Blogging: Free Marketing for You

Do you hunt for free marketing treasure like I do? Looking for free marketing opportunities is well worth the time. I hate to say it (because you are thinking you cannot do this) but a professional blog is one of the easiest and most valuable assets you could have in your marketing treasure chest. With the right process and content, you can point clients, prospects, professional peers, and others to really find out what you are all about and what you do.

There are many free blog sites, such as Blogger and Wordpress for you to join - just do a Google search.

Aw...you say...I can't write, I don't write, I have no time to write. Then, I have to mess around with figuring out the blog templates and process.

Me too! I find that writing posts for my blogs are often pushed aside and I never "get to it." One of the road blocks is the process of having to go on the Internet to my blog site, sign in, and use the template. The template sometimes goes goofy on me and I have to redo my work, then once posted I have to edit again and again to get it tweaked. It gets frustrating!

Maybe this will help me and perhaps you!! I discovered Windows Live Writer. You can write your posts offline and use it like any other software on your own computer. No glitches and no slow Internet connections. The choice to publish immediately or to schedule your post is very useful.

This is my first post offline for this blog and to be published through Windows Live Writer! Tell me how it looks!

In the next few posts we will work through how you can use your existing content for your blog and how to market your blog online. Stay tuned!

Small Business Marketing: You Are Not Alone

As a small business owner, do you ever feel like it's just you and your dollar bill flapping in the breeze when it comes to a commitment to marketing?

You will soon read that it does not take a million dollars and it is not rocket science.

It takes a village. A network. Cheerleaders. Opportunities. Friendships. Ingenuity. Creativity. Consistency. And focus.

I am the epitome of a small business owner, it is just me over here, and I have few marketing dollars. A lot of what you will read comes from personal experience and hard knocks along the way.

In my role as a marketing communications consultant for small businesses, I often find clients resistant to the idea of a marketing plan, as if putting it on paper will uncontrollably suck dollars out of the bank account. (It is not true, by the way). The fact is, having a marketing plan can save money.

In the next many posts, we are going to work through your marketing plan, bit by bit. So, pull out several sheets of paper and a pencil and keep them handy.

Assignment:
Write at the top of your paper a dollar figure that you are willing to spend on marketing your small business for the next 8 months – the rest of 2008. Don’t panic! If it is $0.00 that is OK but write it down and own it.

Marketing for Small Businesses

Small businesses have a huge challenge - and that is to fund, commit to, and implement a marketing plan. Often, small business owners feel that they cannot afford to market or they don't know where to start.

Check here often to find simple ways to promote, market, and tell the world about your small business!

This blog is dedicated to empowering small business owners across the world to market their products and services. Get out there and tell the world you are great!