So many business owners are asking the question…now what?  They are asking what do now to promote their businesses. Although this is not an extensive list it is a good start. It is also assumed that you already have a business identity, a great website, business cards, brochures and all the other collateral printed and ready to go. Most of the suggestions are low cost and should only take a few weeks to get started.

Start Networking

Yes, I said it, networking. There are many local groups where you can go eat breakfast or lunch and hand out your business card. I know it’s painful for some but I can tell you from experience that it works. Every time I join a group I make friends and then clients.

A good tip would be to make friends first. Then see if you want to do business with this person. Then politely ask them for referrals and you do the same for them. It’s simple and will benefit you greatly. Just make sure that you can server the members and that they can serve you as well. Remember 90 percent listening and 10 percent speaking.

Join Professional Organizations

Join the local chamber of commerce and other related groups. They also have networking events to better help you spread the word about your business. You can also ask them to host a seminar for you. (You’ll probably have to pay for this.)

Speak at Events

Offer to speak about your industry for FREE at local events. You could also have free seminars at most libraries. Make sure your speech is not a sales pitch. If they like what you have to say then they will introduce themselves. Have a fish bowl there to collect business cards. Maybe you can have a drawing.

Create Publicity

Create and send out newsletters every time your company does something special. It has to be special, as most editors don’t want to publish boring details of who was promoted to Vice President. But they might think it’s a good story if you had a special event and gave a portion of the profits to a local charity.

Join Social Networking Sites

Create a Fan page on Facebook, join Twitter and LinkedIn, etc. Create a GREAT profile. If it is a fan page then use your logo. If it is a LinkedIn profile use your picture. Please make sure it is a professional picture. We don’t want to see you looking into a web cam. I am sure your dog is beautiful but that would not be appropriate either. And use your real photo. Not some person from Google images.

Then invite all your friends and colleagues to join. Just remember that you will want to use these sites to promote yourself as an expert not to tell everyone what you had for breakfast. Although it is advised to be a bit personal and you could inject some humor (be careful with the humor). You can put a personal touch in easily by suggesting books you’ve read or seminars you’ve been to or information about your favorite restaurant.

Try not to be a salesperson on Social Networking sites, it’s best to speak about your industry and give people education based marketing instead of just rambling on about the sale you have on widgets. Now, I am not saying that is not acceptable. It is, but don’t do it all the time. Give more information about your industry, then sales promotions. The sales will come.

Then follow the groups or question areas of the sites you have joined. Answer questions for free. You could also create your own group on some of the sites.

Tell your friends and family what you do for a living.

You would be shocked if I told you how many times I have to explain to my friends and family what I do for a living. Either they are not listening or they can’t comprehend it. (I think they are just being nice when asking the question for the 100th time and then being polite and shocked when I actually answer them.)

The reason to keep telling them is they also meet people you do not know and might be in the position to referrer you. So keep them updated with emails and phone calls.