Whether it’s designing MySpace pages or WordPress templates or even selling your goods at an auction sites, you still need to find ways to market yourself and find customers who will pay attention to your business. What do you do when you don’t have that much money? After all, you’re just a young entrepreneur, hoping to break into the world of financial gain.

Well, don’t fret. Here at Teen Money Making Ideas, we always aim to make things possible for you. Here are 100 unique ways to market yourself on a shoestring budget:

1. Tell your family and friends. They are your first pool of support and moral boosters. Tell them about what you are up to during visits or even call them out of the blue to say hi and update them on what’s happening with you. Let them know how much you appreciate their help and make them feel that they are a big part of your growth as a budding entrepreneur.
2. Post on forums. Join boards and forums that are related to your business or go to online networks where your target market is. Start here in TMMI and sign up for a free account so you can have access to the community and share with them your big idea!
3. Connect with people online. Make friends and acquaintances.
4. Utilize your social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter by searching for topics related to your business, and connect with people who have listed these as their interests.
5. Join Facebook groups that share similar interests with your business.
6. Create a Facebook page for your business.
7. Utilize Twitter lists and group Twitterers of similar interests.
8. Hang out at your local neighborhood shops or malls. Strike up friendly conversations with strangers whom you think might be interested in what you do.
9. You can also hand out posters, handmade postcards, or flyers at the mall.
10. Put your flyers on the cars at the parking lots.
11. Drop your business cards in the customer drop box at restaurants or other establishments.
12. Create a free website for your business.
13. Post a blog about your big idea.
14. Put a link to your website in your social media accounts.
15. Put a link to your website as part of your signature when you post in forums.
16. Create YouTube videos explaining what you do as well as advertising your business.
17. Join YouTube memes and be creative – find a way to integrate it with your business. When people search for memes your video will be included and will consequently drive traffic to your site.
18. Put a link to your website in the YouTube description or even at the end of your YouTube video.
19. You can also put a link to your website at the end of every email that you write.
20. Find chat rooms under topics related to your business or the industry where it is in.
21. Find other blogs discussing your industry and leave meaningful comments as well as a link back to your website.
22. If you have home-based business, put out a sign outside your house.
23. List yourself in local directories.
24. Be an expert on your topic or industry. Offer advice to people who need help in relation to what you do.
25. Offer to be a speaker at schools so you can motivate them about setting up their own businesses.
26. Offer to be a speaker in other engagements to talk about your area of expertise.
27. Put up bumper stickers, signs or flags on your car so you are also advertising while driving. Just be careful not to be too much of a distraction to other pedestrians and motorists.
28. Design creative bumper stickers to give away that people can put on their cars too. For example “Baby in car” or “Student driver” – they are useful to a lot of people. You can design this with your website in a much smaller font at the bottom or at the top.
29. Join mailing lists and network with other people.
30. Make your email address as a form of marketing in itself by using your business name as a username.
31. Sign up for instant messengers, invite your friends to join, connect, then leave a link to your website in your message to them.
32. Offer to exchange links with other blogs and websites.
33. Offer to let other businesses advertise in your blog or website in exchange for them promoting you.
34. Offer a discount to your customers in exchange for promoting you or referrals.
35. Offer to do business-to-business with other companies (i.e. If you are a pet photographer, take photos of the dogs at the pet shop for free, in exchange for having a stack of your business cards displayed at the counter for anyone to see.)
36. Visit your local library and discreetly insert your business card or flyer in books related to your business.
37. Buy a popular but expired domain for a low price and then redirect them to your website.
38. Avail of free traffic exchanges. Hook up with a website that specializes on traffic exchange and sign up for a free account. Fill out your profile. After that you will given a list of websites for you to visit. For every site you visit, you will receive one visitor to your website or blog in return.
39. Consider paid traffic exchanges. Just like #38 but you will need to pay a small fee to guarantee even more traffic to your site.
40. Make use of Google Analytics to sort out your online data so you will have a better perspective of your online presence.
41. Make use of Google AdWords.
42. Offer many modes of payment in your website to attract more customers because of your flexibility.
43. Offer discounts during important events or seasons.
44. Advertise at a local classified ads.
45. Advertise on a billboard (rent is approximately around $8-15/day depending on location).
46. Network with local DJs and have them mention your name or business in exchange for discounts.
47. Network with online podcasters and online radios and have them promote you in exchange for discounts.
48. Go door-to-door in your neighborhood and let them know what you are all about.
49. Join bazaars and get known by the community.
50. Join trade shows and scope out your competition but network with other vendors as well. It is also a great opportunity to find out what your customers are particularly looking for.
51. Be visible in public events and network with people, make friends and let them know what you do.
52. Submit your blog posts or website individually in several bookmarking sites like Digg or Delicious.
53. Get custom apparel like bracelets, caps or shirts and wear them whenever you go out.
54. Offer to guest write in a blog in exchange for a short bio about you and a link to your website.
55. Offer to guest write in a newspaper or any local print magazine in exchange for promoting your business.
56. Always keep your blog updated with fresh content to draw more visitors.
57. Hold contests in your blog to keep readers interested.
58. Give out freebies in your blog to draw public attention.
59. List your blog in online directories.
60. Employ SEO strategies to keep your blog on top of online searches.
61. Write a free ebook on a topic of your expertise and offer it as a free download in your website.
62. Put a link to your website inside your ebook.
63. Upload the ebook in other ebook banks or directories for others to see and download.
64. Make a free magazine or zine to distribute at local bookstores.
65. Put a link to your website or blog in the free magazine or zine.
66. Avail of Google PPC ads.
67. Advertise in Twitter or Facebook.
68. Create flyers and put them in mailboxes in the houses in your neighborhood.
69. Strike a deal with the newspaper boy (offer discount, free service or pay a fee) to include your flyer in every newspaper that the delivers to every house.
70. Sign up for a virtual business card and link to all your social media accounts as well as your website and blog.
71. Get a LinkedIn account and network with other business people and entrepreneurs.
72. Put a flyer with the referral link to your website in the tear off tabs and put them up in public bulletin boards.
73. Join school organizations or attend events and tell people about your business.
74. Offer to sponsor an event in exchange for showing off your business name and logo.
75. Create a unique logo and register for a unique business name that will surely stand out.
76. Print your logo and website address to different office materials like pencils and notepads to give away to people.
77. Design calendars to give away and allot the final and first pages to putting information about your business and your website.
78. Make sure that all the pages in your website have your business name at the bottom of the page as well as a link to the home page.
79. Create a Contact page in your website and put all of your contact information there to make sure that you are easy to reach.
80. Create email newsletters that you can send to your subscribers.
81. Sign up for workshops, conferences or seminars related to your industry. Not only is it a great opportunity to better your skills but to network with other entrepreneurs like you as well who have the same skill set and might be useful to you in the future.
82. Create other focus-centric websites related to your business. Make them entertaining and easy to relate to, and put a link to your website in a prominent area. For example, if you are a graphic designer, you can create a separate blog talking about design then link back to your website.
83. Reset the homepage of the browser on a public computer (like in a computer shop, school or public library) to your website.
84. Use direct mail – get addresses from a phone book of individuals or companies who might benefit from your business and send them postcards that are personalized to give out information about you.
85. Write a press release about your business and submit them to press release databases online.
86. Advertise in other blogs or websites via a banner.
87. Create keychains or keyrings with your name and logo on it to give away at locksmiths, car shops, gasoline stations, etc.
88. Create a podcast about your business or a general interest, or even a topic that is quite popular and you have a lot of knowledge of. Then at the end of each podcast, advertise your business and your website link.
89. Have a garage sale. Every time someone makes a purchase, make sure that you include your business card in the bag or a flyer advertising your business.
90. Put an ad in Craiglist offering your services and your contact info if possible.

