By now you might probably have a few business ideas of your own and can’t wait to get started on it. (Don’t have one yet? Here in our site you’ll find lots of entrepreneurial businesses for teens.) You have seen the potential of the internet and might be thinking that it might be an excellent way of promoting your products. Are there any free ways to market yourself online?

Being on the internet is fairly easy for teen entrepreneurs like you – you who have been born with the internet already up and running, ready at your disposal. Today we will focus on the power of social media and discuss techniques that are current and trendy right now. Here are 25 free ways to market yourself online:

1. Have an e-mail address. It’s the most basic thing you should have and very mandatory. An e-mail address makes you available at all times, and people from all over the world can reach you. There are a lot of free e-mail services out there. The most reliable (and most professional, in my opinion) is Gmail (owned by Google). You can also use Yahoo or other providers, but make sure that they have strong security measures and allow personalization to better suit your needs. If you have a business name already, make this as your username. Use your brand name or company name, too, or just your full name (or even initials and surname if it’s too long) – avoid making use of cutesy names because that’s not professional at all.
2. Create a virtual business card. If you would be dealing with people online, a virtual business card might be a great way of communicating and marketing yourself. You might want to check out DropCard or WeaveMet – they are services that lets you send your contact information to people you meet via email or text message.
3. Join Twitter. Network with potential clients and business contacts via Twitter. Update everyone about what’s going on with your business. Share your insights, interesting links related to your product, and more. Talk about your services in great detail and connect with your target market. Make sure to utilize Twitter lists and groups. Use a Twitter desktop client to keep track of tweets and dedicate searches of keywords relating to your business so that you are on the loop of what’s happening out there.
4. Join Facebook. Be more personal and connect better by creating a business page. Here you can post photos, talk with more people and make your brand more visible. Take cues from giants like Coca-Cola and Pringles, who have used Facebook successfully to their advantage. The key is hands-on interaction with you audience frequently.
5. Join MySpace. If your business is music-oriented, or if you want to connect with a younger audience, this site may be ideal for you. Join forums and groups, leave comments in people’s profiles and provide more information about you and your business in your own page.
6. Join LinkedIn. This social network is where a lot of professionals meet to connect and discuss issues about their industry. It’s also a great way of getting referrals or finding people whom you might need in your business. Your profile is also like a resume where you can put information about your work experience and your company.
7. Join YouTube. If you have the creativity and time to make videos, feel free to upload them to YouTube where millions can view them. Use the tags properly and smartly so that your topic will come up higher in the searches.
8. Join Retaggr. Use this to combine all your online information in one place. It’s like a business card but for all your social media accounts. You can send them to people so they’ll know where to find you around the web. It can also display your latest activities.
9. Join Flickr. Post photos of your product or your business.
10. Create a blog or a website.
11. Create an RSS feed. This is a convenient way for your readers to catch up with you – the RSS feed collects all your posts and updates your readers if you have posted something new in your blog or website.
12. Put signatures in your emails. If you have a website up and running, make sure that you include the link in your signature when you write emails. Also put your business name and contact info. It’s a great way to market because your contact will see it every time you send them something.
13. Join forums related to your business. Interact, create your own threads, join discussions. Also include a link to your website in your forum signature.
14. Comment on other blogs. This is a great way of networking – but don’t make your comments spam! Go to blogs that interest you, as well as blogs that are related to your business or industry. Read the contents then leave meaningful comments. This is a way of networking not only with the author of the blog but with other commenters as well. You can put a link to your website in the contact details.
15. Become a guest author or blog poster. There are blogs out there who are always looking for contributors. If you have an area of expertise that you can share, or have some insights that some people might be interested to know, you can offer to be a guest author or blog poster. It’s a way of marketing your own services as well because they will put an info about you at the end of the post. It’s also one step towards making yourself more credible instead of being just one of those internet spammers.
16. Create a free online magazine. Back in the day, there were zines, which are handmade magazines that can be done by anyone. Any topic will do, and they are distributed in different ways – via exchange with other zines, left in bookstores, distributed anywhere, etc. Now with the internet you can make a simple online magazine about your business, your product or a topic related to your business. Then offer it as a free download. For example, you have a friendship bracelet business – you can make an online magazine about jewelry or handmade stuff. Then you can just put your contact details somewhere in the page, or make a creative advertisement.
17. Use social bookmarks. Create accounts in Delicious or Digg and many more. You can submit your blog posts or website link to them so you can get more traffic to your site.
18. Use Google Analytics. Track your online progress and learn the data being gathered about your site. What keywords do people use to arrive at your website? What pages do they look at? How long do they stay on your website? This will help you better understand your market and further polish your strategies.
19. Create a mailing list. This makes it easier to create with a large number of people and saves you time searching for new clients. Look at Yahoo Groups or Bravenet and search for interests and keywords related to your business and create a mailing list where people can join and get updates from you.
20. Google yourself, your business and your brand name. See where your blog or website stands in terms of ranking. Read up on search engine optimization (SEO) tactics and use the right keywords in your posts to increase your position.
21. Be knowledgeable on your field or industry. It could be your business or the industry where your business belongs. The important thing is that people can come to you for advice because you know your stuff. Join answer sites like Yahoo Answers or Answer Bag and answer questions in your field.
22. List your website or blog in online directories. People will find you easier this way.
23. Create an online portfolio. Link it to your website and other social media accounts. Behance and Carbonmade offer free hosting of portfolios where you can showcase some of your stuff. They also have a thriving community where you can connect with other entrepreneurs like you.
24. Update your accounts daily. It’s very important that you are very hands-on with your accounts. You need to have fresh content constantly.
25. Be personal. This is probably the most important thing of all, and it’s free! The most important thing is that you put yourself out there. Sure it might be easier if you let someone handle it, or if you aggregate a news feed into your Twitter just so it can have updated content by the hour – but where is the human touch in all this? Keep in mind that you have to interact with your target market and let them know that there is a person behind the blog or the website, who is real. You can market any business but if you don’t have the patience and passion for it, in the end, it’s all for naught.

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...

25 Free Ways to Market Yourself Online, 3.3 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Related posts:

1. 50 Free Ways to Market Yourself Offline
2. 100 Unique Ways to Market Yourself on a Shoestring Budget
3. 25 Free Ways to Get Traffic to Your Site or Blog
4. Unique Ways Non US Residents Can Make Money Online
5. Free Ways for Kids to Make Money and Earn Prizes
6. 12 Ways To Collect Payments Online Quickly And Easily
7. Ways College Students are Making Big Money in Their Own Online Retail Business