The opportunities for getting free advertising for your
product or services are only limited by your imagination and
energy. There are so many proven ways to promote without
cost it’s truly mind-boggling!  Here are ten proven methods.

1.  Write an article relating to your area of expertise and
submit it to all the publications and media dealing in that
range of interest. Become your own promoter and writer. Get
the word out by establishing yourself as an expert on that
topic and "tag-along" everything you write with a reference
box listing your address for a catalog, dealership
opportunity, or more information.

2.  Write shorter articles for the Internet and send them to
broadcast houses free articles.  (These are known as "media-
matching medias.")  Here are a few sites to get you
started:

http://www.IdeaMarketers.com
http://www.addme.com
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.web-source.net/syndicator_submit.htm.

3.  Become a guest on as many radio, television talk shows,
or interview-type programs as possible. (Actually, this is
easier to accomplish than most people realize!) Write a
letter to the producer of the talk show, and then follow up
with an in-person visit or telephone call. Your initial
contact needs to emphasize how your product or service would
be of interest to the listeners or viewers of their program
- perhaps even saving them time or money.

4.  Post your advertising circulars on all the free bulletin
boards in your area, especially the libraries, grocery
stores, and beauty and barbershops. Don’t discount the idea
of handing out circulars to all the shoppers in busy
shopping centers, at bus or metro stops, and malls,
especially on weekends. You can also enlist the help of
students to hand out circulars.

5.  Print your product or service’s promotional ad on the
front or back of your envelopes or other people’s
envelopes.**

6.  Send programs announcements on post cards.  Shop for
maximum size at minimal price.  Use both sides for
information leaving half of one side for the addressee’s
information.

7.  Check the publications that carry the kind of
advertising you need and is compatible with your
product/service. Many new mail order publications offer low
rates to first-time advertisers; a free-of-charge insertion
for prepaid issues; or special seasonal ad space at reduced
rates. In addition, there are a number of publications that
will give you Per Inquiry (PI) space - an arrangement where
all orders come in to the publication — they take a
commission from each order, forward to you for fulfillment,
and send you a check for the balance.

8.  Ask about "stand-by" space. This means, you submit your
ad and the publication holds it until they have unsold
space, and then at a savings of 33% or more, you can insert
your ad.  Check all local suburban and neighborhood
newspapers for these opportunities.

9.  Do you publish any kind of catalog or ad sheet?  Get in
touch with other publishers and inquire about bartering an
advertising exchange. They run your ad in their publication
in exchange for you running a comparable size ad for them in
yours.

10.  Advertise a free offer. Simply run a print or
electronic ad offering a free report of interest to most
people or to a particular target market .  Announce it in
the "tag-line." Alternatively, include the report as a bonus
for their purchase.  The objective is to convert the largest
percentage of responses into sales, which is usually done
with a "tag-line" inviting the reader to ask for more
information or a free report.

Unleashing your imagination and have a powerful force
working for you to help increase your sales.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing &
Writing Coach, specializes in product development,  Internet
writing and marketing, nonfiction, training.  Newsletters and
articles available at:  http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

There have been several ads promoting books and reports on this
subject, or included as part of the contents in several mail
order books stating:

"SAVE UP TO 17% ON ALL YOUR ADVERTISING"

It’s legitimate, practical and effective, but like so many other
promises, there are pros and cons involved. The pros are fairly
obvious. By setting up your own advertising agency and placing
your advertising under your agency name, most magazines will
allow you the standard 15% agency commission plus and extra 2%
cash discount. If your annual ad budget is $5,000 this amounts to
a saving of $850 a year, which is a considerable piece of change.

The negative side to this operation involves the initial cost of
establishing your new agency, which isn’t very difficult, but it
might be considered time-consuming. To initiate an agency you
will have to have a name for it other than your regular business
name. Example: If your company name is Nationwide Electronics and
your name is John Smith, you could call your agency John Smith
Advertising or The J.S. Advertising Agency, The agency address
will have to be different than your company’s, but this can be
resolved by renting a post office box for the ad agency and using your
home or office address for the other. Next you will have to open
a separate checking account under the agency name because all
advertising payments will be issued thru your agency, and you
will probably be required to register your agency with your
County Clerk as a new business.