And now for ideas that are so outrageous, it just might work!

1. Pay a homeless guy to stand at the street all day and hold a sign with your website on it.
2. Have a pilot fly by with a sign in the sky.
3. Create a stunt on the street that will draw attention, like play magic trick with a dog if you want to advertise your magician business or even pet sitter business (works both ways).
4. Put up signs in public restrooms – lots of people go there and are bound to stay for a few minutes, thereby giving you a chance to catch their interest.
5. During halloween, when kids go trick or treating, give them candy and slip them your business card as well. They might not be interested in it, but their parents might be! (i.e. Perfect for babysitting services)
6. Find dirty cars or windows and write your information there. Take photos and distribute them online as well. (i.e. Perfect for carwash business and other cleaning businesses)
7. Ride public transportation like trains and buses and engage the passengers with a spiel about your product.
8. Walk around a busy street or neighborhood in a costume and give out flyers or business cards.
9. Get a lot of balloons, tie your information on the strings, and let them all just fly away. It can even work on kites.
10. Get some friends and yourself to avail of some body paint and put your name across. Attend sports events and get noticed by the camera!

We hope you take a chance with these and that one or two (or three! or more!) ideas will help you out

About Erica: My name is Erica and I like writing and using my imagination in order to be productive. I believe that creativity is the key in becoming successful, no matter how young or old you are! :). So as the webmaster of TMMI, I'll be sharing some of the ways I found to not only make money but be creative too! Continue reading...

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