Free Advertising

[danieljex]

We are a new customized computer business.

Do you know where we can get Free or Cheap advertising?

Thanking you in advance

[Andrewgadd]

Hello
I don't think free advertising exists - but if there is any, I wish someone would tell me where it is!

The nearest you'll get is Public Relations. Get an article printed in the paper / magazine of your choice. Write is as though the newsreporter wrote it, and make it newsworthy. Don't try and sell, just give them something interesting to read. It is really quite a specialised area, and can be very timeconsuming. The link to my own site might provide more info than I can type here:

http://syob.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/page4.html

If this doesn't answer your question, just let me know and I'll try to assist.

Good luck!

[annepink]

Forgive me if I start with a little bit of a lecture! I never cease to be amazed by people who set up in business without determining a marketing strategy which includes building in a marketing budget into your business plan. Without customers you don't have a business so you need to identify ways of reaching customers. Advertising is just one means of doing that and if for example the ad was to appear in a newspaper then you are paying them for the opportunity to reach the target audience they have attracted by producing the product (they have invested in journalists, production staff sales staff accounts buildings distribution etc etc). It has value and is worthy of payment.

The skill is to identify the most cost effective method of reaching your target audience. So, can you define your target audience? Who uses the serivces you offer? For example, is it large corporates, SMEs or private individuals, or indeed all 3. Then you can start to determine which marketing methods are most likely to attract their attention, whether it's a direct mail letter, a leaflet, an ad in a paper or magazine (which paper which mag). etc. It isn't an unnecessary cost, it's an investment, although done incorrectly can lead to wasted money and even good marketing dosn't come with guarantees.

As our other contributor said press releases can bring results (if the people who read them are the right audience) but that isn't free, it requires time and effort and lots of persistence contacing lots of contacts frequently.

If you want to tell me a bit more about the services you offer and who your 'ideal client' is, I will be happy to give you some tips.

[Shellfish]

Hello Danieljex,

I'd agree with the good points made already on PR and planning a strategy, but there are 2 forms of 'free' advertising that spring to mind.

One is web directories - I do a service related to babies, weddings and funerals, and there are about 20 directories where I have a free listing, and these do at least generate some traffic for my website. I assume you have a website if you're in computing, but even if you don't, it's worth getting on those directories which will show your phone number and company name (especially if it's a helpful name like XXXX Computer Recovery Services or something similar). Although it'll be different for you, as business to business services don't always have the same type of directories, there may be some out there that will list you totally free (e.g. Yell.com, the Thompson, UFindUs and others) - a search on 'computer services directory' on Google might be a useful place to start.

The other form of 'free' advertising, although it's maybe more PR, is word of mouth recommendations. Do you have happy customers already? If so can you quote them on your website? Can you offer them any incentive to spread the word (e.g. 'Refer a friend and get a free PC healthcheck for your own company')? A way to encourage this type of referral is to use these 'happy customer' quotes (with their permission of course) in your PR.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your idea,

Shellfish