Once these details have been taken care of, you’re ready to begin
placing ads. You’ll have to have insertion order forms printed
with your agency name and address, and a separate form must be
prepared for each ad in each publication. When your advertising
schedule involves only a few publications, this will not be a
problem, but if you expand into 50 to 100 different magazines, it
can really cut into your time. Of course, if business gets large
enough, you can always hire a secretary to take care of that
chore.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

This article may be reproduced freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

Advertising is an important part of any business. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Here are some suggestions for free advertising. Make sure that you check your local laws before you do any of these things. It’s not worth going to jail or getting fined to get free advertising.

1. Place copies of your circular on bulletin boards throughout your community, such as in coin-operated laundries, grocery stores, barber shops, etc. Concentrate on Fridays and Saturdays when shopping increases.

2. Check with local newspapers. Before going to press, many smaller newspapers have space left that needs filling.. Your ad may be just the right size to occupy this unfilled space and they will run it free.

3. Place your circulars on windshields of parked autos, Youngsters will be happy to do this for you for a dollar or two. Check first with city ordinances to see if this is permitted in your locality.

4. Leave sales literature on doorsteps of homes & businesses in your area. Do this on weekends in residential areas; weekdays for businesses. 5. Have your best pulling 1 inch or 2 inch ad made into a rubber stamp. Stamp this on envelopes of all of your outgoing mail.. Check rubber stamp dealer’s ads in current mail order publications for price information.

6. When you have envelopes printed with your return address, have them also print your best ad directly beneath your address. It costs noting additional to have this printed on the front of your envelopes.

7. If you publish a mail order magazine, newspaper, adsheet, etc., contact other publishers, If your circulation is equal to theirs, many will be happy to exchange an equal amount of ad space with you.

8. Many publishers will give you free adspace for mailing a few copies of their publication. Simply write to them and ask if they will give you a free 1 inch ad in exchange for mailing 50 to 100 copies of their pub.

9. Write informative articles for mail order trade publication. Most publishers will give you free ad space for the use of your article.

10. Take advantage of advertising specials. Many publishers offer ads on a 3-for-the- price- of -2- basis, or 4-for-the-price-of-3, etc. This saving is the same as getting one ad free of charge.

11. Some publishers offer a free classified ad with your first display ad. Watch for such specials. Use the free ad and pocket the savings.

12. When starting a new publication, many publishers will offer reduced ad rates to help fill space. Watch for ads regarding such offers.

13. In your ads, request a SASE. Then insert some of your other offers in regular outgoing mail. This is the same as getting free advertising.

14. Become a mailer. Get your printer’s lowest price for printing circulars on both sides of the sheet. Contact other dealers and state you will print and mail their circulars for this price with no conflicting ads on the back. Then print your circulars on the reverse and distribute them with your outgoing mail. There is no extra cost for postage and envelopes, and your side of the circular is paid for by your customers.

15. Offer a free commission circulars. Print one of your regular offers on one side; a commission offer on the reverse, leaving space where the mailer can rubber stamp his name & address, Your offer gets a free ride.

16. If you use a postage meter machine, use the ad space directly left of stamp imprint for a free message.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

One way to make extra money or start a business of your own is by placing advertising which will pay a good profit. Selling printed information by mail can br financially rewarding. Classified advertising is the cheapest way to get into Mail Order and it is often possible to raise a fortune from these small ads. Just check any large publication such as Popular Mechanics, for their classified advertising section and you can see yourself the many ads.

