Although we conduct business online; that does not mean that all of your marketing efforts should be limited to the internet. This trap is an easy one to get caught in because you can get comfortable working solely from your computer and then decide to only look for new traffic sources and customers on the internet. This is one of the worst things that you can do for your business! You are leaving a lot of money on the table by not taking advantage of offline marketing. All you is need to do is make your website’s link visible for them to see. Here are a few tips to help you market your online business to offline clients.
Flier distribution is very powerful but you need to know what your local laws say about it. Is it allowed to put one on your people’s doors? Is putting a flier underneath a car’s windshield wiper prohibited? The law part is out of the way, now it is time to get to work by printing some simple fliers out on your desktop (you can do a search online or go to your local library to learn how); if you don’t have the time then just outsource the job to a small business or a freelancer, these types of products don’t cost much. If you really your to ramp up this technique then you can hire some teenagers or someone off of Craigslist to assist you. You never know how many potential clients you can reach this way. Put a coupon code into the fliers so you can track your success!
In addition to classifieds, another great offline marketing option is display ads in newspapers. Go through your local newspaper and ask yourself where a small ad might be effective. A small ad that is only a few inches square shouldn’t cost you too much money. Make sure your ad is placed in the best section of the paper for what you are offering; in this way you can be found by droves of people who would never have seen an online ad. One trick you can use to track the effectiveness of your ad is to offer people who see the ad in the paper a coupon code they can use to purchase from you. If an ad does well, you can place it regularly; remember to include graphics in your offline ads!
Start strategically making use of pens. You can easily find a company that specializes in printing customized items to design the pens for you. Get several dozen made because they are easy to distribute. A “sneaky” method of getting rid of them is to “accidentally” leave it behind at the check-out counter when signing a check. If it is not against your workplace rules then pass some out to your coworkers and leave a few in the cafeteria. Stop by your local library and leave some at the tables and pass them out to people there. Who wouldn’t accept a free pen!
Offline marketing goes a lot deeper than this. Offline advertising does not have to be limited to just a few venues. With a little creativity, you can market your business to anybody! Most people don’t like to do business online but perhaps you can advertise a product or service that is in demand but not easy to come by in the local area. The truth of the matter is that the internet only represents a small portion of the big picture. You are only hurting your revenue when you decide to focus strictly on the internet for advertising. If you want to join to ranks of the marketing elite then you should give offline marketing some serious consideration.