Are you looking for free or cheap advertising techniques for your small business?

Well, our list of the most inexpensive ways to promote your small business online can help every beginner get their foot in the door.

Online advertising is the easiest, most effective, and least expensive type of advertising available today.

Most consumers now search for products or services online whether they are just trying to gather information or they are looking to make a purchase.

Therefore, if you follow the ten steps below to begin advertising your business online, you will quickly make a name for yourself in the industry.

1. Regularly Post Interesting and Informative Blogs.

Blogging is the foundation of your online marketing efforts. Publishing an interesting and informative blog post will drive organic traffic to your website.

When a potential customer searches for an answer to a question, solution to a problem, or is seeking information about a particular type of product, the company that is most helpful will be more likely to get the sale.

You can intrigue buyers and capture leads with helpful and interesting blog posts.

Get ideas from commonly asked questions or what people seem to be talking about most.

This strategy is completely free and is one of the best inbound marketing tactics today.

Rather than chasing down random people and pestering them with advertisements for something they don’t even want, your potential buyers are finding you because you are offering the information that they seek.

2. Build an Email List.

Every business should start compiling a list of emails from every contact that they make.

If you already have a CRM tool, great! If not, then look into putting a small amount of money into one specifically for emails.

For example, Constant Contact and Aweber offer plans for just 20 dollars a month.

Even better, MailChimp offers their service for free if you have under 2,000 subscribers, which is perfect for small businesses.

Although, it is crucial to remember that you must get permission before you add anyone to an email distribution list.

Gather email addresses by offering a free download, monthly newsletter, or product discount in exchange. The possibilities are endless!

3. Contribute Articles and Guest Post on Niche Sites.

Writing content for other websites can be extremely beneficial.

It will prove your value and credibility as a resource in the industry. You will also reach an entirely new audience that frequents those sites.

Additionally, when you write content for someone else, many times that website will allow you to link back to relevant websites, like your own!

Yes, it takes some time to write quality content and you are giving it away for free, but the benefits outweigh the work by a lot.

So start reaching out to relevant websites so you can promote your business!

4. Attend Local Networking Events.

Try to attend local networking events in your city or town.

You can meet with other business owners to swap ideas and even meet future customers that are looking for a product or service like yours.

Meetup.com usually has a great list of local events under their “career and business” section.

Type in your zip code to check if your town is hosting any events and register to attend, it can’t hurt!

5. Comment on Social Posts, Blogs, and Reviews.

Interacting with visitors online is essential in order to stay relevant.

When customers or leads comment on a blog post, leave a Facebook comment, tweet you, leave a review or ask a question be sure you are the first one there to respond.

Set up notifications so you will be alerted when its time for you to jump online and interact with someone. This will really add a personal touch to your brand, which goes a long way.

Plus, having an open line of communication with your customers or potential customers will ultimately strengthen your credibility and trust level.

6. Create Free Online Listings.

Most people, myself included like to read reviews and other information about a company before committing to buying their product or service.

A great way to make sure the information you want is being portrayed on the internet is to set up and polish all of your online listings before someone else does it for you.

I’m talking about Yelp, Google My Business, Yellow Pages and more.

These listings are free and you have the power to edit your business summary, hours, address, images, and phone numbers to make sure everything is consistent across the board, which helps with your Google search rankings.

When a customer has a great experience, ask them if they would be willing to leave a comment.

Having an abundance of positive comments on these listings is one of the biggest influencers to potential buyers.

Also, if a negative comment appears, you can catch it right away and respond in a courteous and timely fashion and show that you are committed to your customers and their experience.

Proving that you want to rectify the problem will go a long way with potential customers, even if they see you received a negative review.

7. Offer a Free E-Book or Digital Product on Your Website.

People love free stuff, so offering a free gift, informative download, or ebook about the product or service they are interested in is a great way to nurture your relationship with the visitor, and also obtain valuable contact information, like an email address, which you can add to your newly developed email list!

8. Use Your Free Ad Credits.

When you sign up for Google AdWords or a Facebook Ad account, they usually allocate you a certain number of credits or vouchers to use toward advertising.

Although this won’t get you super far, you can start by using the credits at no cost and at least play around with PPC advertising and attempt to learn what works best for your business before you start spending any real dough.

9. Create Eye-Catching Infographics.

Infographics are an easy way to tell your story and sell yourself with a visual. Don’t let the term scare you though, you don’t have to be a graphic designer to be able to create beautiful works if you use a free and easy online tool like Piktochart.

Just create an account for free, select one of their pre-made templates, add your own information and pictures and voila!

You can post these on your social channels, embed them in your blog articles, and even offer them as free resources to other companies in exchange for backlinks!

Don’t underestimate the power of visual content, especially when it is this easy and fun to make!

10. Polish Your Social Media Presence.

Social media is one of the best ways you can interact with people online.

It is completely free to set up accounts for your business on multiple platforms, and as long as you keep your accounts active and engaging, they should help drive traffic and business to your website.

If you are not as social media savvy as you wish to be, start by researching your competition’s pages.

What kind of posts work for them? What is getting people to like, follow, comment, and engage with them online?

Feel free to use some of these ideas, just be sure to adjust them to fit your individual needs.

The advertising professionals at Kirk Donovan Enterprises have proved these free tips work time and time again, but if you believe you need some help getting started do not hesitate to contact us today!

Click on the button below for a free advertising consultation for your business!