These small ads, running month after month would not be there if they were not profitable and making money. according to some of the promotional material being sent around the country, you could make up to $500.00 or possibly more by running the following classified ads over your name and address. They ask you to pick up a top national publication and test either one or both under "Money-Making Opportunities" headings and watch the dollars come in. I did not run any of these ads myself but was told they really are both profitable. Here are the programs and the advertisements:

"How would you like to receive $25 daily and keep all the money? For complete set-up rush $1 to (Your name and address)"

"$500 monthly, work at home, receive money daily. For complete set-up send $1 to (Your name and address here)"

You are supposed to fill orders you receive with a copy of this sheet you are now reading. Make photocopies or get a supply printed to send as needed.

There are other variations of this plan, but all serve the same purpose: to sell printed information to people who are interested in making some extra money. (they say it is truly possible to make money with this plan).

If you study the many classified ads in the big national publications, you may get a better idea of what the leading companies in Mail Order are doing. You will get a better idea of how classified advertising works. if you have limited capital, it would be wise to run your ads in smaller publications such as small newspapers, small Mail Order Publications and adsheets.

If you have sufficient capital, some good pulling national magazines or Tabloids are:

*Popular Mechanics *Money Making Opportunities *Salesman’s Opportunities *Specialty Salesman *Mechanics Illustrated *National Enquirer And many others to numerous to mention.

Many such magazines tabloids and other good publications are available at your local news stand, library or through Mail Order. Many of them require a copy of the material you are selling with your ad and reserve the right not to print certain ads they feel may be injurious to the public or the image of their publication

Yes! You can start your own advertising and mailing business at home and keep finances ahead of inflation but be sure you are involved in the kind of program that gives you a reasonable chance to be a winner.

You can get more nation wide advertising resources at huge discount rate by visiting http://www.best-internet-businesses.com

———————————————————
Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.best-internet-businesses.com
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Note: Feel free to publish it with the resource box and content unchanged

Product publicity is the "secret pathway" to business success everyone wants. In simple terms, product publicity is a kind of advertising that costs you nothing, yet brings in the orders for you.

Regardless of what kind of business you are operating, you should want, and strive for, as much publicity for your business and your products or services, as possible. After all, it’s "free advertising" that is essential to the growth of your business. However, your publicity efforts should be well thought out, and pre-planned for maximum results.

The first, and basic form of obtaining publicity is through what is known as the press or news release. This is generally a one page story about your business, your product/service or an event/happening related to your business that is about to, or has recently occurred. These publicity stories are generally "shot-gunned" to all the various media: local newspapers, radio and TV, and trade publications.

Problem number one is getting the people to whom you’ve sent these publicity stories, to use them - publish or broadcast them. And this leads us back to the "right way " of writing them and sending them in.

In every case, send a short cover letter addressed to the person you want your material to be considered by… This means that you send your story to the city editor of the newspapers; the news directors of the radio and TV stations; and the managing editors of the various trade publications. It will do you no good what-so-ever, to send your material to the advertising, circulation or business managers - describing how you’re a long-time advertiser, subscriber or listener. The most important thing is that you make contact with the person who has the final say as to what is to be published or broadcast, and at the bottom line - this person’s use of your material will somehow make him a "hero" to his or her readers, viewers or listeners.

The cover letter should be a short note. Go to a paper supplier - tell him you want a hundred or so sheets of good bond paper - 8 1/2 by 11" preferably in a pastel color such as blue or ivory - and that you want this paper cut into quarters, giving you a grand total fo 400 sheets of note paper. "From the desk of…" note sheets are too elaborate until the people you’re contacting get to know you - first time around, and until they use your material, don’t use these semi-formal note sheets…

On this note sheet, begin with the date across the top - skip a couple of spaces and then quickly tell the recipient of the note: the attached material is new and should be of real interest to his readers, viewers or listeners. We advise our dealers and distributors of MONEY MAKING MAGIC - our regular publication for serious wealth builders and extra income seekers - to send the following note to the editors and news directors of the media in their areas:

"Here’s something that ’s new, and for a change, truly helpful, to people trying to cope with inflation - the soaring costs of living - and those engaged in building extra income businesses of their own. Should be of real value - interest - to your readers. Please take a look - any questions, or if you need more info, give me a call at: (503) 666-5824…" Then, of course, you skip about four spaces, type your name, your business name, and your address - sign your name above where you’ve typed it, and staple this note in the upper right hand corner of your news release. This note should be typed and double-spaced.

