Title: 
To Pay Or Not To Pay For Advertising

Word Count:
578

Summary:
When looking for the best way to market your home business there are tons of possibilities. Of course some may end up costing you more than others. Whether you want to market yourself through the internet or through regular mail, there are certainly some methods of marketing that will be more cost-effective than others.

If you have just begun your home business it probably isn't reasonable to expect to advertise yourself on a local billboard. However, it’s most certainly r...


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Article Body:
When looking for the best way to market your home business there are tons of possibilities. Of course some may end up costing you more than others. Whether you want to market yourself through the internet or through regular mail, there are certainly some methods of marketing that will be more cost-effective than others.

If you have just begun your home business it probably isn't reasonable to expect to advertise yourself on a local billboard. However, it’s most certainly reasonable to post an advertisement in your local newspaper, print flyers, mail postcards, or perhaps in places that you might not initially think of like your church bulletin. You could also post links to your website on certain forums online or if you’ll look you can find really good free classified advertising avenues to start getting the word out. Of course, they best kind of free advertising is through word-of-mouth.

Most forms of marketing have costs that range from relatively small to some that can be rather expensive. Printing fliers can be fairly low cost, but you must account for the cost of your paper and printer cartridges as you go through them.. Postcards are a very nice and effective way to advertise, but of course you have the cost of the cards first and then the postage. People love getting postcards though and they are almost always read, so you know your message is getting in front of those valuable eyes you are after. Posting an ad in a newspaper or bulletin will cost you for the ad space and even online, some sites will charge you to post your ad.

Depending on how much you are willing to pay for advertising, your sources for marketing may be limited. However, it is important to try multiple methods of advertising before deciding on the first one that shows a return. It is important to remember that if the return you are earning from an ad is not enough to pay for the cost of the ad itself, then cut it from your campaign immediately. One way to determine whether or not one of your methods of marketing is profitable is to survey your customers. When they go to make their purchase, have a way for them to respond to the question of how they heard about you. Knowing where your best return is coming from is crucial to your advertising success. Initially, the best strategy is to test, test, test. Test each advertising method and increase those that show the best return while eliminating those that are just costing you time and money. The money you save from eliminating the non-productive methods can then be reallocated to marketing strategies that you know are working well.

It will take some time to find the best marketing solution for your home business. Ultimately the best return may come from a combination of methods, so it is very important never to limit yourself to a single avenue for advertising. You will constantly be searching for the best solution that brings in the most revenue at the lowest cost.

So to answer the question of whether to pay or not to pay for advertising, the answer is a resounding BOTH. Pay AND don’t pay. :-) Paying for quality advertising really is a must, although it does not have to be expensive. On the other hand, there are numerous ways to get your message out that cost nothing or next to it.