As I mentioned in my previous post, I found two books from the Self Counsel Press Business Series that looked mighty interesting to me. Marketing Your Service caught my eye because, as a freelance writer, I have to keep in mind at all times that my final product really only comes after a great deal of selling my services. No one will hire you to write a press release or article if they don't feel they will receive a high-quality "thing" at the end of the project.
Low-Budget Online Marketing for Small Business caught my eye because I believe that the small business person can make great use of the Internet to overcome the Big Boy Business budgets the corporations out there use. You can still use some of their tactics without blowing the amount of cash they do, too.
The author of this book, Holly Berkley, appears to agree with me on that one. According to the book's description, there's very little difference between a $100,000 marketing campaign and a $1,000 campaign.
Starting with the basics (the benefits of online marketing and attracting your target audience), Berkley walks business owners through the steps of creating effective content, building an online community, getting free press and advertising and co-branding or cross-promoting. (By the way, I'm not the only one who talks about getting content without writing it yourself...check out page 34!) The back of the book discusses search engine placement, banner ads, and web design. As with the marketing title I found, this book includes worksheets for you to look over as you go and a CD-ROM so you can print 'em out and fill 'em in for your business too.
Personally I think a small business owner could take both of these books and use their combined wisdom to come up with a humdinger of an inexpensive marketing plan, both on and offline. Give a shot and let me know how things go for you!
Comment Preview