So now, you’ve got a cover letter, and you know who to send it to… We type up one such note, and take it to a near-by quick-print shop. They xerox the note 4 times, past these 4-copies onto one sheet of paper, print 50 to 100 copies, and cut the paper into individual notes, all for less that $10… Do not try to save money by photo-copying or xeroxing - a photo-copy is a photo-copy is a photo-copy, and will not do the job for you…

Now you need the actual publicity release, which also must be "properly" written if you expect it to be used by the media. Above all else, there’s a proper form or style to use, plus the fact that it must be typed, double-spaced, and short - about a half page in total length.

About an inch from the top of the paper, with an inch and a half margin on each side of the paper; from the left hand margin, type in all capital letters: PRESS RELEASE: Then, underline these words. Immediately following the colon, but not in all capital letters, put in the date. Always set the date forward by at least one day after the day you intend to mail the release.

On the same line, but on the right hand side of the page, and in all capital letters, write the words, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Underline this, and immediately below, but not in all capital letters, type your name - your phone number - and your address…

Skip a couple of spaces, then in all capital letters - centered between the margins - type a story headline, and underline it… Skip a couple of spaces, and from the left hand margin, all in capital letters, type the words, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: From there on, it’s the news or publicity story itself.

You can write the headline before the story, and then a story to fit the headline - or the story before the headline, and then a headline to fit the story - either way, it’s basically the same as writing a space ad or a sales letter… You attract attention and interest with the headline and fill in the details with your story.

Here’s an example of the headlines we use on publicity blurbs for MONEY MAKING MAGIC:

HELP IN MAKING ENDS MEET

NEW PUBLICATION FOR EXTRA INCOME SEEKERS

Notice how we continue to sell or involve the editor - His readers are always looking for better ways to make ends meet, and he’s specifically interested as to what our promise involves… He wants his readers to "think well" of him for enlightening them with this source of help, so he reads into the story to find out who, what and how…

Suffice it to say that your headline, and the story you present to the editor, must sell him on the benefits of your product or service to his readers. Unless it specifically does this, he’ll not use it. You must sell the first person receiving your materials. Keep this fact uppermost in your mind as you write it. The person you send your press or publicity release to, must quickly see and understand how your product or service will benefit his readers - thereby making him a hero to them - and he must be assured it will do what you promise in your headline.

Come right to the point and say your product is lower in price, more convenient to use or in what way your product or service is useful to the people in general. It’s also a good idea to include a complimentary sample of your product or an opportunity for him to sample your services.

Remember, the editors receiving your information are fully aware of your purposes - Free Advertising! They are not in the least interested in you or your credentials - If you’ve sold them on the benefits of your business to their readers, and they want background details, they’ll call you. That’s why you list your telephone number and address…

These people are busy people. They have not got the time nor the interest in reading about your trials and tribulations or plans for the future. They want only "a flag" that alerts them to something new and of probable real interest to their readers.

Sell the editor first. Convince him that you’ve found the better mousetrap. Show him that your product or service - that your business - fills a need and/or will interest a large segment of his readers, his viewers or listeners.

When an editor uses your publicity release, always follow-up with a short thank you note. Never, but never send a publicity release to an editor and then call or write demanding to know why he didn’t use it, use it as you wrote it, or only gave you a quick mention. Do this once, and that particular media will "round-file" any further material received from you, unopened! If your first effort is not used, then you should review the story itself; perhaps write it from a different angle; make sure you’re sending it to the proper person - and try again!

