10 Simple, Local Promotions for Your Small Business

So you’ve hung out your shingle and now you’re just waiting for the clients and their dough to start rolling in. You’re waiting… And waiting…

The clients who desperately need your services are likely out there – perhaps even next door – but the problem is that they don’t know you’re there.

That’s where these simple, local promotion ideas come into play. Implement some of these strategies, and pretty soon you’ll have neighbors beating down your doors:

Attend Local Networking Events – Start with your local Chamber of Commerce or simply search “networking event + your city.” Do you know what types of clients you want to target? Wonderful! Find networking events where they are likely to hang out and be sure to arrive early.
Join a Professional Organization and go to meetings – Making friends with others in your line of work is a great way to get leads on who’s hiring and learn new tips and tricks to excel in your industry.
Leave a Bread Crumb Trail of Business Cards – Never leave home without your business cards or flyers. Leave them behind at the places you frequent. Think of all the people you interact with every day and hand a card to that especially friendly barista or your new insurance agent. Though they might not need your services, they may well recommend you when a friend does.
Take Out a Free YellowPages.com Ad – While a stellar web presence is fine and dandy, many people prefer to find businesses the old fashioned way, through directories. YellowPages.com offers free ads to small businesses. And don’t stop there. Consider placing ads in other popular local directories, both online and in print.
Sponsor a Local Event – Sponsoring school plays, sports teams, holiday events, and even concerts is a great way to get your business name in front of the people in your community.
Send a Press Release to Local Publications – Identify one interesting or unusual thing about your business and send a press release about it to local publications. Community newspapers and blogs especially like to share interesting local news.
Offer to Speak About Your Specialty at Networking Events – When you speak at an event, you are the star of the show. Demonstrate your expertise to a captive audience and can bet that some of them will come away thinking of hiring you.
Volunteer Your Services – Through volunteer work, you can meet others who care about the same issues you do. Plus, if you volunteer in your field, you can gain trusted local references to show off the next time a client asks about your experience.
Host a Giveaway – In a post on FreelanceFolder.com, Mike Smith detailed his tried and true way for winning local clients through contests. He suggests leaving a fishbowl at a local hot spot and then asking people to drop in their business cards for a chance to win a prize. The winner will be very pleased with you, of course, but the real value comes from letting everyone know their win or lose status by sending everyone a nice letter or email with your promotional items and asking them to keep you in mind if they ever need your services. (Note that areas have varied laws about contests, so check that out before getting way more than you bargained for out of your giveaway.)
Remember, the Sky is the Limit –On his indie music promotion blog, Bob Baker talks about a couple of local DJs who convinced local eateries to give them free publicity by naming menu items after them. Nathan’s Famous became popular by offering free meals to doctors and nurses. Guerrilla marketers use land, sea, air and even manhole covers to get their messages across. Your marketing efforts are only limited by your imagination.