Are you trying to market your company online? Well, who isn’t? But do you know how to market your company online without spending too much money?
If you don’t have a lot of cash and you are trying to market your company online, don’t worry, as companies have been able to succeed without spending much money on marketing. To prove it, not only will I share 21 big marketing ideas that don’t cost too much money, but also I’ll also give you examples of companies who have succeeded using each tactic.
Big marketing idea #1: Comment on blogs
A great way to get your website popular is to comment on other blogs. For this to work you have to leave comments on blogs that are related to your website and the comments you leave have to be insightful.
If people feel that your comments are detailed and insightful not only will they keep on reading your comments, typically they’ll also head over to your website (when you leave a comment on a blog, they typically ask for your website URL).
Although this tactic seems simple, it is very effective. Just look at Mashable, Pete Cashmore made that blog popular by commenting on competing blogs like TechCrunch when he first launched it. He literally left hundreds of comments and now he has one of the most popular websites on the Internet.
Big marketing idea #2: Leverage message boards
Message boards may sound boring and dull because they’ve been around for years, but they are still effective. There are millions of message boards on the Internet and there is one for almost every topic.
If you can leave messages on popular boards like Yahoo Message Boards and give people good advice, it can drive a lot of traffic to your website.
Timothy Sykes is notoriously known for this and that’s how he made his website popular. Through message boards he is able to drive over 5000 visitors to his site each month and this has lead him to create an online business that generates over $150,000 a month in revenue.
Big marketing idea #3: Optimize your website for search engines
Google is the most popular website on the Internet, so why wouldn’t you leverage it? Through search engine optimization you can rank higher on Google so you can get more visitors to your website.
One way of doing this is to pay a marketing firm, but as you know that can be costly. Another way of doing SEO is to learn it yourself. By reading the Beginner’s Guide to SEO and by following these link building tactics you should be able to rank higher on the search engines.
A few companies that have leveraged SEO fairly well are About.com, Wikipedia, Craigslist, Amazon, and Zappos. And an example of a smaller company that has done this is Bargaineering, which was acquired by Bankrate for 2.8 million.
Big marketing idea #4: Start a blog
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are running, you can still have a blog. With my startup KISSmetrics, our blog accounts for over 70% of our monthly traffic. That traffic is then converting into leads for our sales department to follow up on and then close into customers.
If you are going to create a blog for your company, you should do the following:
- Host the blog on your domain name (blog.domain.com or domain.com/blog)
- Write good content, and don’t constantly pitch your company in your posts.
- Create a community by responding to each blog comment.
Big marketing idea #5: Google local
Search is becoming more and more personalized. When you perform a search on Google, you’ll start noticing that the results are becoming tailored to your location. Because of this I decided to claim the Hyatt Hotel in Seattle (I live there) as my business location.
So when you search for the Hyatt Hotel in Seattle, my business comes up. And although this may sound foolish, it’s actually lead to one enterprise customer for my company. $120,000 isn’t too shabby for claiming a location. 
Now by no means am I saying that you should claim random locations on localized search, but you should claim at least your office or wherever you operate your business from.
Big mig marketing idea #6: Leverage Social Networks
From Facebook, to Twitter, to Google Plus, they are all popular sites that you should be leveraging. Create profiles on each of those sites as they are a good source of traffic and they’ll create new opportunities for you to find customers.
We’ve built up our profiles on all of the major social sites for KISSmetrics and now social sites account for over 30% of our monthly traffic. The best part about this is that it didn’t cost us a dime… other than the time we’ve spent.
By sharing good content that you find while surfing the web and participating on the social web, you’ll quickly be able to build up your profiles. The key is to be patient as it can take 6 months to a year before your social profiles really become popular.
Big marketing idea #7: Become a guest author
An easy way to get your company out there is to write guest blog posts on other blogs. From TechCrunch to Huffington Post, there are thousands of popular blogs on the Internet. And the one thing all of these blogs want is more content.
If you write guest blog posts on other blogs not only will you get traffic and more branding, but you’ll also get links which will help your SEO efforts.
If you are looking to find places to guest blog you can check out My Blog Guest or you can manually hit up popular blogs in your field.
One company that leverages this tactic is GRP, which is a venture capital firm out of LA. Mark Suster, one of the partners at the firm, is known for guest blogging on sites like TechCrunch on a regular basis. By doing this GRP is getting their name out there and it is helping them get more deal flow.
Big marketing idea #8: Case Studies
If you already have happy customers, why not get a case study from them? Get them to talk about your product or service, how they used it, and the results they got.
Case studies can help build credibility for your company, and get you new customers. One company that is notoriously known for creating case studies is Conversion Rate Experts, and through them they have been able to lock in a handful of customers.
Off the top of my head I can list a handful of companies that have signed up with them because of their case studies. And these companies are spending a high 5 figures, if not 6 figures a year with Conversion Rate Experts.
Big marketing idea #9: Write Beginner’s Guides
Do you remember when companies used to write White Papers? Although they are still effective, the new version of them are “beginner’s guides”. These guides vary in length, but the one thing they have in common is that they are thorough.
By writing good content and giving it away for free, not only will you get a ton of traffic, but you’ll also get a lot of links.
A good example of this is SEOmoz. They wrote the Beginner’s Guide to SEO, which has lead to a lot of business for them. That guide ranks high for “search engine optimization” on Google and then from their they upsell visitors into their software service which starts at $99 a month.
Big marketing idea #10: Speak at conferences
With my first company, ACS, we got over 80% of our new customers from conferences. We constantly spoke at Internet marketing events and convinced companies to pay us thousands of dollars per year.
I spoke at so many conferences in a given year that during my peak, the company spent $108,402 in one year on flights and hotels for me because of all the conferences I was attending. And although that may sound like a lot of money, some of the companies I was able to bring in from these speaking engagements were paying us up to 1.2 million dollars a year.
Now granted, you don’t have to spend much money to speak because there should be enough events to speak at in your local region. All you have to do is find these events and apply to speak.
Big marketing idea #11: Start an affiliate program
If you don’t have the money to spend on marketing, you can always get people to market for you for free. The only thing you have to do is pay people for each sale they bring to you. Think of it as performance based marketing.
Through companies like Hasoffers, you can easily setup affiliate programs and start getting people to market your products or services without spending much money.
Remember how Timothy Sykes leverages messages boards? Well he also leverages affiliate programs. He’s let marketers create mini websites that both praise and bash him, which leads to around $13,000 worth of monthly sales for him.
Big marketing idea #12: Answer questions
From forums to question and answer sites, people need help. If you can answer questions related to the products and services your company provides, you can get new customers. You can find these potential customers on forums on question and answer sites like Yahoo Answers.