As stated earlier, these people are busy, with hundreds of publicity releases passing across their desks every day - They only have so much space or time - therefore, your material has to stand out and in some way, fit with the information they - the editors - want to pass along to their readers, viewers or listeners. Regardless of your business, product, or service, you must build your press release - write it - around that particular angle or feature that makes it beneficial or interest to the readers, viewer or listeners of the media you want to run your press release. Without this special ingredient, you’re lost before you begin!

The timing of your press release is always important. Try to associate your press release with current events in the news. A story on job lay-offs and increased unemployment carried in the newspapers, on TV and radio would prompt us to get a publicity release out to all the media on the help and opportunity offered by MONEY MAKING MAGIC! Say there’s a deluge of chain letters and pyramid schemes making the round - the media picks up on it and attempts to warn the people to beware… Within 5 days, we would get a publicity release out, explaining the availability of our report on chain letters and pyramid schemes - a report that explains everything from A to Z - who’re the winners and who’re the real losers.

There’s another kind of timing also to keep in mind… Publication deadlines… For best results, always try to time it so your material reaches the editor in time for the Sunday paper. This is because that’s when the papers have their greatest circulation; the most space is available; and the people, the most time to read the paper.

For articles you’d like to appear in the Sunday paper, you’ll generally have to get your release in at least nine days prior to the date of publication. If you’re in doubt, call and ask about the deadline date.

IN SUMMARY:

Choose the media most likely to carry your press release. Select those that carry similar write-ups on a regular basis.

Always use a cover letter of some kind. It pays to call ahead to find out the name of the person you should be sending your press release to.

Use the proper press release form, complete with a headline that will interest the man deciding whether or not to use your item.

Be sure your press release is letter perfect - no typo’s or misspelled words - and don’t photo-copy - always have each letter or press release individually typed or printed.

When your item is used, send a thank you note or call the editor on the phone and thank him for using your press release.

Never, but never call or write an editor demanding to know why he didn’t use your press release, why he had it rewritten or cut it short - just try, and try again.

———————————————————
Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.best-internet-businesses.com
———————————————————-

Note: Feel free to publish it with the resource box and content unchanged

Believe it or not, there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to get your written materials free of charge, for free advertising space, and free business advice.

For free advertising space, many publications will write an article about you or your product if you purchase advertising space with them. One way publications sell advertising space is to agree that if the advertiser purchases the ad, he will also receive a certain amount of free editorial space. This free editorial space essentially doubles the amount of space you get for a given amount of money. This editorial space is devoted to an article about the company or individual or product, and it has the added cachet of seeming to be work of an outside source. The editorial company be written by the publication staff, or the advertiser may provide the copy.

Press releases can be another excellent source of free space. A well-written press release on an interesting subject will attract the editor’s interest. The editor may even follow up with a phone call for more details. The result can be anything from a paragraph to a feature article. All this comes for the price of mailing the release. Keep in mind that you want to target the publication that write about the kinds of things you are doing.

If you have a computer at home and an Internet connections, you can get a lot of free advices and free business advertising from Internet. You can subscribe several high quality newsletters and learn from these . Some newsletters offers free advertising space. You can learn more about it from http://www.best-internet-businesses.com

———————————————————
Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.best-internet-businesses.com
———————————————————-

Note: Feel free to publish it with the resource box and content unchanged

This is the third article of a three-part series. I’m illustrating the marketing challenges of PrescottWeddings.com, a small business.

If you don’t remember anything else about marketing, remember this: Frequency is king.

The more often you can get your name in front of your potential and current customers, the more likely you will make a sale.

Depending on what study you look at, people need to see your message anywhere from three to 27 times before they act upon it.

And, if you want to brand your business, then you need to get it in front of your customers as often as possible.

How do you think Ivory Soap, Campbell Soup and Tide all built their brands so deeply into our minds? Through years and years of repeatedly advertising. That’s why those brands pop into our head when we think about soap, soup or laundry detergent.

