5 Low Cost Ways to Get Started Online

When you first start your business, you probably don’t have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Most of the time people start a business because they are in need of money or they want a little extra money. No matter what the reason is, you need to promote your business to get clients or customers.

In this article, you will learn five ways to advertise your business effectively and with little or no money involved.

1. Networking

Networking online is free and easy to do. You can join groups like Ryze or Myspace and network with the people that are apart of that group. With these two groups there is no fee to be apart of them. There may be some groups that charge a fee, but I don’t feel you need to pay for a group when you are just starting out. Maybe as time goes on, but not in the beginning.

2. Yahoo groups

Yahoo has tons of groups that are specific to certain products or businesses. You can also find groups for specific types of people. Groups can range from Work At Home Mom’s to Grandparents, from non-toxic products to makeup. All you have to do is a search in the Yahoo groups section and see what you can come up with. Once you join these groups, you will see the posting rules on the home page. Make sure you follow these rules so you don’t get tagged for SPAM.

3. Message boards

You can do a Google search on message boards and find all kinds. You can also post a question about message boards on your network groups. Not only can you advertise on message boards, but you can also post articles you have written and learn all kinds of things that will help you grow your business. Message boards are very versatile and that’s a great thing!

4. Link Exchanges

Link exchanges can be a wonderful thing if they are done correctly. When looking for sites to exchange links with, you don’t want to choose sites that sell the same thing as you do.

For example, if you sell Christian jewelry, you would want to find sites that are related to Christians. A site that sells Bibles would be good. Another site would be one that sells Christian music. You would not want to choose a jewelry site.

To do a link exchange, you need to send an e-mail to the site owner. Include your name, business name, a link to your home page, and a link to the page where their link will go. When you send this information, tell them you are interested in exchanging links with them. If they say yes, add their link and send a reply back with the direct link to the page their site is on and thank them for adding you as well.

5. Plugboards

Plugboards are a great way to drive traffic to your site. A plugboard is a place where you can add your button and link it to a page on your site. You can add one to your site for free and have even more traffic to your site. Plugboards are easy to install and even easier to maintain. Some of the people that use plugboards have them somewhere on their site as well. So click on one, check out the site, and add your button if they have a plugboard.

Plugboards come in many different sizes. Make sure the button you use matches the size the board is or your button will come back blurry or not readable.

There you have it. Five ways to help you get your business noticed. You won’t have to spend a lot of money if you use these tips.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant and Advertising business. She also has a free advertising tips newsletter that she creates to help others. Check out her website at www.VirtualFreedom4You.com.