” page, where your skills, experiences, and business value will be described.

Your website should be capable of building trust, and the perfect “About” section helps in doing that. 


40. Investing in credibility

Nothing is going to sell your business more in comparison to credibility. In order to get the best for your company, you have to invest in different schemes as well as accreditations, which will demonstrate you in front of potential clients regarding your credibility. 


41. Offering a guarantee

If you are confident that your services and products are going to satisfy people, it is a good idea to offer them a money-back guarantee.

Make sure that you are offering to refund the money to your customers in case if they are not satisfied with the products. It is true that some people may end up abusing this offer, but this is also going to help you in gaining more customers. 


42. Have a great customer service

Nothing is capable of beating word-of-mouth recommendations or getting referrals; therefore, keeping the clients happy is essential. This can be done by offering amazing customer service. Work hard, and you are definitely going to get great rewards for your business. 


43. Do not avoid traditional networking events

You need to know and understand that all networking events are not boring or even irrelevant. There are numerous events that can be beneficial for your business.

However, you definitely need to ensure that you are picking the right one. Always carry your business card and never expect anything. 


44. Start campaigns for proper causes

If you feel that there is something bothering you that is related to your industry, you can definitely launch campaigns in order to raise awareness of this issue and take up the fight to change it.

You can also offer something in order to help in resolving the issue. Creating press releases and getting the local media involved is also a great idea. Fight for things that you believe in, and you will definitely end up sparking the interest of people. 


45. Give away your expertise

Since you are running the business for quite a long time, it is more than obvious that you already know a lot regarding the field you are in. You can not have knowledge about your own expertise, but the experience is extremely valuable for others.

Share the trade secrets, and this can be done by publishing the articles on your website or blog. You should never be scared to inform people how you are going to help them. 


46. Enter awards

Make sure that you are putting the business forward for award ceremonies whenever you can. Undoubtedly, winning several awards will help your business gain publicity. You can also show off every trophy on your business website. It also helps to add more credibility. 


47. Set up referral programs

You might have a number of associates and suppliers who regularly work with you. Set up referral schemes so that they can send referrals on your way. Also, reward them whenever they refer you. 


48. Put up the prices

Increasing prices are responsible for giving a perception that you are much more than only a premium provider. This is definitely going to help in winning work of higher value while keeping away low-end clients, who cause more hassle. 


49. Get the answerphone right

Even when your office hours are over, ensure that the phone has answering machines. Most importantly, you have to ensure that the answerphone is selling your business.

Use “Check our website while we are away” in place of “We are not here”. Encourage callers so that they contact you even when you are not available.

 

50. Book shows

Booking a stand at a relevant show can be expensive, and there is no doubt about it. However, if you are interested in selling something and raising your profile, shows can be great for marketing your business. 

Ensure that the stand is decorated beautifully as well as appealing and houses several kinds of marketing materials, leaflets, and business cards so that you can hand them out to your visitors. 


51. Ignore the competition

Ignore competition unless you are compiling the market strategies. Ensure that you are not obsessed with the competitors and keep notice of what they are doing.

You need to know that the things that they are doing may or may not be ideal for you. Concentrate on the various aspects of the business and make sure that you are confident with what you are doing. 


52. Use Google Local

People prefer searching for products as well as services through Google Local. Therefore, you need to ensure that the business is enlisted. It is not only free but will also help with search engine marketing. 


53. Join hands with several other businesses

Hook the business up with other reputed firms to attract more customers. By this, it is meant that if you are a copywriter, you should approach a web designer who does not have copywriting skills but can offer your services at outsourced and discounted rates. You are going to be surprised by the total work that you will be able to get in this manner. 


54. Get QR codes

You need to know that the latest gadgets of marketing are QR codes, and everyone is talking about them. QR is basically a Quick Response. They are nothing but bar codes, which allow smartphones to access websites quickly by scanning them.

Get a QR code for your business and make sure that you are putting them on several marketing materials. 


55. Give, and you will receive

Create a strong bond of friendship with local suppliers and competitors, and recommend them to known clients. If you are giving, it is quite obvious that you are going to receive things in return. What you get in return can be beneficial for your business. 


56. Make use of Facebook advertising

Facebook advertising is amazing, especially if you are concentrating on targeted demographics. You have the option of selecting the region, age, gender, as well as relationship status of those people you are targeting.

You can create a campaign only for them. You also have the time to evaluate and measure investment, which will help you to understand what is going to work the next time and what is not going to work. 


57. Create videos

There is no denying the fact that multimedia content is gaining popularity and it also helps in making the website engaging. You can create good “how-to” videos, and you can also show your workspace and people to the entire team. Videos help in building essential trust, and if people trust you, they will be interested in hiring you as well. 


58. Go green

Everyone is concerned about their surroundings, and they do not want to do any harm to the environment. You can show your present and potential customers that you are equally concerned about the entire world by making sure that you have a social responsibility. 