One company that uses this tactic on a daily basis is Single Grain. Every day they go through marketing forums and help out 10 companies with free marketing advice. What they’ve found out is that 3% of the companies they help for free offer them money for consulting services.
Big marketing idea #13: Go to networking events
If you can’t be a speaker at a conference, it doesn’t you shouldn’t attend them. Everyday there is a new event going on, you just have to find relevant ones to attend. Sooner or later you’ll realize that people go to these events to meet other people.
Some of the people you will meet will be useless, but a small percentage of the people you meet will turn into business relationships and friendships.
A few years ago I was attending a BarCamp in Santa Monica and I met a guy by the name of Francisco Dao. After a few encountering’s with him we both thought it would be a good idea if he ran a conference series that I co-own. If you fast-forward to today, he has now made me hundreds of thousands of dollars and he is doing so well that he now owns his own conference company.
You’ll be shocked on what you can get out of an event, so make sure you start networking on a regular basis.
Big marketing idea #14: Talk shit
The good part about having a blog is that it gives you an audience that you can communicate with. And when you tell them something, it will start spreading virally on the web.
With my first company ACS, we provided marketing services. And when I saw companies that could use our help, I wouldn’t just reach out to them, but I would write a blog post on how they are messing up.
In 2006, I wrote a blog post on Like.com and how they were messing up with their marketing efforts. Quickly after writing the blog post I got a call from the CEO who then hired me for a consulting engagement. After I realized how effective this strategy was, I also did it with Yahoo and a few other big companies.
Every time I did it, I’ve had over a 50% close ratio.
Big marketing idea #15: Give away the farm
Talking shit about a company on a blog is one way to get new customers, but another way is to give away the farm. Similar to the strategy above, I used to also email companies and tell them in a step by step format of everything they need to change on their website to get more traffic.
Many of the companies I emailed didn’t respond back or hire me, but none-the-less the strategy was effective. Through it I was able to lock in companies like TechCrunch and do all of their online marketing.
And by helping popular brands like TechCrunch, I was able to leverage their name to get more customers.
Don’t be afraid to email companies and potential customers that you think you can help. What’s the worst thing that they can do… ignore your email?
Big marketing idea #16: Ask for referrals
Do you already have customers? If so, have you asked them for referrals? It’s a pretty effective approach as long as your current customers are happy with you.
Look up your current customers on social sites like LinkedIn and see who they’re connected with. If you think someone they know can benefit from your product or service, ask for an introduction.
You’ll be shocked, only a very small percentage of your customers will not be willing to make an introduction. If a large portion tell you no, it means that you could be doing a better job making them happy.
One company that has gotten 5 or 6 referrals from me is Digital Telepathy. They provided one of my companies, Crazy Egg, with a new design. After they did a good job they asked if I knew of any other companies that would be interested in their web design services and I was gladly willing to make introductions for them.
Big marketing idea #17: Leverage Youtube
Not only do videos now appear in search results, but you also can use them to show how good your products actually are. Blendtec has done this for years and it’s been effective. They don’t just claim that their blenders are powerful, but they also show you by blending things like bricks, iphones, and other cool devices.
Some of their videos have gotten over 3 million views and more importantly they have been able to sell thousands of blenders because of these videos.
If you can come up with something creative like blending iPhones, you can create viral videos. Good content spreads like a wildfire over the web, and even on television. The Blendtec guys have been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Big marketing idea #18: Offer steep discounts
Groupon and Living Social are able to drive thousands of sales for any product or service… assuming you give a really good deal.
Earlier this year, a buddy of mine launched a concept called Tomato Battle, in which thousands of people get together and throw tomatoes at each other. When he launched the event he was charging 59 dollars for a ticket and his goal was to get a bit more than 2000 attendees.
In order to fill up the event, he reached out to Groupon and Living Social and they promoted the event to their email lists at a price point that was around 50% off. Within days he sold over 1000 tickets on these group buying sites and after the deal closed the people who bought tickets told their friends and those friends went directly to the Tomato Battle site and bought more tickets at the regular price.
If you can come up with a price point that benefits you as well as the group buying companies, you can make a lot of money and gain access to a whole new set of customers.
Big marketing idea #19: Have exceptionally great customer service
One of the easiest ways to increase the lifetime value of your customers is to offer exceptionally great customer service. For example, Zappos will automatically upgrade your shipping to next day air every once in a while. And they also offer a 1 year return policy with little to no questions asked.
By providing exceptionally great customer service, customers will not only be happy with you, but they’ll continue to come back. In the short run this may end up costing your company a bit more money, but in the long run you’ll see the benefit because each customer will not only spend more money with you, but they’ll tell their friends about the great experience they had with your company.
Big marketing idea #20: Get press
The more people that talk about your company in a positive way, the more people will come to your website and check out what you are offering. The hard part about press is that it’s not easy to get the attention of the major news outlets.
But it is easy to get the attention of blogs. One way that I like to get press is to email bloggers asking if they would like to interview me. Although that sounds silly, a small percentage of the bloggers you email will say yes.
For example, Search Engine Journal interviewed me, and they did so because I emailed them asking if they would be interested. They said yes, they sent over some questions, I answered them, and emailed them back. Within days the interview was published and it drove a handful of customers to KISSmetrics.
Don’t be shy; ask bloggers if they would be interested in interviewing you. What’s the worse thing that can happen… they’ll say no?
Big marketing idea #21: Pay with a tweet
If you want more customers, then entice people to promote your company. Simply Measured does a great job of this by letting you signup for free if you tweet about their product. And as more people tweet, more people come to their website and signup. And once you are in their system, they get you hooked onto their software and they upsell you into paid plans.
Start thinking outside of the box. Free users can market your company for you with a tweet, a plug on Facebook or any other social site. You just have to be willing to ask them for a plug on these social sites or else you won’t receive them.
My business partner and I did something similar on Crazy Egg recently and it worked out well. Instead of asking people to pay with a tweet, we asked customers to tweet right after they signed up.
Conclusion
Marketing doesn’t have to cost money… it just requires creativity. If thousands of companies as well as I were able to succeed without having the budget to spend money on marketing, you can too.
You just have to be willing to put in the time and energy. Because if you aren’t willing to spend big bucks, you’re going to have to be the one who puts in the time.
Do you know of any other big marketing ideas for small marketing budgets?
This amazing course will teach you, step by step, how to double if not triple your traffic over the next 30 days.
Neil you were posted around 5 different blog posts in one post it simply awesome to read your craziness for web marketing cheers bro
Thanks for the kind words. It took me a long time to write this blog post… it was around 3000 words.
Just like college.
Yep… just like college.
Neil
Once again great info. You literally can expand the list into a blog with each item being the topic.