So if you want to build your brand, then you need to advertise frequently.

There’s another benefit to advertising frequently. It also helps your current customers.

People like to know they made the right decision after they purchased something. How much reassurance they need depends on how much they spend, but everyone needs some confirmation they made the right decision. Your advertising can help.

Studies have shown that people are more aware of car ads after they purchased a car — specifically car ads of the model they bought. And they’re more likely to both believe and approve of the message. Again, because they want to know they made the right decision.

So there are many good reasons to advertise frequently. Does that mean you have to spend a fortune? Not necessarily. There are a few tricks you can use to get the frequency you need at a low cost. (These are print tricks — other advertising outlets, such as radio and online, we’ll talk about in future issues.)

1. Make your ad as small as possible. Small ads cost less. See "Advertising on a Budget – Part 2: Thinking Small" for more information on shrinking your ad.

2. It’s better to schedule your ads to run all at once than spread them out. People will never remember when they don’t see your ad, only when they do. If they see your ad a lot in one week, they’re going to be under the impression you advertise all the time because they won’t remember NOT seeing your ad other weeks.

3. Take advantage of any frequency programs your newspaper offers. And definitely sign a contract — don’t run ads under the open rate.

Here’s how it worked for PWC.

The newspaper had a program called "3 For Free." If you ran an ad three days in a row, you got the next three days for free (the paper was published six days a week).

We designed a tiny ad — a one by two inch ad — and we ran it six days in a row. Then we skipped the next three weeks and did the same thing again the next month.

After a year of doing this, PWC had people coming up to her telling her they saw her ad "all the time." Business owners wanted to advertise on PWC because they could see the commitment PWC had to advertising. Brides and grooms were visiting PWC on a regular basis because they were being "reminded" monthly.

What did all this cost? About $100 a month.

But, a word of caution. It takes time to build a business and a brand. It won’t happen overnight. But it will happen, especially if you remember to keep getting your name in front of your customers and potential customers as often as you possibly can.

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com

This is the second article of a three-part series. I’m illustrating the marketing challenges of a small business, PrescottWeddings.com.

Our goal was to both build the PWC brand and drive traffic to the Web site. Advertising regularly was essential. Yet it was also essential to keep our costs down. So we leveraged our monthly newspaper advertising to stretch our marketing dollar as far as we could.

How did we do that? We "thought small."

We bought one inch by two column inch ads (a column inch in this particular publication is approx. 1.88 inches). The ads were one inch high and almost 4 inches long.

To reflect the small ad, the copy also had to be short and sweet. Like so:

www.PrescottWeddings.com. Everything you need to say "I do."

Just the name of the business and the slogan.

We put the name in large type and made the tagline much smaller.

Did it work?

The first day this ad ran, we garnered 350 hits on the Web site and several phone calls from business owners who wanted more information.

And that was just the beginning. Hits steadily grew during the campaign, and every time it ran we always noticed a jump.

Not bad for a little ad.

Conventional wisdom says bigger is better. And while it is true that big ads stand out (after all, they do take a big chunk of real estate on the page) it doesn’t mean big is the only way to go. Small ads can pack a punch too.

Why did the PWC ad work? First of all, it got noticed because it stuck out (yes, small ads can stick out). It had an odd shape — long and thin, not a square like so many other ads. The name was big — bigger than many other fonts surrounding it. (But not so big that the ad lacked sufficient white space.)

But probably the biggest reason it worked was because the message was simple. This is clearly a Web site about having a wedding in the Prescott area. Therefore if you’re involved with weddings, whether as a business or on a more personal level, and you’re also associated with Prescott, then this is a Web site clearly worth taking a peek at.

People instantly got the message. And they got it even if they only scanned the paper. It was quick and painless for them — something all ads should strive to be.

What’s also interesting is how this ad hit its target market. I’ve spoken to people (mostly men) who have no interest in getting married and have never seen the ad even though they read the paper. Conversely, businesses in the wedding industry and brides have said they see the ad all the time.