59. Get on LivingSocial.com or Groupon

You need to know that currently, the deal of the day websites have started to gain a lot of popularity. Websites like LivingSocial and Groupon are responsible for featuring discounted certificates, which can be used at national or local firms.

Since you are going to be a registered user, you will be able to send numerous deals to the local area.

You can also contact the websites and ask them to give your services and products away. This is a cost-effective way of making your brand gain recognition. 


60. Create an e-zine

You can consider starting online magazines or blogs regarding something that you are interested in and passionate about.

Make sure that they are related to your business. Share commentary, industrial news, and things of interest, and they are going to act as a perfect marketing tool and also help in showcasing a completely different side to the personality of your company. 


61. Launch free ebooks

Perfect digital marketing is more about creating valuable and important things which will become viral naturally. Make sure that others are talking about your business, and this can be done by creating something that is helpful and free.

The perfect thing that you can do is launch an ebook. Compile a guide which will contain various tricks and tips. Ensure that it is not only shareable but also interesting. 


62. Monitor online reputation

Public relation is all about managing your reputation and enhancing it. Part of taking care of your reputation involves monitoring everything that people are constantly saying about you on various online platforms.

You have to manage your reputation by tracking all the conversations and also responding to things accordingly. 

63. Get new website designs

If your website design is not working anymore, you have to consider design overhauls. It is true that web design is not the most significant aspect of web build, but it is definitely capable of offering the first impression.

If people are going away from the website, it is obvious that something is bothering them. Ensure that you are conducting research before making a plan and changing the website design so that it becomes appealing to the target audience. 


64. Consider conferences

It is obvious that something interesting is going on almost always, right from tech conferences to important talks and seminars. Ensure that you are attending at least a single conference and also carry your business cards along. 


65. Nurture the relationship with clients

You should not only prioritize but also make the existing clients feel extremely special. Ensure that you are making them feel like each one of them is important to you.

Do everything that you can in order to keep them satisfied and happy. Make sure that the channels of communication are open, and you should also receive calls and arrange meetings when necessary. Nurturing your relationships will help in taking care of your business. 


66. Get your basics right

Whenever you are answering your phone calls, you have to state the name of the company and mention the name of the person who has received the call.

Whenever you are sending emails, you need to add the signature of the company along with the logo. Make sure that you are always friendly because you never know who is calling you. Take care of these, and you are going to strengthen the brand and its reputation. 


67. Name-drop online

When you are writing a blog regarding something, you have to consider dropping names so that you can attract the attention of your clients.

Your clients can return this favor by mentioning your business on their Twitter profiles. You can also provide hyperlinks to popular articles, which will help in increasing traffic. 


68. Create a funny 404 page

404 pages are responsible for telling web visitors that the page that they are searching for cannot be discovered. You have to create a funny 404 page and it can become viral when people start discussing it and also share it with other people. 


69. Remain controversial

If you are interested in driving people to the website, you have to remain controversial. Write only about those topics which will be responsible for generating links, discussions, and comments. Pick on brands that people love.

Nothing is going to encourage interaction in comparison to sparking reactions from people. 


70. Contact any local University

If you are interested in remaining helpful, you can contact local universities and offer to give a speech. Most universities often have strong connections with other businesses and this can help you to meet new clients. 


71. Start podcasts

You might not know, but podcasts are already in fashion, and it is not extremely difficult for you to start them.

It is suggested that you invest in purchasing a microphone, headphones, and the software kit for editing and publishing all your recordings. Recording them is not going to be enough; you have to end up promoting them. 


72. Offer tools for free

Consider if there is something that you can offer through your website. For instance, if you are into search engine optimization, you can create free tools, which can be used by freelancers or other SEO professionals.

Free tools can not only go viral, but they can lead to a lot of good traffic, provided that the tools are ideal. 


73. Get involved in charity

Getting involved with local charities and raising money for them is also a good idea. You should do things that are unusual, which will be responsible for attracting the attention of your local media.

Shout about all your achievements through your business website and social media profiles. People will not only be interested in hearing about your efforts, but they will also be interested in hiring you. You will also end up doing something for your community.

 

74. Join the local chamber of commerce

It is a good idea to join the local chamber of commerce in order to get valuable help. This will help in networking with local businessmen.


75. Create calendars

You should design as well as special print calendars with the name of your business and the address of your website. Make sure that you are sending it to existing customers, and if they are displaying your calendars, they will be responsible for doing free advertising for your business. 


76. Use the business cards strategically

People tend to overlook the business cards and often print only the contact details. It is suggested that you use the blank space and add your slogan or provide details regarding your services and products. 


77. Host webinars monthly

Hosting webinars is undoubtedly one of the ideal ways of interacting with your present and potential clients. Webinars can highlight your expertise and help you gain more clients. You can use online services in order to host your monthly webinars. 