Awesome work…you always give me great and very useful info.
Rob
Agreed, I could break out each individual idea into separate blog post, maybe i’ll use that in the future. I appreciate the kind words, glad I could help.
Great stuff, there is enough ideas on Quick Sprout to promote the crap out of your business. Some of the stuff like the first 2 are so basic but they work. Some real solid examples.
I’ve been seeing some people crushing it with traffic through linkedIN joining groups and private messaging members (giving) and joining in discussions.
Definitely, glad you found it useful. I agree most basic things work, simplicity typically is key. Also, it’s always a good idea to network as much as you can. So it is possible joining in on discussions could provide you with new connections and higher traffic.
Neil – As usual, you are right on. So many approaches that one can take. I especially like #15 where on gives away ideas and steps a company can take to improve their web business and readership. Thanks again.
Don
Thanks, really appreciate it. There definitely are many different approaches one could take in this. Glad you found it helpful, it’s always a good idea to put yourself out there. Even if you are ignored because eventually you will get your break.
All the best.
Great ideas… and great name too.
Thanks, I hope you found it useful.
Good shit, not bad for a brown guy
ROFL. I appreciate the sarcastic comment… especially after I included you in the blog post.
Hey I’m just using rule #1, comment on popular blogs
Enjoy the link love!
I think you used #14 this time
Sometimes is better to be onest and you will receive more positive results.
Yep, you have to tell people what they don’t want to hear sometimes.
Many people prefer sincerity because they can correct themselves if they hear the truth but there are people that don’t like to hear the truth because they feel offended. You can’t be sure how a person will react.
Very true. You never know how someone will react. So really the only thing to do is to be honest and then explain why. If they are still bitter after then you did all you could and you will have to wait it out and see if they come around.
In the Zone Delivery provide healthy meal delivery services to your business meetings and also at home. The food is prepared under totally hygienic conditions and delivered on time .
pls like this….:)
Another idea I’ve been thinking about lately, I think there will be big potential to leverage youtube videos on social video sites, like Chill.com and Shortform. By setting up you own channel, you can then engage with, get insight from, or make stars of your customers in real time.
Definitely, sounds like an interesting idea. The chill concept is pretty cool, I believe snoop dog was on there the other day.
Many new ideas are starting to appear and some of them can have a huge potential for a website if they are applied correctly and at the right time.
It is very possible.
Great article Neil,
How long does it take you to write this long content? I get inspiration to write for my blog as well on a continuous basis.
Glad you liked it. It takes around 6 hours for me to create this length of content. Great, I hope my informations helps you out.
Wow that’s impressive! 6 hours is more time than I would have thought you took. This is an awesome article though with lots of great ideas! Ive learned alot from you over the past few months. Your ways of getting links and building a brand are definitely key.
#1 is a great strategy!
Thank you. Yep, it takes about that time to produce the content I am satisfied with. I also go over it a few times before I submit it. Glad to hear it. Those things are key for sure, without it you won’t get very far.
As always, I love your stuff Neil.
You’ve listed enough action items for any entrepreneur to keep busy for the next year. By only taking action on blogs and forums they’ll mold themselves into experts.
Thanks for adding more to my already full plate
Thanks, I like to be thorough with the information I provide. I agree, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t take action. Enjoy the extra helping.
Hello There,
Thanks for wonderful tips for blogging.
Glad you liked it. I hope you found them helpful.
Make videos and blast them out with treafficguyser. Make sure your branding is visible on screen. Put a link back to your original YouTube video in the description. Always use http:// in your links to make them clickable. No need for html. Watch your YouTube rankings sky rocket!
Definitely all good ideas. You always want to make sure branding is clear and you add enough links. Thanks for the insight.
I like your point about it taking 6 or more months or more to gain traction with social. Most people expect it to work overnight which it doesn’t.
Yep, anything worth while takes time. If you aren’t willing to invest the time, there is no point in even signing up to those social sites.
I personally have been using Twitter and Facebook for years and I didn’t really see the big benefit until 2010.
The exception to that, that I have seen, is when other people write about you on facebook, as in #16. For example, if they have a great experince, or book something they are looking forward to, and they share your link.
Definitely, good point.
Great ideas Neil!
I have been following a few things mentioned above, but there is a lot that I still need to learn and do as per your list!
Thanks for sharing and letting us all know
Best of luck Harleena.
By the way, I appreciate the email you sent me earlier today
Great info!This will definitely come in useful for those involved with Internet marketing. Thanks for sharing.
No problem.
If you try out any of the tactics in the blog post, I would love it if you could come back here and leave a comment with the results. The more data we all have, the better.
Hi Neil,
Great post all point from #1 to #21 are awesome but i like #1 and #6 form these Both options work really very well for better response in online marketing if we will leave comment on another blog post then this option might be gives to us many back links and we know very well how important role of Social Media sites these all sites will give to us much huge number of traffic for better productivity.
Well when you leave a comment on another blog, don’t focus on backlinks as most of them are “nofollow” links. Sometimes blogs have a “top commentors” section like Quick Sprout does so that the links pass some value, but it is rare.
These tips are extremely beneficial. These are things that anyone can easily do to improve any business . Thanks Neil for the share…
Online Business Virtual Assistant
Thanks,
If you are willing to learn and take help where you can get it, improving a business will be easier to do. I Hope you will use what you learn to improve in any business you are in now or will be involved in, in the future.
Wow, Neil, rather than reading all of this on 20 different blogs, you put it together into a monster of a post. I like your mentality of encouraging people to be kind of… well, cocky, to get results. All in good humor, of course, but it’s true. If you want it, work for it.
Yep, took me sometime. Good point, but I would say confident rather then cocky. Having confidence in your product & business will yield positive results. People usually are encouraged by a strong self-confidence and respond well to it.
First of all i want to say thanks to you Neil. Great post because suffering to make popular my website. Your blogs are awesome, from last 5 days i am continuously reading.
Thanks
Matrimonyteam
No problem.
I agree, it can be difficult for a while to build a websites popularity. Keep learning from what you read and it will help your website grow in the long run.
Hey Neil,
Thanks for sharing this value packed post.
I hope to be able to implement some of these strategies for my ventures. I know that KissMetrics blog is hosted on a subdomain but what is better – blog.domain.com or domain.com/blog – as per you and why?
One thing I have learnt from you is that giving value is always good. I think it is good for business and even better for soul.
It was great to have you contribute to NoIdling book. I have a new project in works and will reach out for your inputs in sometime. Keep on inspiring and sharing your wealth of knowledge …. you are for sure a BIG DEAL
No problem.
I would say it just depends on what you want. I suggest you consider your options, and do a cost benefit analysis.
I would have to agree it is definitely beneficial one way or another.
