Creating A Buzz On A Budget
By Jeffrey Solochek

When starting a new most people are trying not to overspend. So one of the places they cut back on is in advertising which is actually very important when starting a new venture. We all can't afford a 30 second spot during the super Bowl but there are a lot of things that we can do that won't cost us a lot.

If you have a vehicle of some sort, whether a car, truck, or van, why not use it as a travelling billboard? You can start with magnetic signs, they are very inexpensive and if you do a lot of driving then a lot of people will see your signs. Now if you have a very nice car and your worried about the finish then what about plastic letters adhered to your window(s)? This can be very effective and very low in cost but you gotta think about this, when people stop for traffic lights, railroad crossings or just for a stop sign their eyes will scout the area. This is a very common thing that almost everybody does. Did you ever stop at a railroad crossing and see these signs that are stuck in the ground with advertising for a mortgage company? They're not being put there because they don't work.

in fact I know of several companies that are selling the service of putting up these signs for small businesses. Again with window lettering you need to use good ad copy have the domain saveupto90percent.com and I had this on my back window of my car. It aroused curiosities when people saw this that they came to my website just to see what they would save up to 90% on. With any advertising you don't want to give them everything, you want them to have questions in their mind so that they will visit your site, your store, or call you to have these questions answered. It's like when leaving a message on an answering machine. If you say to much then why would these people call you back?

When I had a retail computer store I wanted to build a mailing list of possible customer's so I started a raffle. When someone first filled out an entry they got a mousepad with my banner on it. These cost me less than a dollar each which I figured that meant that I had a dollar into each customer. The raffle was for a $1,000 shopping spree in my store and i collected entries for a year before I held the raffle. i then had the winner, which was an eleven year old boy, announced on the local radio. This kid's name was andy and he is responsible for so many referrals. The $1,000 shopping spree maybe only cost me about $400 but I did so much new because of this promotion.

Business cards, another low cost advertising mechanism. don't just put your name and phone on them put your website if you have one, your email address, and a one line description of what your does. Now the next thing that needs to be done with your cards is a visit to your local book store. if you are a Real

estate agent or a mortgage broker then go to the section where all the real estate books are and put one of you cards in the bindings of each of the books. somebody who wants more info on buying a house or obtaining a mortgage is going to go to the bookstore and start looking at all the books on this subject. then they will see your card. If you sell to small businesses then put your biz cards in the section where people go for books on business.

Another area is the magazine section. besides your local book store's what about in your local grocery store/ Do you have a store that sells gift's, what about the local airport, bus terminals, doctors office's? the ideas are endless but you have to figure that somebody will be reading these publication's and they might see your card.

Regarding radio advertising, did you ever consider AM radio? I used to pay less than 45 per spot for sixt second spots. it was a news talk radio station that also played CNN headline news. People driving in traffic, listening to AM radio were all hearing my commercials. when doing radio advertising it is still expensive if you target certain shows but what i did was called blanket advertising. i would buy a certain number of spots per 24 hour period.

what about advertising at your local movie theater? In between movies, while you are waiting for the next movie, you see advertisments on the screen. These cost maybe a few hundred dollars but a lot of people were seeing them. In Nashville, TN. you could advertise in bathrooms. You have to figure that men using the urinals had nothing to look at but the tile wall in front of them. In Nashville their was a company that sold signs, billboards, in the stalls and above the urinals. it was very effective. i discovered this method when i was at a good restaurant and had to use the Men's room.

All the local Chinese restaurants and pizza places hire people to hang flyers on all the doors in a certain area. What about having these people hang your flyers at the same time? If your doesn't compete with the local pizza or Chinese restaurants a lot of them will do this for you at a very minimal, if any, charge.

If you have a website and don't want to spend the money for advertising then make sure your site has good content. Articles about specific topics, Search engines love these sites and you will still get great ranking's. it may take a little longer than paying a company to promote your site but it does work. Look at my NosugarCoating site. The first page has a ranking of 4 but yet I never had the money to spend on Search Engine sumbmission service's or any other type of promotion. Jeffrey has over 2 decades experience in the world. When he writes he blends his unique wit and humour into every article which if you rread his blog you can see all of his many works. http://www.nosugarcoating.info

We strive to provide only quality articles, so if there is a specific topic related to business that you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time.

