Where can I find practical information abut marketing a small, at-home business?

Question

I am starting up a new business in catalog sales of gifts, novelties, home decorations, garden decorations. I need practical ideas on how I can get my name out there and start selling. I eventually want to sell online, but must raise the capital through offline sales.

Answer 1

A few free resources – check out the sources box for links:

1) Create a blog pertaining to your field

2) Use Yahoo! Local & Yahoo! Groups – Be sure to read the TOS for each one!

3) Write articles pertaining to your field and/or expertise.

4) Advertise on Craiglist

Also, consider signing up for an affiliate program. These programs enable you to advertise on other's sites (your affiliates) and once a sale is made to you, your affiliates & the program are paid a commission.

I listed a few handy sites & articles relating to marketing, promotion & advertising. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas: From America's Most Innovative Small Companies by Sam Decker
* Off The Wall Marketing Ideas: Jumpstart Your Sales without Busting Your Budget by Nancy Michaels, Debbi J. Karpowicz
* Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits by Jay Conrad Levinson
* Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide: Over 1500 Great Marketing Tricks That Will Drive Your Business Through the Roof by James Stephenson

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

There are many agencies that assist small businesses. See my webpage below...there are some links to such agencies.

Have you developed your catalog or is it in pieces yet to be assembled? Once assembled, you could make contact with companies with whom you already do business or would like to do business in order to offer your services and products.

Real estate agents often give gifts after closing to the new property owners or to the former property owners depending upon whether it was their sale or their listing. Real estate is a great way to use people skills to earn extra income, too. It takes about 6 months of training at a University or College and state testing. I am sure that if properly marketed, your company could work with those professionals who are very interested in home decorations and gardening decorations as a means or "dressing up" a home that they have listed or to "add something nice" as a thank you to someone who has purchased from their agency.

Answer 3

Get a Vendor's license from your local government and sell at events, festivals, etc...
This is a way to generate revenue w/o having a brick & mortar.
Start searching for a domain now on Yahoo or other repuable sites. Find one that you can effectively market and purchase it. Normally around $10> per year.
Once you have a domain, start working on your site. Again, Yahoo offers great opportunites to start a site.
Keep in mind, you have to have a niche in the market to effectively sell your product.

Answer 4

Well a good ROI is through targeted internet advertising. PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns on search engines have done a lot for a lot of companies, but you gotta know how to do it the right way.

also there are completely free advertising websites that rank very high in traffic... here is the link to the list of the top 10 best free websites for online advertising :

http://www.advertisesmallbusiness.com/free-online-ads

Answer 5

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Answer 6

i've been around the business world of self employment all my life. there are many catalog companies out there. if you only get a few orders from friends and relatives they have all to gain. many companies operate on this premise. i don't want to sound negative, it's just the facts mam. if it does not work out, don't feel bad many have been down this trail. but, good luck anyway.

Answer 7

There are several sites you can check out any maybe signup for their newsletters.

1) smartbiz.com
2)http://www.homebusiness-websites.com( Very good forum)
3) www.entrepreneur.com(small biz section)
4) www.inc.com( they have a few expert columns who will answer questions that you have) An excellent resource if you are starting up.

5) sba.gov
6) score.org for the mentor support programme
7)www.ability.org.uk

Answer 8

i think you might want to rethink your business plan. It should be cheaper to begin taking orders online, building up enough capital to get started an offline presence.

Answer 9

Hi,
If you want advertise your business visit http://marketingdreamz.tripod.com/...

I believe its a good place to start.

Good Luck

Answer 10

Check out your local library.