Definitely feel free to contact me agin with any questions. Thanks for the kind words.
All the best.
Pure gold, as usual. I have a dumb question, though: how do I claim a location (going local) as you suggest in #5? Can claiming a local site in any way affect search rankings outside of that local site? Thanks for the great post!
I appreciate it,
I suggest you go to Google Places then Business to claim your location. And yes, locations do affect search rankings outside of the local site.
You can also go to http://www.getlisted.org.
Best of luck.
Idea #22 is to reply to each & every post?
But an awesome article nonetheless.
Absolutely,
It is always a good idea to respond to those who read and comment on what you provide. Seeing how they respond to your content will allow you to learn even more, by communicating and connecting. I sometimes learn a lot from those who comment and then make good connections from it, from time to time.
By far one of the best and most useful articles I’ve read so far. I will definately be using some of your suggestions. I’m glad to have come across your blog and am looking forward to learning more from you. And here I am starting with replying to other blog posts.
I know that is one thing I would love to have more time for, but I think since I’m focusing my efforts more locally, I’ll have better luck with local message boards rather than more global blogs.
Thanks,
Glad you found it useful. Great to hear it, If you find a blog that is useful to you it is always a good idea to comment and interact. Everyone has their own preferences and it looks like you have found yours, but I would say making extra the effort to comment on both could benefit you in the long run.
I never imagined such cost effective ideas exist, great work Neil.
Glad it helped. The ideas are really a great way to try and help you increase productivity without spending to much money. I hope you were able to get use out of them.
Once I started commenting on blogs, my traffic started going up. Amazing what these little comments can do.
Definitely,
Interacting through comments can always be beneficial. I agree, It is amazing what little things like comments can do. Glad to hear you were able to increase your traffic, I know I always appreciate the comments I receive.
Super Duper article Neil.
Reading you blog is like learning from an expert marketing wizz and the best part is one don’t need to PAY for it.
Thanks a lot for sharing these wonderful tips
Thanks,
I appreciate it. I definitely agree, it is nice to find information that you can use without having to buy it. Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully you found them useful.
Thanks for the free tips. It’s refreshing to find information like this. It gets you thinking again!
Definitely,
Glad to hear it, I hope it has got some of your creative thinking going! It’s always productive to keep your mind active.
#14: Talk shit.
Niel is an idiot.
ROFL.
Nice shit talking
I always enjoy and learn from your post Dud !!
Thanks,
Happy you were able to learn from it. Hope it help you out.
wonderful tips…tx for sharing Neil
No problem,
I appreciate the kind words.
Almost all tips mentioned involve no money, just efforts. What would be your “21 Biggest Marketing Ideas for Small Marketing Companies who are willing to pay some amount”
Good point.
It’s just I know a lot of people don’t have too much money when they are first starting out.
Thanks for the suggestion though, maybe i’ll do another blog.
Its a nice collection of tips Neil, I forget to appreciate you. Great Sharing of knowledge.
Appreciate it.
I’m more then happy to share what I have learned and am glad to hear it is of use.
That’s really tinhikng out of the box. Thanks!
Your welcome, glad you think so.
Neil, you’ve included some great suggestions, including #18, which still counts for a whole lot offline, even though most of us do live online.
Definitely,
I too live on line. It is important though to constantly be productive even when you eventually get offline.
Neil—really really good advice. I have been asking for these very things for a long time. Great advice. Thanks much!
However a couple of nits.
Online marketing is only “free” if you are a sole proprietor. And then really what is one’s time worth? It is very time consuming done right. No dollars spent. True. But time. Yes.
And if a small company has staff that does this type of thing, well it goes without saying their time is NOT free.
Also, I did go to several links you mentioned. Every time I did it took me off your page. That may be my fault. But thought you’d want to know. I was expecting a separate pop-up window.
But this blog is worth keeping and following many of the tips. Thanks again.
Thanks,
Glad I could help. I appreciate the insight, true it will accumulate ones’ time and time is always a valuable thing.
However, once you spend your time on creating something of value and marketing it, the results will be well worth it.
Hopefully by then you will have enough money to have help with such time consuming things.
Thanks for letting me know, I appreciate the suggestions and hope you were able to benefit from what you read.
Great post: I really enjoy your blog.
Rudolf F. Vanek
Thanks,
It’s nice to hear that. I enjoy sharing, hopefully it was useful to you.
Simple yet powerful ideas, Neil. I loved #15 and that can become even more powerful combined with #16! I’m already thrilled by the return rate we can get! Thanks for that!
Thanks,
It’s definitely a good idea to combine more then one tactic you find useful, in order to get the highest return rate. You should definitely begin to see an increase in productivity, after putting what you learned into use.
Nice info, Neil.
I love to have great experience on marketing and I think you got too much up your sleeve. Just got a post idea from your post and felt to say thank you.
Glad to hear it.
I agree, having experience is always a great benefit. Good, I am happy it was inspiring for you.
Hi Niel- Thank you for all the great marketing advice. I have been working on my website for the past year: http://www.silverjewelry-sterling.com and have now just starting writing blogs. I just wrote my second one, but I am not sure if it is a-what you would call, a true Blog. http://www.doubledragonjewelry.citymax.com/silver_jewelry_blog/2011/9/Double_Dragon_Jewelry_September_2011_Jewelry_Blog
Do you have a site that I can go to that can give me great tips? I am finding the information you are sending me the best yet in helping me to go farther and better. Cheers
Certainly,
Sounds like you have been working hard. I think the blog is a good idea too.
I’m not sure exactly what type of site to suggest, because I don’t know what type of information you are looking for specifically.
I would say search around and find blogs that you like and look to other sites they link and mention.
I’m glad my information was helpfully to you. Keep up the hard work!
Neil, this is exactly what I need for my one man photo studio. Now I just have to “translate” this into photography language
Definitely,
Most of the tips are easily transferable to almost every business. Glad you found it helpfully in your line of work.
And I need to remember to fill in the website :p
I agree. That is something that is key.
It is amazing that with your tight schedule you still find time to write these long comprehensive posts! Something to be inspired by!
Thanks for mentioning MyBlogGuest by the way!
Thanks,
I agree, it is time consuming to write detailed articles. But if you don’t produce the best content you can then the success of what you do will be equally as lacking.
Awesome! We are getting ready to really focus on our marketing. This guide will certainly be used as we work on it, and I will definitely be telling others about it. Thanks Neil!
Great,
Marketing is definitely something you want to focus on.
You could produce the best information, but without marketing it is not likely very many people will get to see it.
I appreciate it, and glad it was helpful.
Another awesome post.
You kind of touched on it with the conference gig but I would love to hear more of your thoughts on joint ventures. That is another cheap way to market.
