Marketing

MAC06

Hi My name is Deborah and I am an new small homebased business owner. I have been in business for 3 months now and I have not had that great of a business as I did before becoming an business owner. I do the same things now that I did before becoming an business owner. I make and sell candles, bath and body products, adult cakes and gift baskets.
 
Waht are the best marketing tools for someone on a small budget?
Where can I find affordable printing suppliers for flyers, door hangers and more?
I live in the Detroit,Mi area.

sagemedia

Consider signing up with online business directories - many of which offer free listing services. You`ll appear lower on the list of course, but it may bring you some additional traffic, and if the directory has a high pagerank that will help you in the search engine ranking department as well.I would not recommend VistaPrint. The quality (in the orders we`ve placed with them) was unacceptably low. Yes you can get "free" business cards with them, but they look terribly amateurish and include advertising for VistaPrint on each one. Maybe they`ve improved since we sampled their services, but my own personal experience with them has not been good.Running a design business, I`ve tried dozens of print shops, and have trade&brokerage accounts with a few of the better ones. Feel free to drop me a line if you`re interested in a specific item.You might also want to consider starting a "blog" on your website (I`m assuming you have a website). Fill it with interesting news, articles and resources, then get the link out there. It`s a great way of attracting your target market... they come for the interesting information, and hopefully stick around to check out the items you sell.Free local classifieds and newsgroups are also a good method if you don`t have a website - most major cities have at least a few.Reciprocal linking is fine, but it doesn`t have the effect it once did. And a reciprocal link with a poorly rated site can actually hurt your marketing efforts. So be careful who you trade links with - besides, do you really want your competitors advertising on your website?Best of luck,Chanie

starpointe

I highly recommend PrintingForLess.com.  They are very professional, have been praised with countless business awards (including Inc. 500, and Forbes).  Their prices are great and they`re great to work with.  You can use Referral Code: RP17CMR9Y in the Promotional Code field to get $25 off your first order.  (I think I get some kickback from that...maybe not.)  If you prefer, just go to their website and order.  I`ve used them and I think they`re great.  

MichaelBr

I agree that http://www.printsmadeeasy.com for my business cards. If anyone is interested, you can use this Promotional Coupon Code to get 15% off your first purchase: CLC5123

missgist

thank u for that!!!!!! it works!

truetiger

  I am a dealer of vistaprint and a graphic designer.  The card will need gloss paper or mattie finish which ever you prefer the paper is under #10 and your custom logo can be reasonable done for less than $50.  You can contact me [email protected]</A>
 

eventbrander

#10 is flimsy. Currently my cards are on #150 and cost an arm and a leg but it carries its weight in gold.

InactiveMember

Great tips from everyone!