Top 10 Ways You Can Advertise Your Small Business for Under $100

If you own or are thinking of starting a small business, you might also be wondering how to advertise your enterprise without breaking the bank. Billboards, commercials, and radio spots are great ways to advertise a business, but they are costly too. Rather than spend thousands of dollars on advertising that may or may not reach your audience, try these cheap and effective approaches first. Each method costs under $100 to implement.

1. Flyers. Flyers are incredibly cheap to make and print. You can design a business logo and description, include your information at the bottom of the flyer, and even add a professional picture. If you don't have a color printer at home, go to your local Staples, Kinko's, or Office Depot and order some copies there. Your flyers can be displayed almost anywhere: on public bulletin boards, in libraries, or even on street lamps (if permitted). Alternately, you might go door-to-door and distribute flyers wherever you suspect your services might be needed. Such an approach is especially useful if you are in the landscaping or construction business.

2. Web site. In this day and age, almost every small business has a web site. Web sites are not expensive to set up: HostGator, for example, charges roughly $15/month for web hosting and $10/year for a domain name. Once these two items are purchased, you can download a content management system such as Wordpress for free and start designing your business web site. By adding eye-catching photos, keyword-optimized articles, and third-party links, your business will soon be at the top of the search engines.

3. Entrepreneurial and professional organizations. Most cities and even small towns have clubs which provide ideas for and help with running a small business. Some of these clubs are organized by trade, but others are more general. Such clubs typically allow you to present your business and distribute marketing materials without the fear of appearing "pushy".

4. Social clubs. Whether you run, brew beer (or run and brew beer), or have some other hobby, there is probably a social club organized around just such an activity. While you can't just show up at such a club and start handing out business cards, you can advertise your business in more subtle ways. Consider putting your business logo on your shirt and wearing it to a club function. Alternately, you could sponsor the food/drinks for a club meeting and casually mention that you served the same refreshments at your company outing. This may pique the curiosity of some of the members of the club, providing you an opening for describing your business.

5. Work announcements. Most companies have an area for employees to post announcements such as items to sell or swap, fundraisers, and the like. Sometimes these areas are electronic and are located on the company's Intranet. If you have friends who'd be willing to post your business flyer or announcement at their job sites, their implicit recommendation of your business to their coworkers could generate several steady clients for you.

6. Craigslist. Unless you are posting a job on Craigslist, it costs nothing to advertise your business on this site. Create a catchy title for your business and write a few paragraphs about it. Provide some example work quotes, if possible, and refer people to your web site. This should help generate some business.

7. Social media. Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter can all be used to disseminate information and news about your small business. You might link your social networks to your business web site, thus providing a means for people to obtain more information about you or read some of your web content. You might even offer an incentive (discount, coupon, etc.) for individuals who go to your web site via a social media forum.

8. Client referrals. People who are satisfied with your work can be offered an incentive (future discount, free gift, etc.) to refer others to your business. The referred customers may (or may not) also be offered an incentive to do business with you. In this way, you can start to quickly build your customer base.

9. Vehicle advertising. It costs less than $50 to make a magnetic banner for your car, but such an item can advertise your business very effectively. Also, knowing that you are advertising your business every time you are stuck in traffic will make your commute far less annoying.

10. Trade shows and community festivals. Trade show booths can sometimes be secured for under $100/day, allowing you to drum up a lot of business with other businesses and private individuals. Alternately, you may obtain a cheap booth rate at a local community festival. If the rate you are being charged is too high, offer other ways to make up the cost- for example, by helping to set up or clean up the trade show or festival.