Thanks again. Keep rocking it!
I agree.
Thanks, for the suggestions. I’ll look into giving more information on the subject.
I always keep it rocking!
Jeff I had the very same idea earlier in the year, fortunately or unfortunately I was involved in my own Start-up, as my link suggests…really cool idea Jeff. go for it.
I guess Neil is right, once again!!
Thanks,
Guess so…
I usually am
Hey Neil,
I was trying to use Hootsuite’s “Hootlet” shortcut with Chrome, which normally works to post this blog post to my social networks all at once. I tried several times to get it to work to post to FB correctly, but it kept bringing up “sign up for the 13 business mistakes” and wouldn’t post correctly. Don’t know if this is a “real” issue for the Quicksprout community using Hootsuite, but thought I’d let you know of the issue.
Hmm, that’s odd you should probably contact Hootsuite’s customer service rep and find out what the issue is. Strange, Let me know if you don’t get it worked out.
This is gold, my favorite blog post from you yet. This helps me out a lot knowing the ‘hows’ of providing online marketing services.
Great post, thanks a bunch!
Thanks,
I really appreciate it. I am glad it was helpful.
If you have any questions ever, i’ll be more then happy to answer them.
Thanks Neil! This is exactly what I needed today.
No problem.
Nice to hear you got what you needed from it.
Neil-this is such a great article! Thank you for sharing all this useful info! I am not sure how these could apply to a freelance translator, but I have printed it out! Hm, food for thought! Thanks again!
Thanks,
Definitely, It all just depends on how you decide to use what you’ve learned.
Keep what you read in mind and I am sure you can come up with a way to easily translate it to your own line or work.
You coudln’t pay me to ignore these posts!
LOL great!
Very well done article – thank you for writing it!
Yep. I appreciate it.
Thank you for reading it!
Great post, Neil.
Another suggestion for web-based products is to post links in web directories. There are lots of web directories that don’t charge a fee to post your site. I’m working on that right now as one of the ways to promote my product and so far it has brought some traffic.
Thanks,
Good idea, I agree.
That could be a useful way to increase one’s traffic in order to promote one’s product.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter.
Great list – especially love the free audit approach – which is very effective, the other is to just provide free seminars to customers directly at no charge at their workplace -that way you can show off what you can do and more often than no they’re also give you referrals if they themselves don’t sign up.
Definitely,
Those suggestions are all good. Thanks for that.
I would always recommend showing off your skills when you can.
It will definitely get you noticed and like you said possibly some good referrals.
Getting more and more famous will bring you business. Being famous doesn’t mean that you forget your work quality.
Definitely,
I agree with everything you said.
Fame may bring you attention, but quality work will get you business.
It is always a good idea to use every asset you have to your advantage.
While still producing valuable work.
Neil, I stay in jaipur and tried a couple of businesses but failed, could u plz suggest me smthing from ur field which can help me at least earn my bread and butter, I had done BE (IT), MBA in Operation , i think i m good in management but this is now proving wrong, really need support, i have tht energy but need a spark which is lost smwhere, could u plz suggest me smthing, smthing in IT or marketing or in manufacturing, or sm new idea, i have investors who willing to invest, but missing ideas NEED SM HELP , thanks ,if possible reply on my mail plz , GOD BLESS ….
I understand, that can happen.
I would suggest trying to pick up an idea that you are passionate about.
That way you will work tirelessly at it. This way you will not have time to worry about your failures.
So then your only thought will be to succeed.
thanks
No problem! Thank you for leaving comments on Quick Sprout. Each one helps make the community stronger.
Hi, nice post, but I liked the RSS below post trigger the most. Is that a WP plugin or is it handmade?
Thanks,
It was something I created, it’s easy just go to the WP panel and find make your own customizable RSS trigger.
Very, very kick-ass post. Proving yet again, the best activities are the simplest ones. What I love most about this post is that ALL the tips are immediately do-able. I know you’re going to feel a deep sense of deja vu, Neil, but have I said before that you rock? Then am saying it again. Neil, you rock. Keep sprouting!
I appreciate it.
Agreed, the best tips are typically the simplest. I am glad you were able to utilize what you learned form this.
Maybe a slight feeling of deja vu…. thanks again.
Fantastic post Neil. Your ideas are clear and actionable. Just retweeted it!
Yep, no problem.
Glad to hear it was easy to get.
Thanks.
Excellent post! Thanks for putting it all together. I’ve been invited to a couple of online networking groups, which would fit very nicely for anyone who pretty much lives online or, as in my case, whose target market is geographically a long way off.
Certainly,
Sounds good, network as much as possible.
Especially when you’re marketing to a group out of your geographical range.
Wow great thread book mark it, here lots of tips and information about seo thanks pal for sharing very help full for me!!
Thanks,
Glad you found it helpful.
Very nice to see all this useful infor compiled into a single article. Now I start taking the steps and see what Google Analytics has to say :- )
Certainly,
Hope you find the information you are looking for.
I saw ” talking shit ” being refered in another post too…lol…looks like it is pretty effective..:P
Definitely,
It can be quite an effective tool, when used appropriately.
Try it sometime and let me know how it works out for you.
Hi, nice post, but I liked the RSS below post trigger the most. Is that a WP plugin or is it handmade?
Hand made. One of my developers created it. Although it looks cool, it doesn’t convert that well…
I think all of the above are great ideas… Im going to make sure try them all.. Thanx!
Thanks,
Definitely do that, and let me know how it works out for you.
Neil, you’ve done it again. Pure 24k gold. This post is going to save me a lot of money, but never hard work. Well, that’s what we like!
Absolutely,
Thank you for the encouraging words. It will certainly save you some money, and yet still get you productive results in your business.
That is definitely what we like!
Great post, Neil
I started with the football portal project in 2004, he led about 30,000 visitors a day.
I have never converted into sales that website, I still 20,000 visitors a day but I decided to start earning.
Today I started the project results Free (www.risultatigratis.com / .it) and 65% of the work. I started selling my software for football, and earnings are very satisfactory.
I have to open the risultatigratis.it blog, I’ll do this as soon as possible.
Trial results has only 2000 visitors per day, the website is SEO optimized and spent little money to do everything. we’ll see how it goes;)
Thanks,
It sounds like you have got a lot on your plate right now.
Good luck to you.
When I see people like Ann Smarty and Joseph Putnam in the comment thread, I know I’ve landed on a winning post.
Anyone’s eyes who set on this post, Neil, need look NO further for budget-wise marketing strategies. You’ve hit all the highlights and I appreciate the people you’ve highlighted in your examples, as well.
Thanks for superb tips for marketing on a slim budget!
Thanks,
I really appreciate your words.