Now, you may have a business name that doesn’t capture your business’ products or services as well as PrescottWeddings.com (my business name for example). In this case, why not think of a catchy tag line you can use in those small ads to drive people to your Web site?

Web sites can be huge, wordy, information-stuffed selling tools. So use short, sweet one-message statement to get people to go look and learn more about your business rather than try to shove everything in an ad. Don’t forget to include your business name and logo for branding purposes.

Okay, so small ads with one simple message work. For the final key in PWC’s marketing program, check out Part 3: Frequency, frequency, frequency.

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com

Touring is a bands greatest opportunity for success. But, touring can be very expensive. Getting your tour, band or event sponsored is critical to your success. Sponsorship can off-set production, travel, promotion and virtually any of your expense. The right sponsor can also significantly augment your advertising, publicity and promotions. But, getting sponsorship participation can take a lot of effort and commitment on your part. You will need to prove to potential sponsors that your opportunity will deliver a good return on investment for them.

The following is a step by step procedure we have used at Multimediary Entertainment Marketing to secure hundreds of thousands of sponsorship dollars for numerous tours, events, artists, television programming and feature films. We have done this for several major record labels and both signed and unsigned artists. Now we want to share our knowledge experience so you can do this on your own.

Create an Introduction Letter

The first step in securing sponsorship dollars is to craft a professional introduction letter highlighting the features and benefits of the opportunity you are offering. Some of these features and benefits might include inclusion in advertising, product sampling, banner display and more. After you have given a brief overview of the opportunity close the letter by asking their permission to send them a more detailed presentation. The introduction letter is the most critical part of the sponsorship success equation. If well crafted, it will get your foot in the door.

Demographic Analysis

Understanding your audience is critical. Potential sponsors will want to know who you are reaching. The best way of gathering this information is right at you finger tips. Call radio stations you think should be playing your music. Ask for an account executive and ask this person to fax you their Tapscan, Scarborough or Prism demographic and qualitative information. In all likelihood you will now be armed with a detailed overview of what your audience looks like and can match this up with potential sponsors. You will also have a great hit list of companies to start hitting.

Creating Your Sponsorship Presentation

No that you have your introduction letter and demographic profiles you are ready to begin creating your presentation. The presentation will seal the deal with sponsors only if it contains all the information they will need to make an educated decision on your opportunity. The presentation must contain the following elements:

1. A Two to three paragraph overview of your opportunity

2. A detailed overview of tour routing, markets and venues

3. An overview of what type of public relations and media support you expect to have and how the sponsor will be included

4. Your audience and demographic profile

5. Tour partnership deliverables or what the sponsor will receive for their investment

6. The total investment you are looking for from your sponsor and the return a sponsor can expect

Now that you have all of the pieces of the puzzle you are ready to go out and shake the trees for sponsorship dollars. With effort and consistency you will land a sponsor. Always deliver on what you promise to retain your sponsors year after year. Under deliver and they will promptly kick you to the curb. Our philosophy is to always under promise and over deliver. With this philosophy you will be assured ongoing solid sponsorship participation for years to come.

Multimediary Entertainment Marketing can get your tour, band or event on the right track by providing you with the following:

• An Introduction letter that garners results

• An accurate Demographic Analysis extrapolated of 5 major markets

• Sponsorship Value Analysis to determine the worth of your opportunity

• Sponsorship presentation in Word and PowerPoint

• Press Release creation announcing sponsorship opportunity

• Press Release distributed to all major markets announcing your opportunity

• We will also include your opportunity in the Multimediary Entertainment Marketing Newsletter which goes out to over 1500 Corporate Brand Managers monthly

• Professional Sponsorship Contract/Agreement you can use to seal the deal

• One-hour Professional Consultation to ensure you’re going in the right direction

For details and pricing please visit our website at: http://www.multimediary.com/sponsorship.html

About Multimediary Entertainment Marketing and Thom King

Multimediary was founded by Thom King in late 2001. Multimediary has worked with Virgin Records, Capital Records, and Universal, Warner Brothers, Lions Gate Films and several other major and independent record labels and entertainment production companies. Multimediary has also worked with several consumer brands including: Lifestyles Condoms, Miller Beer, Red Bull, Monster Energy Drink, Dr. Martins, Snapple, Honda Motor Company, British Petroleum, Adidas and more.