78. Offering package deals

Package deals are also something that attracts customers to a great extent. When you are offering services or products within a single package, it is obvious that they will be interested in purchasing from you. It is going to be profitable for your customers as well as your business in the long run. 


Google AdWords is undoubtedly one of the best tools that can be used if you have just created your website and your search engine optimization efforts have not started paying off. This is going to help in ensuring that the SEO campaign is on the right track. 


80. Make use of community boards

There are numerous physical community boards in your supermarket, local library, or your pharmacy. You can put flyers up because it is not only cheap but also easy. Ensure that you are getting permission before you use the community boards. 


81. Send deals to the customers

Use your customer database for sending out marketing campaigns regularly, and do not forget to offer exclusive deals. Plan the deals on the basis of the various seasons as well as festivals. This will also help in encouraging business from clients. 


82. Use your family and friends

Ensure that you are using contacts to get the name of your business out. Give your family and friends your business cards and request them to help in promoting your business. 


83. Do something unique

Research the target market ideally and analyze the competition. Consider if you can do something in a completely different manner. Try to offer something that other businesses are not offering in order to stand out.


84. Sponsor a sports team in a local school

An amazing way of raising the business profile is by sponsoring a sports team within your locality. You are going to discover that almost every season, players require new footballs or other essential sports equipment.

You can print the name of your company on the kits and purchase them for the sports team. Stay in touch with the principal of the school to understand how you can remain involved. 


85. Giving things away

You can run unique competitions and give your services and products away to lucky winners. For instance, if you are designing websites, you should offer to design websites for free. This is going to help in advertising your business because giving things away is competitive and popular. 


86. Make the business cards

You should never waste your opportunity of making the business memorable. Ensure that the design of your business card is unique and helps people to keep you on their minds. 


87. Become walking adverts

You can print a few t-shirts with the logo of your company along with the web address, and do not forget to wear them whenever possible. You can also get your employees to do the same. This will help in marketing your business. 


88. Buy the marketing list

Most services will be responsible for giving you access to potential customers. It can be expensive at certain times, but you can be assured that the lists will be valuable. 


89. Advertise on e-newsletters of other people

If you are aware of popular e-zines that send regular updates to subscribers, you already know that they have amazing opportunities for advertising. Conduct research and set up campaigns in order to take advantage of this kind of targeted marketing. 


90. Organize meetups

If you are constantly struggling to create your network and meet people, it is a great idea to create your own event and meet up with people. This has been working perfectly for most of the reputed brands as well. 


91. Pay attention to interviews and video testimonials

You can create video testimonials and put them up on your business website in order to display happy customers. Nothing is going to help in marketing your business in a better manner or contribute to building credibility in comparison to satisfied clients and consumers. 


92. Using online portfolios

It is suggested that you get the work that you are doing listed on numerous online portfolio sites. Two such examples are Carbonmade and Behance. If you are putting out your business, it is going to serve ideally for you. 


93. Publish your business online

There are numerous online magazines and creative blogs providing opportunities for you to get the work that you do, published.

Send the best work and include the necessary information regarding yourself. Make sure that you are getting out and approaching numerous online publications. 


94. Making Twitter lists

Twitter lists are undoubtedly amazing ways of contacting influential people on Twitter. Like all the other social media platforms, it is suggested that you build proper relationships on Twitter to get the name of your business out.

 

95. Follow up on your leads

Ensure that you are not forgetting to follow up with the new people you are meeting. Make sure that you are developing relationships and keeping your business fresh within their minds.

Whether you are talking to individuals at any events or via a phone call, you should follow up with them and turn them into sales. 


96. Pay it forward

This means that you should be interested in giving away your expertise for free as it can help you get more work.

For instance, if you meet someone who is facing a problem, offer to resolve it without charging anything. When you appear to be caring and selfless, people will remember you for what you did. 


97. Concentrate on building a strong brand

You have to consider branding strategies and keep assessing them. Understand if they are strong enough and are conveying the right messages.

Ensure that you are bold and stand out because, at the end of the day, the brand will be responsible for the values and ethics of your company. 


98. Keep selling yourself

Irrespective of what you do and where you are going, you need to keep selling yourself. Ultimately, you are the ambassador of your own business, and you need to keep selling it. Understand the values of your company and keep repeating them whenever possible.

 

99. Create surveys

You can use third-party tools to create surveys for the customers and also encourage participation by giving things away.

As soon as you collect the results, you can turn the research into a great press release or you can even use the data to improve the business offerings.


100. Listen to the customers

It is your customers who will be responsible for giving insight into the improvements that you can make and get more work. Listen carefully to the feedback given by your customers and keep putting in new systems which will help your company to thrive. 

Marketing your business can seem like one of the most daunting tasks. However, if you follow the creative ideas that have been listed above, you will definitely be successful in marketing the business in the best possible manner. 

Similar Posts:

Was this article helpful?

Leave a Comment