I’m here to help advise anytime.
Very informative and great post Neil! This week I was actually looking for how to promote my new blog http://ProThoughts.com and your this post is just in time
many thanks!
No problem.
Happy to hear it was able to benefit you in the time you needed it.
Neil you must have read my mind. My latest blog post is on a similar topic. The only difference is that your post is about three times longer than mine.
I only read about 2 to 3 blogs a day — Neil’s blog is one of them, because he is very, very thorough (something I appreciate). I never finish reading one of Neil’s articles without feeling he’s covered the topic thoroughly.
I appreciate the kind words. Thanks for encouraging me to write more blog posts.
Cool,
I have heard before great minds think alike.
This is so timely for me.
I really appreciate the many different options you give. It allows me to personalize my choices and while I’m not able to do them all simultaneously right now it’s something that I am able to work toward a little at a time.
Many thanks. Shared with my fellow small business entrepreneurs.
Elise.
Thanks,
Just do what you can for now and keep improving as you go along.
Hope it helped, keep up the hard work!
Niel,
Great a post, the ideas you’ve listed that I’ve done have all worked. Blog comments are so powerful. I left a comment on Joel Gascoigne’s blog, and suddenly I get a load of new email opt ins for my startup, who also engage through twitter. Sweet! Oh, and it took about, hmm, 10 seconds…
Yep.
Commenting will get you out there and help make connections.
Thanks, I agree it takes a small amount of time, yet can make a huge difference.
That is really impressive you were able to get that kind of traffic after such a short while. Do you follow him a lot or is it a blog you just found randomly?
Yes, but it can take months before it kicks in.
This is one of the excellent post I read till now. Above mentioned marketing ideas not only help to get prospective clients but free back links as well
Thanks,
Im glad you were able to find the information useful.
Neil,
What script/code/plugin do you use for the email capture “lightbox” ?
Ryan
i thought, Neil uses http://www.aweber.com/ script for subscription.
I do use A-Weber , it’s a great service.
I use aweber and feedburner. Both of them work well…
“Does Google PageRank Really Matter?” this was your blog where i had asked you about “how do i get back links?” .In this article i got details of my question. Now all clear from my side , Thanks Neil
Thanks,
I am glad to hear it helped clear up those questions of yours.
I would add a/b testing, with tools like Google Website Optimizer you can figure out what customers respond to and use what you’ve learned in other marketing. For example, if you figure out that one particular headline converts 50% more than another, you can use that same or similar headline in all the ideas you talked about, guest posts, YouTube videos, title for a talk at a conference, etc.
A/B testing is great and I constantly run tests for my websites. But I would survey your visitors before you start the a/b testing so you can figure out their objections before you start making changes.
The “speaking” suggestion is one that is hard for me because I’m not a public-speaker type. Did that come easy for you? Or did you just start speaking because you had to do it, and then it became more natural for you over time?
It didn’t, but over time you get good at it. You should take a speaking class at your local community college.
Skip the consultant and just follow this list. Nice work.
Well, consultants are good to. It is just hard to hire them when you are first starting out as money can be tight.
write post cards to every village.find names from some directories.or contact some courier companies to deliver your marketing message.when it is bulk, they may give concession.
Bulk stuff works very well, but it can be costly. For example post cards can add up if you are sending out hundreds of thousands of cards.
Hey Neil, Like always the post is very informative and would be of great help for enterpreneurs like me who are trying to improve their SEO ranking
Thanks Richa! Make sure you don’t just focus your marketing efforts on SEO as things like social media marketing are very effective too.
Adding an affiliate program is an awesome idea!
It is. I love softwares like Has Offers which makes running affiliate programs easy.
Hey Neil,
I’ve been following your blog for a while but never actually commenting on it (I don’t know why) but I think today I feel really obliged to heap praise on this post because everything on it is spot on! So well done!
Also, just to add another one and I don’t know whether this has been mentioned or not in others comments, but to create giveaways to people and ask them to link to your site to create social buzz is also an effective way of marketing your brand and products.
Anyway, keep up the good work man!
Cheers,
Ragil
Thank you for commenting. The more I get, the happier I usually am.
Giveaways can work well as long as you are giving stuff away to loyal customers. If you give it to random people you won’t get a good return on investment.
These are some great ideas. So simple, yet super effective. I now have a post that I am definitely going to keep referencing. I like the one about the Tomato Fight! I think my small town should have one, just have to think of a good space. Thanks again!
Yea the Tomato Fight guys are really smart. Leveraging Groupon and sites like that is an easy way to bring in thousands of dollars in revenue.
Newbie in affiliate marketing here! I am just done looking at your posting and I fairly enjoyed it. I had a couple of doubts in the starting of the post though, but I held on reading and I am glad I did. Good entertaining posting, blogger! Maintain posting and I am going to undoubtedly be returning shortly. Many thanks and best regards.
Hopefully you’ll implement a few of these ideas. And once you do, feel free and come back and let us know your results.
I think the ideas/topic could really expand to be a great marketing book. It will take a lot of writing though. Glad I read this. True, these are ideas to really start or improve business.
Yep. I could probably break each of them out into an individual blog post as well.
Maybe I’ll do that in the future.
Most of the ways mentioned here happened to be just at our fingertips (social networks, blogs, message boards etc). All we need are computers and the internet. Such powerful tools. That don’t make it easy though. Thanks for the tips, Neil. I really like the way you write them.
The shitty part about computers and the Internet is that in certain countries it can be costly and hard to obtain.
Thanks for this. I had forgotten how useful message boards are, and very interested in finding out more Timothy Sykes.
Yea, Timothy Sykes kills it. He makes a ton of money for subscriptions and DVD sales.
Thats really a great information Neil. You have sharedlots of tips and information about seo. thanks a lot for sharing. Its very useful for all of us.
No problem. Hopefully your website traffic goes up from these methods.
Neil,
Big marketing idea #1. Comment on THIS blog!
You are very influential and are of great assistance to all would be IMr’s.
I love all of these ideas and have found that #7, Guest Posting has been very fruitful and creates interaction with new, and better, brains.
Thank you.
Nice, glad to see you are taking my advice. Thanks for the kind words.
No problem, always happy to help. You can get a lot from the connection you make. Keep up the networking!
Guest post. I am still not convinced about this idea. if i have a very Good article about any thing why should i not post on my blog and market if like crazy. The same may be not fit in the big blog like your and may be washed away in a week. If my blog does not contain useful information for my reader, then in my opinion guest post will not able to create the desired impact. If i am wrong, Please correct me.
Guest posts are a valuable way to reach out to a larger audience. Every blogger has a certain community that frequents their blog. There are certain segments you will never reach unless you step into their world via a guest blog. If you still don’t agree stick to what works best for you. Not everyone has just one way of doing things that work best for them.
