How Do I Advertise My At-Home Business?
Once you have decided on what type of at-home business you are going to establish, you have to “get the word out”---you need to advertise! You can spend a lot, or you can spend next to nothing, but you do have to advertise or you will never attract any clients or customers.
Remember that this old adage is still very true today: You have to spend money to make money!
Get a Web Page!
It is as simple as that---get a web page…NOW! And get your own website, not just free space that is provided by your Internet Service Provider (or a service like Yahoo! GeoCities). This means you will have to get your own web “domain name” (the name of your website) and your own web “space” (the space that your website needs). If these terms are totally foreign to you (as they were to me when I set out to get my own website), then grab your teenager or that friend of yours who “knows all about that stuff” to help guide you along.
It isn’t nearly as expensive as you think to get your own website domain (which is the “www-dot” name of a web page, like www.graphicsbynancy.com). Likewise, it won’t set you back too much to get web space (where you will put your web page). This is something that can cost you less than $150/year, and will likely pay for itself ten times over---and more! (By the end of the first year that I had my own web page, I’d more than tripled my previous year’s income. I didn’t have to spend any time finding clients---they found me!)
As far as creating your own web page---formatting, text, and graphics---the sky is really the limit. There are numerous software packages that can help you, such as FrontPage, and you can find dozens of online tutorials that will give you hints and tips for creating a website that will attract clients and create web traffic (“hits” on your website, if you have an at-home business that is solely web-based).
I was lucky. I found a wonderful lady who helped me to create my first website for me. Now, she is my "web guru" and helps me when I get stuck. In exchange, I barter my proofreading services for her own home-based business websites. We formed and have maintained a valuable working relationship that is beneficial to both our businesses, and today I’m happy to call her my good friend!
Barter Your Service for Free Advertising
Regardless of what service your at-home business provides, chances are you can barter it for free advertising. If you are doing balloon bouquets for events such as business openings, weddings, or backyard family reunions, then find someone who will let you put up your balloons and display a nice sign that reads “Bonnie’s Balloons” and shows your website and email addresses (or other contact information). Proofread your local church newsletter and have your byline added at the bottom: Proofreading compliments of Wanda, the Word Wizard.
Whatever you offer, find someone or somewhere to offer it for free in exchange for some type of free advertising. It’s not the same as a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of your local newspaper, but it’s a start.
Distribute Brochures, Business Cards, and Flyers
Think logically about the service that you offer. Who would use it? Where would this target market be likely to see and read a business brochure or flyer?
Where can you post business advertisements for free? Does your local coffee shop have a public bulletin board? Is there a bulletin board at your public library? Can you put a business card holder full of business cards on the counter at the neighborhood dry cleaner’s?
Keep business cards in your purse, wallet, briefcase, and glove compartment of your car. Don’t be afraid to hand them out! Print lots of them, and use them to jot down messages to leave for friends who aren’t home. USE THEM! You never know who will eventually see one. Sometimes all it takes is for one person to see it and the flood gates of opportunity will open!
See http://www.jansfreecontent.com/publish/work_at_home/Do_Your_Own_Business_Cards.shtml for ideas and tips on printing your own business cards and brochures.
Paying for Advertising
Before you spend any money at all on paid advertisement (with the exception of the $10 donation for having your business card printed in the Little League All-Stars newsletter), do some research. What is the distribution of the paper, newsletter, flyer? How many get printed and sent out? What are the statistics on return on investment (that is, how much money in return are you likely to earn for every dollar in advertising that you spend)?
When you are confident that your investment in paid advertising might have an acceptable payoff, then try it. Don’t expect to see results tomorrow. However, if you’ve had poor or no results in more than 45 days (from the date of publication and distribution), then it is unlikely that you are going to profit from the venture. This doesn’t mean that you will never profit from paying for advertising, but it is likely that this publication or print medium wasn’t right for you. So do more research before you pay for advertising again.
Things to Remember about Advertising Your At-Home Business
- Get a web page!
- Get a web page!
- Get a web page! (It’s so important, that I had to say it three times!)
- Barter your services in exchange for free advertising.
- Before you pay for advertising, do your research! Will your advertising dollars pay off?
Be patient. Keep plugging away. Remain confident. Advertise your services (through bartering or other means), and clients will find you.
Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Visit Jan’s Portal (http://www.jansportal.com) for more information about Jan's free crafts, recipes, tutorials, other resource sites, and free content articles, as well as Jan’s business services. Be sure to visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005 to present. All rights reserved.