And again, thank you to those contributing daily to our creating a budget website.

The New Customers Are In Town
Today's customers are increasingly demanding, in Asia as elsewhere in the world. Henry Astorga describes the complex reality faced by today's marketers, which includes much higher expectations than we have been used to. Today's customers want performance, and they want it now!
Bridge Story - A Tale of Two Dragon Cities
For first time visitors to China, one of the most stunning entry points is Shanghai. The view from the mouth of the Yangze River, which looks out over Shanghai and other cities, reveals an incredible urban and industrial panorama, clearly one of the most rapidly developing areas among all the cities of the world. And yet . . . The Chinese have described themselves as "A plate of scattered sand grains" that would never join or unite with each other. Piset, in his latest Awakening Dragon column, tells the story of Two Bridges to illustrate just some of the underlying dynamics of China's explosive economic growth.
Barrel of Monkeys, 2004 Edition: Notes on Philippine Elections
Well, it's election time in the Republic of the Philippines, and that means the monkeys are rolling around in those political barrels, having as much fun as they can while laughing their heads off at the strange goings-on that characterize a democratic process loosely based on the American model but that de facto looks more like a Fellini movie crossed with a Tom and Jerry cartoon - column includes a useful election-year glossary!
Globalization Circa 2003: Random Reflections
The word 'globalization' seems to have evolved into a cliche and handy dandy fighting word for ideologues. The alternative (and often conflicting) definitions and interpretations are enough to make you dizzy.
Oldsmobile: The final parking lot
Why General Motors dropped the Oldsmobile. The four brand paradoxes GM had to face - the name, the product, image re-positioning, and the consumer - all added up to a brand that had little hope of rebranding.
Not All Jobs Belong To The White Man: Asian Minorities, Affirmative Action, And The Quest For Parity At Work
Although a smattering of Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Thais, and others may crow about seeing their kind sitting in prominent positions in corporations and organizations in the USA, these accomplishments become mere cultural high-fives and ritualistic chest-thumping goaded and impishly patronized by 'mainstream society' - the milder and gentler term for the white-dominated populace.
Downhome Pinoy Blues, Intersecting Life Paths, and Heartbreak Songs
The Blues is alive and well in the Philippines, as evidenced by this appreciation of the Pinoy Blues band 'Lampano Alley', penned by columnist Clarence Henderson as a counterpoint to his usual economics, business, and culture fare.
The Best Places in Asia Survey
Thailand, after escaping the worst ravages of SARS and terror attacks, is the place of choice for APMF readers right now in our 'Best Places in Asia' survey. After more than 5,000 votes since March 2003, Thailand dominates the tourism categories (Best Business Hotel, Restaurant, Hawker Food, Tourist Resort, Bar, and Guest House) but Bali, Hong Kong, and Malaysia lead other sections such as Best Airline, Airport, City, and Tourism Destination.
Best Cities in Asia for Living
Chiang Mai is the surprise leader in the newest category of the APMF Asian Business Travel Survey, nudging out Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong as the most livable city in Asia. Add your vote and reasons to make your opinion count. Our Best Airlines survey has also surpassed the 1,000 respondent mark, with Cathay Pacific extending their lead over Singapore Airlines.
The Real Time Modern Manila Blues: Bill Monroe Meets Muddy Waters in the Orient
Globalization does strange things to people. A day in the life of a Manila Philippines based business consultant - proving that you really CAN talk about Muddy Walters, bluegrass and work all on the same page...
Best Asian Tourism Destinations
The new APMF survey of the best Asian tourism destinations has just kicked off, but it's crowded at the top, with Chiang Mai in Thailand just leading from perennial favourites Hong Kong, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, and Bali in Indonesia. Be one of the first to vote and let us know your reasons.
What are the best cities for business in Asia?
One of our new categories in the APMF Sense of Place survey is for best Asian business city. After a couple of days, Singapore leads the pack, followed by Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong. Enter your vote and comments and make your views count. More new categories include best city for livability, and best tourism destinations.