King started his career in the broadcast industry where he most recently worked as Regional Vice President of Sales for a division of Clear Channel Worldwide. King was instrumental in helping Clear Channel capitalized on unique opportunities by converging radio, outdoor, venue, and interactive assets into fully integrated campaigns. King parlayed his over 20 years of cutting edge marketing experience to form Multimediary.

We all are looking for ways to market our businesses cost effectively. I have come up with 8 ways to do just that all low cost to free. In fact most of these methods can be done from the comfort of your own home.

That’s right you don’t even have to leave home. What could be better, your clients are coming to you and you don’t even realize it. Okay lets get started, each of these methods I’m sure you have either heard about or are already doing most if not all. They are not new, nor are they some sort of secret.

1. If you work outside of the home as many of us do as well as running a home business, you can post your business cards or flyers on your company bulletin board where company news is displayed. You should check with your Human Resources department first before tacking your information on the board, most HR Departments require you to check with them first.

2. Are you involved in any Fund Raisers school Fund Raiser in particular are the best way to market your business. Before handing out the order you have collected put together a flyer or business card pack that explains briefly what you do, how you can be reached. Make sure you have a packet tacked, stapled or placed in a bag on each order.

3. Most of us have answering machines or voice mail, what could be a better way then to market yourself than to have a brief message as part of your greeting with your website address or email address so people calling can learn more about your business. Add a little twist to your greeting by changing it once a week or when you have discounts, special promotions or discontinued products or services.

4. You can cover a lot of ground handing out flyers. Yes this can be done from the comfort of your home as well. You may be thinking how can I do this from my home. Well I’ll tell you, all visitors to your home are potential clients. This could be friends, family, mailman or delivery person. No matter who it is they should not be leaving without your flyer, business card or sample of your product if applicable.

5. With online banking taking over many of you may not be able to use this tip to its full potential. Inserting your business cards or flyers in all out going mail, this is what large companies do. You know what I mean, do you have cable TV, or receive the electric bill. Yeah that’s right we receive inserts in the mail we receive daily why not do the same. This is big, big, big start stuffing today.

6. If you have children in school, this one is good especially when having to keep in touch with teachers. Inserting one of your cards is a great way to circulate your information. Parent teacher’s conferences; stop writing down your number hand them a business card.

7. Post ads, flyers and cards on bulletin boards at the supermarket, community centers, and local business. Many businesses have a jar that you can put your cards in when you visit. Check office supply stores, staples, book stores; so hurry on down with your card today.

8. Tell everyone you know what you are doing ask them to tell others as well. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. Call friends and family, ask them what they are doing while your tell them what you are doing. Network together; promote each other as long as you are not doing the same thing. If you are why not join forces, joint ventures are hot online whose say you can’t get them rolling offline as well.

Finally, after reviewing this article I realized that you would have to pay for business cards and flyers, well there is a solution for that as well. Do a search online for free offers, where all you pay is shipping and handling. Or you could make you own; remember the title low cost to free.

In conclusion this is a partial list of what you can do to market, promote and advertise your business for little to no cost to you. This is an on going process. Set down, relax and just do some brainstorming you too can come up with more ways to get your message out there. It does not have to be about a business, it could be anything. Just do it.

Michelle has been online for about 7-years now. She started out on ebay which she still does some work on occasion. After doing the ebay thing for 2-years Michelle moved over to Internet and Affiliate Marketing. She has not stopped since. Build a home business now visit http://home-making-money.com for more information today.