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Whether or not you have a huge marketing budget, there are some inexpensive and effective ways to market your product and connect with current and new customers. Here's a top five list to get you started today:

1. Craigslist.org
Craigslist allows you to post classified ads to promote your services and events in 450 cities worldwide. For the most part, the service is free and has quite a following.

According to the Craigslist fact sheet at Craigslist.org, there are over 25 million people using Craiglist each month and there are more than 8 billion page views each month.

2. Social Bookmarking
Along with your current search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, start making use of social bookmarking services like del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, and BlinkList. Social bookmarking is a hot online trend. These sites provide users with the ability to share their "favorites" or "bookmarked" websites. Users can also rate sites and assign keywords and descriptions. Join these sites and bookmark your website today. Be sure you have your account settings as "shared" or "public."

3. Start a Blog
There are plenty of easy-to-use, free blog services out there. Weblogs, commonly called blogs, have become a great way for business owners and executives to position themselves and their companies as thought leaders and subject matter experts. Leverage all your knowledge in the form of a blog. A couple of things to keep in mind when you blog:

Quality Counts: if you can't write well, seek a competent copywriter or content provider service that can give you relevant, interesting information. If you purchase content, understand your rights for publishing the content. Don't make any changes to the copy or put your name as the author unless you have the rights to do so.

Fresh Stories Drive Traffic: if you can't commit to updating your blog on a routine basis, weekly or daily would probably be best, then don't start a blog. The purpose of a blog is to engage in a dialogue with your customer. If you don't have time for it, don't start one.

4. Partner with Complementary Businesses
Sometimes working with another business that serves the same demographic or that offers a complementary product is a key marketing advantage. For example, if you manage a luxury apartment complex, your target profile customer may be a young, professional executive. Why not partner with small, local professional services firms? Offer use of your clubhouse for meetings and receptions. In return request distribution of your property

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