How To Advertise Your New Business in Four Easy Steps

Are you starting a new business? Congratulations! Millions like
you are putting up their signs and welcoming customers for the
first time. With the economy swinging upward and even the
smallest business empowered by the Internet, there has never been
a better time to get started in your own venture.

However, without solid advertising and marketing, you won't get
customers. Even worse, you can spend a fortune on advertising in
the wrong places and you STILL won't get customers.

Here are four must-do things to remember when you start to
promote your new business.

1. First, decide who your best customers are. Are they home
owners in a particular part of town? Are they certain sized
business in your industry?

Unless you have billions in investment capital, you can't afford
to advertise to everyone. Even if you sell something that ANYONE
would want, a limited budget means you must focus only on your
best potential customers.

After all, that only makes sense. Just twenty percent of your
customers will usually account for eighty percent of your sales.
So focus on that special twenty percent.

2. Find out what media your customers use. If you run a
nightclub, your customers probably find out about a business like
yours from radio commercials and local entertainment newspaper
listings. If you build web sites, your customers probably find
someone like you with search engines, in email newsletters, or
from referrals on popular sites.

Now focus only on media you can afford to use again and again.
People will need to see your ad several times before they decide
to buy. Far too often I see new businesses blow their entire ad
budget one big newspaper ad, TV commercial, or live radio spot.
They may get a flood of people in the store the first few days,
but then people stop coming. Now, the business doesn't have
enough money left to continue advertising, and they eventually
close their doors for good.

The nightclub owner above could advertise with cheap commercials
late at night on pop stations that closely target the age group
and lifestyle that comes to his club. The web designer might
limit his ads to a few popular ezines that provide web design
tips.

3. Sell the main benefit of your product, service, or idea.
Sure, people want to know how you started the business and how
shiny your new gizmo 2000 is, but mostly they want to know how
your product or service can SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS.

Start your ad, sales letter, commercial, or web page out by
briefly explaining a common problem you can solve. The web
designer might start: "Website not making any sales?" or, "Is
your site just a little ugly and embarrassing?"

Now she has the attention of LOTS of people who WANT and NEED her
web design skills. Next, she can list the features of her
service and connect them with the problems she solves or the
benefit the customer gets:

* Attractive graphics that get attention and load quickly, so
your customers don't click away.
* Professional copy to get prospects excited and ready to buy.
* A more logical flow from page to page, leading customers
directly to your shopping cart for more orders.

4. Get FREE publicity and FREE word of mouth. Nothing brings in
new business like an editor or broadcaster saying, "I checked
this out and thought is was important for you to know about it."

Send your press release to your local media and to trade
publications that cover your industry. Call radio talk shows
when they venture onto a topic related to your business. You can
be the expert that calls in with some advice... often slipping
your company name in during the call.

Offer media people free samples, free product to give away as
prizes, and even free donuts or pies (it's amazing how well free
food works).

And now about the FREE word of mouth. Nothing is as powerful.
When one person tells another, "I found this great place with
cool stuff you should try," it far more powerful than any ad you
could ever buy.

Work like crazy to get free word of mouth. It usually comes when
you provide more than the customer expected. Give some extra
free advice. Take a bit more time after the sale to make sure
the service is done just right. Encourage the customer. Give
them 13 when they only ordered 12.

Don't make advertising your new business too complicated. You've
got too many other things to worry about. Do these four simple
steps over and over until you find a combination that works, then
keep your plan in place consistently for a year or two. You will
watch as your customer list and sales grow steadily.