I used to follow all these steps except “message board ” I haven’t heard it anywhere, I will try this out…
Many of these steps are ones that people already practice. Definitely do try it and see if it works for you. I hope it does.
Hello,
Please make your links to be opened in a different window. It would be so easy for us to go back to your text….
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll start doing that with newer posts.
You can also use the option “open in new window”. I am doing that all the time and it doesn’t matter for me if it is not opened in the same window by default.
Yep, that definitely works too. Thanks for the input.
Thanks Neil,
just what I need for my new small website advice business.
#15. I did a detailed website review for someone I knew was looking to improve their google ranking without their prior knowledge. I got a phone call the same day. He seemed impressed with the effort I had put in and I have “definately got my foot in the door” for his ongoing seo, so thanks for your advice. Just need to work out how to close the deal now!
regards
Pete
No problem, glad I could help. It’s all about putting yourself out there and eventually, like you did, getting your “foot in the door.”
Best of luck
Thanks Neil,
foot still wedged in door!
Pete
Anytime, keep at it!
Hey Neil thanks for sharing such an great marketing ideas. I believe that all these marketing ideas will definitely help the business to grow and to gain a good profit too. But one thing is very necessary while implementing all these marketing tactics, it is necessary to have patience, because it will take time.
I agree only a few of these at a time can be implemented.
It’s important to not try and do everything at once or else it may not get done well or at all. Do what you can do well and get to the rest when you completed what you have started.
Definitely, I agree. Patience is something that will greatly benefit you in business and life in general. Thanks for the added insight.
Much appreciated for the information and share!
Thanks, much appreciated for the comment!
Great post and some really good ideas for marketing on a shoestring! Thanks!
Glad to hear you liked it. No problem, hoped it helped.
This is another great post I miss Niel, Thanks for the insight into how you think.
I appreciate it. Happy to help, anytime.
Neil.. you always have great ideas about building links and getting your name out there! Ive used many ideas you have given over the past few months. Now its time to up the work load and try out some of your other ideas like YouTube and press releases.
Thank you, I hope they worked for you. Interesting thought, i’ll definitely consider doing that. Thanks for the suggestion.
I think link building is the hard part when it comes to create a good website and get traffic .
Commenting on competing blogs seems to be the best ideea of all , i have a new blog related to travel and i want to rank higher on my keyword so after reading this post i will go and comment on frommers blog because i saw that they have lots of people digging for budget travel tips .
What do you say ? Is this a good thing to do ?
Thanks a lot for your post , seem to be the best information on how to promote an website.
yes this is a good idea. just do it
Yep, like Nike says, just do it.
Definitely,
You should try and put yourself out there as much a you can. Commenting on other popular blogs is a great way of getting started. I appreciate the kind words.
Best of luck
neil really your post is awesome. I cant’t explain that how much it helped me. its a UN valuable post you should charge for this post. great keep it up.
I am really glad to hear that. Thanks, I will.
Neil i really don’t know whether all the above tech will be useful for me or not but surely i will be utilizing all these techs….and definitly i will tell u if i will get benefit out of it….
Great, please do I would certainly like to know.
Realy liked your post. even if i can not use all of them since my webshop can not do all the things you wrote.
Thanx,
zoelaspellen.nl
Thanks, well I hope what you can use helps.
Another idea I’ve been thinking about lately, I think there will be big potential to leverage youtube videos on social video sites, like Chill.com and Shortform. By setting up you own channel, you can then engage with, get insight from, or make stars of your customers in real time.
Nice, try and see what you can make with that. Ideas are the first and most important step in the process of creating a business or product. Everything starts with an idea.
I would like go with Tactic 7 its an good marketing idea
Great, definitely do and let me know how it works for you.
I like the helpful information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I’m quite sure I’ll learn lots of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!
I appreciate it. Thanks, please do. You certainly will and same to you!
Great ideas that help a marketer do a great business. Thank you
Thank you for the kind words. Happy to be able to help.
Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just too fantastic. I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can’t wait to read far more from you. This is really a tremendous website.
Thanks, happy to hear it. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope you do come back and keep reading. I appreciate the nice things you said.
Blog commenting is the best way to increase page ranking. One more things is to guest post on high pr blogs btw thanks for sharing
Yep, I agree. No problem, I hope these tips helped you out.
I just seriously prefer what we should post in this article. Very new not to mention wise. A single challenge though. I’m running Internet explorer with the help of Debian not to mention components with the existing page layout products would be a bit wonky. I just know it’s not really typical developed. Yet still it’s something towards retain in view. I just trust that going barefoot can guidance not to mention always keep in the main good penning.
Definitely,
Thank you. Interesting choice, I would say trust your instinct and sometimes things that are not typical have more to offer.
Great stuff, with so many ideas on Quick Sprout I can truly promote my business. The first 2 ideas are so basic but they work. Some real great examples.
Thanks, I certainly hope it will. Most things that work are very basic. Glad you liked them.
This article is blue ribbon material as far as I¡¯m concerned. I haven¡¯t used my brain so much in years. This is very interesting content.
I appreciate it. Reading and learning is the best way to exercise the mind. I hope you do it often and come back and learn more.
Neil your post is really impressive. I cant’t explain how much helped me. your beautiful post that has to charge for this position. great!
Thank you, I’m happy to hear it was helpful.
Neil.. Anyways you can write a post about guest posting and the best strategies on getting started with that?
I’ll consider doing that. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks for offering up this article to readers everywhere. It¡¯s good information with a lot of hutzpah. You pack a great punch with your views.
No problem, always willing to share what I have learned. Thanks, I appreciate it.
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different page and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking at your web page for a second time.
Great, glad to hear it. Please do and I hope the information in useful to you and your partner.
They thought they were getting a leisurely week on the beach, and ended up working 9 to 9 every day to keep the CyberCafe running.
That’s how it always seems to end up working out. If you want to succeed you have to stay on top of your work.
I would like to show my appreciation for your quality article. Your original content has given me reason to think about a lot of this information. Your writing style is original and engaging. Thank you.
Thanks, I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. No problem, I appreciate the kind words.
I believe one of your ads caused my browser to resize, you may well want to put that on your blacklist.
Thanks for the tip. Do you recall which add it was?
Hi Neil,
Thanks for the ideas, really help for a beginners like me. Success for your business
Certainly,
Good to know, Happy it helped.
I would like to thankyou for such an enlightening post. I dont by and large reply on blogs as I wish to lurk and read. However your style of literature is uncomplicated to understand, I love the fact that it is clear and to the point. I will make sure that I mail your blog to my acquaintances as I am certain they will not only like reading your post but also find it extremely instructive.
