Advertising on a Shoestring Budget Release Date: 07 / 25 / 2007

If your business is newly up and running, you might be facing a severe lack of finances, not to mention a minimal advertising budget. This probably strikes you as unfair: How can you grow your business if you can't afford to let people know about it? Take heart. There are plenty of advertising options available to you that will be kind to your pocketbook. Here's a few to get you started.

Message boardsAs a college student, you are in the middle of a bulletin board culture. They're in the dorms, in academic buildings, in the bookstore and eateries--they are practically inescapable. So what better place to advertise your services? The only cost you'll incur is copying your fliers, but be aware that space on these boards can be highly coveted. If you plaster a board with your ads in the morning, someone else may likely come along and cover them that night. So instead of making 100 ads and putting them all out at once, put a few up at a time and replenish them as need be. In the long run, more people will be made aware of your business this way.

Write a press releaseCreating a press release will cost you only the time it takes to write it and the charge for faxing or mailing your release to your local news outlets. If you've just started your business, its opening can be the news item. As a young entrepreneur, you also have the advantage of possessing a human interest angle in your story. At the very least, your college paper will probably want to let your community know what you're up to. If your business has been around awhile, you'll have to be a bit more creative in determining when you have something newsworthy to share. Editors usually don't appreciate receiving nothing more than a list of your products and services, so be sure to use press releases judiciously.

There are resources online and in libraries to help you correctly format a press release and figure out what information to include. The more professional your piece looks, the better your chances of grabbing an editor's attention. Also, if writing isn't a strength for you, ask one of your English major friends to proofread and offer ideas for improvement before sending your release to the media.

Online community buildingThis is as cheap as your advertising options are going to get. Online community Web sites often have sections for businesses to list their services, with categories ranging from beauty to financial to legal and everything in between. You can also get your name out to the public through online forums that relate to your business. While you likely won't be able to advertise in such an outlet, you may be able to include in your business e-mail address or a link to your Web site in your postings.  Another good option, especially if you're targeting a youth market, is to create a page for your business on the popular social networking sites. As a college student, you have access to Facebook, and a page on MySpace would also serve you well. Each time someone adds your page to their list of friends, this will be a free endorsement and a way to reach out to your liaison's other “friends” as well.

Traditional advertisingIf you have a bit more of a budget available to you, you may want to consider more traditional means of advertising. You might be pleasantly surprised to find out that running ads can be cheaper than you think. Newspaper classified ads, both in print and online editions, are quite reasonable, and you can likely afford to run the ad for a week or two. Many small businesses are turning to banner ads on Web sites, which are by and large cheaper than traditional newspaper ads. However, even there you can usually find bargains.

As newspaper circulations decline, the cost of ad space often decreases with it. You can also consider advertising with alternative or independent papers (as well as your school paper), which would be more cost effective than doing business with a conglomerate paper. Ask if there's room for negotiation on ad rates and shop around for the best deal, but don't let that be the deciding factor. If your fellow college students are your main buyers, for example, it wouldn't make sense to place an ad in a paper geared towards retirees, no matter how great of an ad rate they're willing to give. No matter the type of advertising you decide to embark upon, always keep in mind your target audience for the best returns.