10 Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

10 Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

by Sharif Khan



Nothing happens in business until a sale is made. Marketing is simply

about getting new customers and keeping them. If you're not doing

something everyday to market and promote your business, your competitors

are. Here are ten easy-to-implement tips to effectively market and grow

your business:



1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross

promote each oher. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or

service to their email database and you'll offer to do the same to your

list.



2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently

updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers.

It's more personal and immediate then a website and keeps people engaged

and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at

www.blogger.com.



3. Create an educational or promotional DVD movie of your business to

increase sales and spread word-of-mouth. It's not as expensive as you

may think: www.paytribute.net cost effectively produces high-quality,

personalized DVD movies for clients.



4. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond

normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and

affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without

having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino, and a fresh

newspaper.



5. Always ask happy clients for endorsements or testimonials and put

them on your website and other marketing collateral. They're worth their

weight in gold. Try to get some recognizable names in your community for

additional cachet.



6. Put a special offer or product advertorial on every invoice and

statement you send out. Likewise, you can also negotiate a deal with

another company to advertise your product or service on all their

invoices for a percentage of revenues from placed orders.



7. Make your business cards stand out and be natural keepers. Offer

important information on the back such as emergency phone numbers, a

map, or special dates to remember. Have a slogan that offers a powerful

benefit statement to your prospective customer.



8. Offer special bonus packages with your product or service offering.

Get corporate sponsors to give away products as part of the bonus

package in exchange for free exposure.



9. Align your business with a cause or charity. Give back to your

community. Customers appreciate doing business with companies that are

bettering their

communities and the environment and being good corporate citizens.



10. Post frequently in online message boards/forums relevant to your

business or expertise. Include your signature and offer tips and

valuable advice. Eventually you will begin gaining word-of-mouth

exposure as a leader in your field. Posting messages with your company

information also helps to increase your search engine rankings and drive

traffic to your site.



[Excerpted from Sharif Khan's new ebooklet: "101 Ways to Market Your

Business"].



Sharif Khan is a professional speaker, writer, coach, and author of

Psychology of the Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the hero

within and developing people's leadership potential. For more

information, visit http://www.herosoul.com. Email: sharif@herosoul.com

Tel:(416)417-1259