One thing we know is that people are innately selfish. When we hear about a product, we automatically evaluate it by its usefulness to us and this is something that can work in your favor.

When marketing your product or business, avoid talking about what you have put into it. Your clients don`t really care if you spent 3 years developing your dream, they just want to know what`s in it for them. By giving them the benefits first, you`ll find that your sales will tend to go up.

What does your product do? Don`t just describe this, tell people how it will help them in particular. If you offer a new type of umbrella, let them know why this umbrella will keep them drier than a regular one. Point out how snazzy they`ll look, walking down the street with one of your specially designed umbrellas.

People want to know how you can help them, not the other way around, so play that into your marketing and you`ll go places.

There are a lot of advantages to having an online business presence, even if it is just one webpage describing what you do. Offline businesses are rapidly discovering that it pays to get involved in online publicity, as it can really boost sales.

For the offline diehards who think that the internet is highly overrated and unnecessary, it`s important to remember that most of your clients, possibly all of them, turn to the internet when they are looking for products and services. Even if they plan to buy locally at a store, they will still research quality, brand and prices online first. It`s the way we work these days.

Online publicity has many aspects and you can choose the ones that fit your business best, from setting up a webpage or blog to online advertising and giveaways. There`s something for everyone and it all tends to be effective for driving traffic to your offline website.

Don`t leave online publicity and advertising out of your promotion budget. It`s definitely worth doing.

Marketing Charts reports that most SMBs will maintain or increase their ad spending this year, and many will increase their online ad spending.

Among the most interesting statistics reported in the new study are:

• 47% of SMBs expect to maintain their spending on ads in the next 12 months while 34% expect to increase it
• 31% will make the decision based on ad performance and ROI
• 40% of SMBs plan to add customer reviews to their own websites
• 30% will add links or place ads on social sites or blogs
• 26% will incorporate video on their websites

These are encouraging statistics. If 81% of small businesses plan to maintain or increase their ad spending then it means the economy is not having as big an impact on business as we are being told. A clear 56% of small businesses will make advertising decisions based what is happening internally within their companies. At least 40% of small businesses will do some kind of Internet marketing this year.

I only see these numbers going up in the near future. If that happens then the necessity of doing business online will only increase, which will lead to more online advertising. The future of business is on the Web.

A one time ad that costs your entire marketing budget very rarely is worth it. While many large companies can afford to buy huge television ads that will play over and over again, it is fairly rare that a smaller business can do so. The importance of this? The average consumer needs to hear your message at least 7 times . . . so a one up ad, as impressive as it may be, just doesn´t cut it.

To really stretch your marketing budget, you need to know how to make it work for multiple viewings. Investing that money in something that consumers will see or hear over and over again is definitely worth it and you´ll find that your rate of return is far better this way.

What kind of marketing investments lead to repeat viewings? Here are a handful of ideas.

• Billboards
• Repeated ads in a local paper
• Logo printed pens and keychains
• Classified magazine ads
• T-shirts printed with your logo
• Car ads/bumper stickers

You can probably come up with a whole lot more ideas for repeat exposure with a single marketing investment. Why not share your ideas in the comments so we can all benefit?

There are plenty of traditional marketing techniques that can help increase your sales and make your business more public. The traditional marketing ideas that have survived this long have done so because they are successful, so you can use them with confidence.

1. Contests. These are always a popular method of traditional marketing. You can really make a contest work for you, especially if you are giving away some great prizes. The media is usually more than happy to broadcast contests for free.
2. Affiliates. Getting other people to sell for you in return for a small percentage can really help boost publicity. After all, what is better, having one person talking about the business or ten?
3. Sponsoring. This is a traditional marketing technique that is very popular because it works. Sponsor a Little League team or a high school soccer team to get more publicity. This will have your business logo plastered everywhere. Or you can sponsor events, with your logo on the tents and chairs.

Traditional marketing is a great way to go these days. Even small businesses can manage to get some traditional style publicity and make more sales off it. Look around at other small businesses and how they are doing marketing in your area to get some ideas, then make them all your own by tailoring them to your business.

Traditional marketing techniques dictate that we should give people the “why”. Why should they buy your product? Why should they hire you to perform service? Human beings are curious and we´re always looking for a reason behind everything, something that often presents itself when we are told to buy.

Your advertising campaigns will be far more effective if you give people a good reason to buy from you. There are several ways to give them the why in your ads.

