by Mario Carini

Created on: August 25, 2008

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. While the small business can't compete with the big conglomerates with multi-million dollar advertising budgets, there are some basics that can lead to profits and long term growth of your business. Let's look at some ways you can market your business on a low budget:

1. Take a look at the products you are selling. If they are similar in nature to other products, you may need to narrow your focus to a specific niche and concentrate on marketing that product to a narrower client base.

2. Getting listed on Pay-per-click search engines are likely to be out of your advertising range, but there are many other PPCs out there you can try. They may not reach an audience of millions, but your ad will have a greater chance to be seen.

3. Get connected. Simply you need to act as a Town Crier. Newsgroups, chat rooms and many Web 2 sites offer the ability to dispense information. They're a great way to get your business known without having to spend a fortune for advertising. However, they are not avenues for blatant advertising of your business. By establishing yourself as knowledgeable in the subject related to your product, you can establish trust in those who read your message. They will visit your site and eventually become customers.

4. Much in line with getting connected, you should make yourself visible in the real world. Writing articles, whether to ezines or a local paper can establish your expertise in the eyes of the reader. Article writing is a great way to get your small business notice, since your signature file at the end of the article will appear in ezines and publications targeted to your market.

5. Visibility is a major key to promotion. Public relations is a great way to announce the start of your new business or a new product launch in local papers. Consider using some of your advertising budget to sponsor charitable events in your home town. Open an information booth at trade fairs. Consider holding a seminar to dispense knowledge about subjects related to your product. Hold a garage sale. If your wife loves to cook, there's no reason why you can't get involved in a church bake sale. Do some volunteer work. Media sources are constantly looking for interesting news items and will publish reports and articles about your business at no cost to you.

6. Communicate with everyone you meet. You should be ready to talk about the business you're in, pass out free samples and business cards. Join your local chamber of

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