by Susan C. Daffron
Many creative professionals don't have big money to spend on promotion. If you are desperately seeking a few easy and inexpensive ways to get start getting the word out about what you do, here are five ideas.
The most expensive product or service is the one that doesn't sell. So do surveys or talk to people to find out what they need.
Educate yourself on marketing tactics. Once you have accepted that you need to market, go to the library and start learning about tactics. Also don't be afraid to talk about what you do.
Focus on action. Doing something is better than doing nothing. And whatever you do be consistent. For example, I have been sending out regular newsletters for about 8 years. It's inexpensive and has led to more opportunities than I can count.
If you are really strapped for cash, focus on online marketing methods. The beautiful thing about online marketing is that you can so easily track what works and what doesn't. Say you spend $100 for an ad in a magazine. You never really know if it did much of anything. If you spent that same $100 on creating a Web site and starting a newsletter, you can track who clicked through from your newsletter to your Web site. You can tweak and change your message endlessly, until you find things that work for your market.
Susan Daffron aka The Book Consultant is the President and Webmaster of WPN. She is the author of 12 books, including Publishize: How to Quickly and Affordably Self-Publish a Book That Promotes Your Expertise. Susan owns a book and software publishing company called Logical Expressions, Inc., which offers book layout, design and consulting services.
You can read more of Susan's publishing articles on the Book Consultant Web site.
