Some of the best advertising methods are free. When your just beginning and the dough isn't rolling in yet, these methods are extremely useful.
Technique 1:
Optimize your site for keywords relevant to your target market. You can learn alot about the right ways to impliment this strategy at various websites, forums and blogs online for free. You can also find out about this or any other area of interest at your public library.
Technique 2:
Write your own articles that would be of interest to your target market and submit them to article directories. supply unique information that customers will enjoy without trying to force your products on them. Put a tagline at the end of each article describing your business with a link to your site. If you submit a couple of articles a week, before long you will have links pointing back to your site all over the internet. Keep your aticles short and to the point, while offering the reader some valuable free information. Generaly around 500 words is the norm.
Technique 3:
Submit your site to search engines, directories, specialty listings sites, industrie organizations and yellow pages. This is another step to get noticed and get one way links back to your site and some free advertising. Do a google search to help you find places to list your site.
Technique 4:
Submit classified ads pointing people to your website to all the free classified sites you can manage. You can get some bonus traffic to your business in this way. You can't just place ads with a few sites and expect wonders in the way of results though. You need to post to as many sites as you can and on a regular basis.
Technique 5:
Post to forums, blogs and message boards that allow you to post your tagline at the end of each post. You should always try to post something of value though and not just in an attempt to market your site. Be helpful and respectful and this technique will will help you to get your name out.
Technique 6:
Start your own blog. One of the easiest, most effective ways to promote your website is with your own blog. Post to your blog with relevant information on a regular basis using targeted keywords in each post. When your first starting it's best to update once per day or so. This technique can work wonders to get you listed at the top of the seach engines relatively quickly.
Technique 7:
Write your website address on everything. Put it on all your stationary such as letterhead and business cards. Also include your website address at the end of your emails in all your outgoing mail. Find as many ways as possible to get seen by as many people as you can.
Technique 8:
Start an aggressive linking strategy. Find sites that target the same market as you that are not direct competitors and ask them to link to your site. If you use this strategy you will need to have things on your site (products or information) that will be of value to your prospective link partner's customers. Reciprocal links are another type of link you should try to get. This is when you link to a site and they in turn link back to yours.
Technique 9:
Write an ezine and submit it to ezine directories. This technique is almost like the technique used for writing articles. The articles you submitted to article directories can be used in your ezine and vice versa. You can also use appropriate articles from other authors that you find at the article directories that would be of interest to your ezine readers.
Technique 10:
Use press releases to get the word out about your product or business. Contact publications and reporters with a direct interest in your business or area of expertise. If you have something interesting or newsworthy to say then this can be an excellent method.
Technique 11:
Join traffic exchange programs. Traffic exchanges are websites that you join and in return for visiting other members websites you will get visitors to your own site. This technique take some work but you can get lots of visitors to your site for your efforts.
Technique 12:
Make joint ventures with people in your industry that offer non-competing products and services that your customers would find useful. You promote your partners products or services and in return they promote yours.
Technique 13:
Use your circle of influence. Some of the best advertising you can use is called word of mouth. It's possible to make alot of money with this technique by itself. Just ask any successful MLMer. Make a list of all the people you know and then egage these people in some way, whether it be by email, telephone or in person and let them know about what you do. The people that are actualy interested might amaze you.
Technique 14:
Be your business. If you have a great, honest business that your proud of and passionate about, then let everyone know about it. Engage anyone you come in contact with, at the local shopping center or your waitress at your favorite diner. Don't just yell at strangers about how passionate you are because that obviously will not work. Engage people in conversation. Ask people what they do or how they like what they are doing. Their natural reaction will be to ask you the same things in return. Tell them about your business or products and exchange business cards with them or at least give them one of yours.
Above are just some of the techniques that a personbusiness can use to advertise their business for free. Some of thes strategies may not apply to your particular business but this article should help you to at least get started in the right direction.