Advertising & Marketing advice?

Eric, if I were you, I'd pocket your cash and network at places like NWEN and TIE. They are full of entrepreneurs who would be looking to set up hosting for their new businesses.

Hi Eric,

I agree with Giannina, there's lots you can do without spending a lot of money.

-Perhaps you could partner with some freelance web designers/content writers--their clients are usually in need of your services. Plus, when your prospects are working with a designer or writer they are HIGHLY motivated buyers.

-You could write and post articles about your services on related blogs.

-Instead of Pay Per Click, you could buy advertising on blogs or websites where your ideal clients might visit. I might be more cost efficient. Of course, you'd have to check.

Good luck with your marketing! It's always nice to have a little cash cushion you can play around with.

Eric,

Give drop me a line if you want to talk about about internet marketing. I've worked with Blue Box Group for the past few months on their online marketing campaign.

-j

Hi Eric, another idea is Local AdLink. Although you are not tied to any geographic area, you can target a couple hundred zip codes for a lot less money than pay-per-clicks. Direct message me if you want to know more and I could send you in the right direction.

~bob

Eric, You may consider taking that $500 and putting it towards setting up an affiliate program such as those provided by clixgalore.com or darkblue.com. That way you're only paying for new clients. Unfortunately, affiliate programs tend to build slowly and often never gain traction, but the good news is if it doesn't work you can get your money back. Other than that, in general, I agree with others' suggestions to focus on marketing without spending money until your budget is much larger.

If I was in your shoes, I would consider creating a 6-12 month initiative, designed to target a specific aspect of your business needs - something geared toward driving sales through a combination of online direct marketing, such as creating a micro site with a landing page that drives users to communicate virally about your initiative. Then create a grass-roots style messaging campaign designed to drive people to your site. By spacing this initiative out over time, you could really help spread the word and have the kind of funding (3-6k) that could make you look like a superstar for executing clean, crisp strategy that is well thought out and targeted at the right audience. I wouldn't spend a penny on traditional advertising if I was you.

Learn about do-it-yourself publicity and make magic happen in the local, trade, and online media by sharing your expertise with your ideal customers and offering guidance and advice to problems your clients are eager to solve.

I teach workshops on this topic, and the DIY publicity blog at www.mainstreetmediasavvy.com is a free resource to get you fast on your path to DIY publicity expertise without spending a dime.

I hope you'll take a look and make every penny of your new budget work magic for your business.