100 Creative Ways to Market Your Business Offline (part 5 of 10)
By Shelly Hill41. Get some T-shirts printed up with your business information on it (both front & back) and hand them out to friends, family and co-workers. Ask them to wear them out and about in the community. This is their free gift for helping you to spread the word about your business!
OPTIONAL: Get ball caps printed up with your business info.
42. Get some canvas tote bags printed up with your business information on it. Find a few ladies who are very active in your community and ask them to use your tote bag; give it to them for free under the agreement that they will use it every time they go out in the community for errands & events.
43. Get a custom license plate made up for your vehicle. If you have your normal license plate on the back of your car, put your business named on the front. You can get one with just your business name on it for about $20-$30 per plate.
44. Wear a business name tag every time you go out into your community. Get a catchy slogan printed on it such as:
- Ask me about (your company name) products!
- I work from home, you can too!
- Earn some FREE when you party with me!
45. Local area magazines. Does your city publish a City Magazine? If so, contact them about advertising or, if they hold contests for their readers, offer to donate a product or service for their contest.
46. Check out your local area State Fairs & Community Carnivals. There are always a lot of them going on during seasonal weather.
Ask about getting a booth or table, and set it up with your business information. People love to shop at fairs and carnivals, and they are looking to spend money!
47. Get some business card magnets printed up and hand them out everywhere you go. Have your friends and family pass them out too!
People are more apt to keep a magnetic business card instead of a regular one which often just get shoved into a drawer or wallet. By having a magnetized card, your business is kept in front of the potential customer/client.
48. When you give gifts to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., make sure you give them gifts from your own company. This allows other people to see and touch your gift, meaning free business exposure for you! (Plus, you bought the gift from yourself, so you are saving money.)
49. Invite your spouse’s co-workers over to your home for a little mingling party. Serve some refreshments or do a cookout BBQ and make sure you have a table set up with some product displays.
If you sell kitchen or food products, make sure you use them!
50. Do a neighborhood children’s shopping party.
I do this before Christmas and again before Mother’s Day. I invite the neighborhood kids to come by and shop for gifts for their parents and loved ones. They enjoy shopping on their own, and parents enjoy a small break from the children!
To make this successful, make sure the products you are offering are economical. I try to keep them under $25 each, with most being around $10 each. Have a table set up with some inexpensive crafting supplies, and let the children make their own greeting cards to go with the gifts they have purchased, or have a gift wrapping table set up so they can personally wrap their gifts!
Shelly Hill has a total of over 18 years of home party and direct sales experience, and has worked from home for over 2 1/2 years. She also manages a successful online networking group for women. Visit her Tupperware site.