• Offer a Q and A. Having a mini FAQ in your ad is the perfect way to get your point across.
• Dialog. A conversation between two people or characters can be a handy method to let people know why they should buy your products.
• Bullet points. Go for straightforwardness and honesty with bullet points that state exactly why they should consider your product or services.
• Leave it to pictures. Using photos or drawings to show the why can be a very effective medium in traditional marketing.

Traditional marketing has a lot of little tricks and nuances to learn, but giving people a good reason to go with your company for their needs is a very good start. You´ll be surprised at how well people respond to reason!

Copywriting is a very important part of small business promotion. While it´s often better to hire this type of work out, if you do decide to do it in house, there are a few ways to make your copywriting better, as well as create more professional looking copy.

Short is better. Keeping your sentences short keeps them memorable. Think of Nike´s “just do it”. Short words are better than long ones, too.

Avoid jokes and riddles. No need to make your copy hard to understand. It should be written simply so that even those with only a few years of education can understand . . . but don´t talk down to your clients.

Benefits up front. Make sure your copywriting elaborates on the benefits that your customer will receive . . . that´s what interests them most and will sell your products.

Never stop learning. You can always afford to learn more about copywriting or any other marketing topic, for that matter. Make sure you read everything you can on the topic.

Copywriting is a valuable skill to have, if you have the time to learn it. If not, you are definitely better off getting a professional writer to do your copywriting, to ensure the best results. There´s no point in spending money on a campaign that won´t ever go anywhere because of poor writing.

Most small businesses could use some marketing tips that relate to them, rather than large businesses with massive advertising budgets. While a huge budget can really go places, there´s no reason you can´t get great publicity on a low budget . . . you just have to work smarter.

Budget Marketing Tips

Make it worthwhile. There´s no reason to buy some one time ad that will use all of your advertising budget and cause you to go bankrupt if you can´t guarantee a high ROI. Each and every marketing campaign needs to be very carefully thought out and planned in a small business because you can´t afford to waste a single penny.

Use the 7 times rule. In general, your customers need to hear your marketing message at least 7 times before they buy. Using all your money on just one ad isn´t a great idea, then. Instead, look for ways to make sure you get your business in front of people multiple times, such as with a free newsletter or samples.

Use various marketing channels. Appealing to your target market via an assortment of methods is an excellent way to catch their attention. For example, you might have a print newsletter, send them an email and have a local radio ad . . . three different mediums that will catch people´s attention.

Get help. There´s no reason you have to do everything yourself. Write a smoking press release and send it to your local paper or anyone else who might be interested in your story. This can net you free publicity and gives you more credibility, people tend to believe what they read in the paper.

All of these marketing tips are for low budget ad campaigns that any small business can use. Remember that you need to be able to repeat a successful ad, so don´t use your entire budget on just one!

There are some traditional marketing techniques that are still extremely effective, even in this day and age of internet marketing. There is nothing wrong with using older techniques if they work, but it´s often a good idea to use them in combination with non-traditional marketing methods as well.

Introduce something new. Each time you change something in your business or bring out a new product, you have the opportunity to expand your sales base. New customers will be attracted by new products and may buy some of your other items, as well. Recurring customers can be reminded of your business with a flyer or catalog featuring new products or even just a newsletter letting them know of any updates.

Stand out. Unless you have a very unique business, you have competition and you will attract more customers by simply standing out from the crowd. You can do this by providing faster or better service or free add-ons, etc. Finding a way to do things better than the competition is a tried and true marketing technique that can work for you.

Advertise the end result. If you´ve ever seen an ad for a weight loss product, you´ve seen this traditional marketing tip in action. Rather than promote the pill or video first, they show you pictures of people with six pack abs and say something like, “Wouldn´t you like to look like this?” They promote the end result and it works to catch your attention. People are more interested in what your product will do for them, what problem it will solve than the product itself.

Traditional marketing is still very effective. Using these techniques will move your business forward and help you gain publicity and sales, something that every business, big or small can use.

If not, you might need some help. You can have the best website design, the coolest flyers, and the hottest posters in the business, but if your copywriting isn´t up to par . . . there´s no point. You won´t sell enough to pay for all those pretty graphics!

Great Copywriting . . .

• Grabs people´s attention

• Makes them imagine how their life could be better

• Causes them to need your product

• Gets them to take action (hopefully buying) right now!

Is your copywriting doing all of the above? If not, it´s time to start rethinking your campaigns. Copywriting is one area that it really pays to hire outside help, especially if you aren´t particularly good at it. Without great copy, all your advertising will just go to waste.