Acheter vimax en France.2011AVEF
I appreciate it. I try to keep it simple, it makes it easier to learn. Thank you, I hope they enjoy it as well.
No problem. Thanks, I hope you come back and learn more. If there are any questions you have I would be more then happy to answer as best as I can.
Hey Neil,
Great insightful post, I’ve just started my blog yday. To begin with i’ll be implementing #1,#2,#6.
Awesome Pilar, let me know how it goes. Good luck!
Number 14 (talking shit) is my favorite off the list. It’s always a risky venture, especially when you work for clients and not your own business, but it can definitely get people to notice you. If the shit talking backfires, how do you handle any reputation management issues that might come up? Offer immediate apologies? Just change the subject and start writing about neutral topics?
Definitely, it can be risky if you say something that crosses the line. You want to be carful the shit talking you do is in good taste and in humor. You would want to apologize if it seems you have crossed a line. Then continue on and move pass it.
I do enjoy the way you have framed this specific matter and it does present me a lot of fodder for thought. On the other hand, because of what I have experienced, I simply just wish when other remarks pile on that individuals stay on point and in no way start upon a tirade regarding some other news of the day. All the same, thank you for this exceptional piece and whilst I do not go along with it in totality, I respect the perspective
Thank you, I respect you opinion and appreciate the comment.
Good stuff – I’m going to use a lot of the ideas to try and promote our website. I’ll let you know how it goes on here.
Thank you, please do let me know how it works out for you.
When you add comments to blogs and forums – such as this – and you enter the website URL – this gives you a backlink – but is it not the anchor text that is the important thing to help your seo placement?
These ideas sound like crazy and only a person who has experienced and lived these could tell the things as intimately as you. I started an SEO Agency recently and I am sure your CRAZY marketing ideas will help will me publicize my services and offerings. Your post here http://www.seomoz.org/blog/7-lessons-learned-from-running-a-seo-agency-14225 . I liked this post very post Neil !!
Keep sharing your nuggets of knowledge these are practical and powerful.
Good luck, I hope they do help you out. Thanks, I am glad you like the information I share.
Writing beginner’s guide is really is a good idea Neil. I’ll suggest this one to my partner, his the one in-charge in our business website.
Sounds good, best of luck to you.
One more interesting feature is GOOgle Plus Business Page, create & share it where ever possible. This is a nice concept by google over facebook fanpage, not as optimizing as google but is helpful
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
Very useful article for me and all others without a hefty marketing budget. I will try some of them tonight even.
Thanks, definitely do give them a try. Let me know if they work out for you.
Marketing requires creativity too. It is not necessary to spend a huge amount on marketing to be successful. Of all the mediums today internet is the most cost effective. Referral clients and testimonials also help. If you want response in a particular locality for promoting your business, leaflets are highly effective.
Definitely, thanks for sharing your added input.
You have given several fantastic ideas here. I’m going to try out at least 3
today.
Awesome, let me know how they work out for you!
Hello Neil – great article… which lead me to signup to your QuickSprout Traffic System, so the proof is all there that these ideas work!
Did you know that when searching for ‘hyatt in seattle’ your other website (http://neilpatel.com/) is showing a default MediaTemple holding page?
Awesome, appreciate it Matthew.
That is cool, I did not know that.
I came here from SEOmoz. This is a good list, although there is little that I don’t know. Anyways, Thank You Neil! We’ll think how to incorporate these strategies into insurance business.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Hi
I did a few of them you explained here and it worked.
A few others Like Talk Shit I didn’t try out yet. I will try it this week and seehow that works.
Frederik Van Lierde
Sounds good, let me know how it goes.
Some really useful tips, thanks. We’re getting straight on #1 and #12 hopefully we’ll be able to convince a few people we actually know what we’re talking about. #13 is probably our main method of marketing ourselves right now and it’s worked really well – we see the blogging commenting and question sites as an extension of this.
Thanks Jon,
Great, glad to hear it.
Really nice ideas and a complete list of to do things on a low budget!!
Once again it is hard to give any other idea that you have not mention before. I can add one idea that always brought me a lot of traffic. Add your website to Yahoo and Google groups on the theme of your blog/website and post interesting news about your business frequently on those groups. Totally Free method.. 
Thanks for sharing, hopefully that will work for those who try it.
Hey great tips one of the best blogs i read in a long time!!! I am finding it hard because i have to deal with software do you have any advice? Thank you
Whoa! Thanks for the marketing tips-jackpot. I should revise my marketing strategies after reading this article.
Thanks a ton!
hey neil,
these are really great tips for all of us.these are really BIG ideas indeed. i will definitely adopt these.
Thanks.
Matt
#8 has worked great for my business. Being able to show potential customers real-life success stories builds a lot of trust and confidence in what you have to offer.
They take time to get, but they’re definitely worth the wait.
I wasn’t really surprised to find social user-engaging methods in some of these marketing ideas. It shows how important the social aspect of marketing really is. Your story about getting hired by Like.com mentioned in the idea #14 was pretty interesting.
Thank you for a tremendous amount of insight. Keep up the great work.
Hello,Great stuff, there is enough ideas on Quick Sprout to promote the crap out of your business. Some of the stuff like the first 2 are so basic but they work.
Hello!,,Neil
Awesome! We are getting ready to really focus on our marketing. This guide will certainly be used as we work on it, and I will definitely be telling others about it. Thanks Neil!
Neil, you have summarized everything in this all-in-one article.
But I do not agree that these tips are useful for small businesses only. In fact, big companies are already using most of these strategies. So anyway these tips are gems for everybody.
School was never so exciting… yes your blog seems like a school. I am reading each article everyday and learning from them. Keep writing.
Neil buddy. I can’t stop reading your posts. This post makes me want to call up businesses and call myself an expert lol.
To all readers, you are insane if you don’t bookmark this page.
Thank Neil
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was super long) so
I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any points for beginner blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.
Glad I could help. You should check out some of my earlier blog posts, they can definitely help
Really awesome post loving it. we are new in online marketing. this post help us more.
Glad I could help
This design is steller! You certainly know how to
keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost.
..HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks and good luck!
Thank you for all the information it helped out a lot, gave me a good Idea on how to get my Business marketed, How to promote it and lots more so once again, thank you
Glad I could help out. Let me know if you have any other questions
I think this post is a great example of the work you have done Neil, 2 years on and this post still has such a great impression on people. For me, engaing posts through a blog is the best way to get interaction and attention from potential readers and buyers.
Definitely, great points. Thanks for reading!
Great points. But are these points in order of importance? and if they are, then having a great customer service should come at bottom of the list?
NO, customer service is always atop any list. If your customers are unhappy you have no product.