Five creative ways to promote your business

Whether you own a restaurant, retail store, or service business you likely be able to benefit from these five creative ways to promote your business.

1. Hand Stamps – I actually seen this idea within an article on Entrepreneur.com and thought it was an awesome idea that I had to share. How often do you attend an event in which you get your hand stamped as evidence of having purchased a ticket? Why not work out deal with the organization hosting the event in which you supply the stamps, ink, and maybe even volunteer at the event to take tickets and stamp hands in exchange for your stamp to allow a branding opportunity. Perhaps the stamp could simply have a web address, a coupon for an after event dining experience, or whatever your creative mind enables you to implement. Just think of all the events that occur at your local middle schools and high schools; sporting events, plays, concerts, etc.
2. Fill Er’ Up! – The goal of marketing is get to in front of as many people as possible and make a solid and memorable impression. How about arranging a few hours in which you spend at a busy gas station in which you agree to pump gas for the stations customers in exchange for the opportunity to pass out a flyer or brochure about your organization. The customer getting gas will surely appreciate not having to get out on a cold/hot day and pump gas plus you have the opportunity to meet the driver while waiting for the vehicle to fill up. Do you really want to be the talk of the town? Dress up in a silly costume while you do this and you’ll not only get the attention of people at the gas station but also amongst people just driving by. They almost always ask “what’s going on over at the gas station I seen a man in a pirate costume”.
3. Purchase Word of Mouth Advertising – Ummmm… Contraire to popular belief word of mouth advertising doesn’t have to be from your most satisfied clients nor do you need to wait for it in order to get it. Hire a few people to go around town and spread the word through casual conversation. For example, they could stand a bus stop and ask someone waiting in line if they tried the new restaurant just around the corner? How about in elevator? While standing in line at the shopping mall or local ice cream shop? The opportunities are endless and the benefits good be quite beneficial.
4. A Little Old School with Some New School – Depending on where you’re from flea markets might be the greatest thing since the invention of television or they might carry a reputation for being the poor man’s place to shop.  Either way flea markets are becoming once again popular in light of our current economic conditions. They often times offer a decent amount of space for really cheap and enable you to get in front of more people than just sitting inside an office/store with no traffic or waiting at home for someone to jump onto your website and order.
5. Conduct a TeleSeminar – I got a lot to know; so tell me what you know! I have yet to come across an industry in my head that wouldn’t be able benefit from hosting a teleseminar in some way, shape, or form. Simply promote through the newspaper, flyers, door knob hangers, postcards, etc. the date, time, and subject you’ll be providing a free teleseminar for and in order to get the phone number to call in they have to register either by phone or online; which enables you to capture their information. You then can provide consumers with information pertaining to your industry during the call or answer questions. For example, if you are in the mortgage business you could talk about how to purchase a home for zero down; real estate agents could discuss how to get more money out of your home when you’re selling; a doctor could talk about ways to stay healthy, the opportunity is endless and the opportunity to pitch your product or service has never been better as most conference call lines enable you to have 150-250 callers on at once. You can find free conference call lines/bridge lines with just a quick search on your favorite search engine.

 Now take a moment and share your thoughts on these five promotional opportunities to grow your business and take the “article challenge” in your comment below!

Take The Article challenge: How creative can you get? There is certainly more creative ways to promote your business than just the five listed above. Take a moment to share you most unique promotional idea through your comment below.

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