“Market offline? Seriously? Do you think I’m a freakin’ cave man or something?!”
Slow your roll faithful readers. We know, we know, talk of marketing offline is kind of heresy online. But, how do you think businesses were built pre-1990′s? (If you answered inefficiently we wouldn’t completely disagree 
)
All web entrepreneurs (or at least most) are guilty at one point or another of forgeting that real world marketing even exists. Here’s some ideas of how you can inexpensively build your business outside of the internet and build some defensibility into your marketing strategies (read: no Google, Facebook, Twitter etc. reliance).
Traditional Public Relations
A tried and true piece of the marketing mix is good old-fashioned public relations. Leverage what’s unique about you or your business to get media mentions in local, regional, national, and industry-specific outlets. Everyone can find an angle. For instance, a young entrepreneur would be wise to take advantage of his age and play up the “local guy makes good” story to get plastered all over the local media. Contrary to popular belief, the media has trouble finding good topics so sell your story, be real, and you’ll see how fast PR can snowball.
Contribute to Trade Publications
Who the heck reads magazines any more? Lots of people! The beauty of trade publications is that by definition you should know a lot about the subject. Write a thoughtful piece and readers will naturally be curious about your background. Be sure to include a concise byline with your short professional bio and contact info. The audience in this strategy might be small but the targeting should be spot on.
Attend Networking Events
This method is probably the “riskiest” on the list. Obviously I don’t mean risky in terms of financial or safety risk, rather the risk of the potential to be a huge time suck. Many general networking events are a group of professionals from random industries wasting time and getting drunk. The kind of event I’m talking about should be professionals in your target market who are being productive, making real business connections, and, well, probably getting drunk. You may have to travel to a trade show or conference to reach your audience but I see late night bonding with industry counterparts lead to big business deals all the time.
Run Your Own Event
Can’t find that perfect networking event? Start it! Conference founders often become the face of an industry and can leverage their personal brands into a large business within that space. If there is truly a gaping void and your industry has no specific events then it’s likely that others are on the same page as you and would be interested in attending. Plus, running your own event gives you yet another reason to be deserving of some press coverage ala the first idea on this list.
Do Something Charitable
Hopefully you’re a generally good person and wouldn’t do something charitable just for promotion’s sake. However, if you’re presented with multiple opportunities to do something good and all else is equal, why not take the one that will build your business a little goodwill in your community? There’s a million ways to give back and get some buzz at the same time–some of my favorite being offering a scholarship and sponsoring nonprofit events. Whatever you decide on be sure you legitimately back the cause and have at least a bit of a helpful spirit going into it!
Big Ass Signs
Don’t rule out seemingly “dumb” methods of promotion. Drive down any road and I promise you there will be tons of “big ass signs.” Why? They still work! If your startup is at all consumer oriented, get a custom sign printed and place it on your building. It’s not rocket science and you won’t know the ROI but it’s only going to cost 100 bucks and a few new customers would cover the entire expense. If you’re investing in a permanent signs then consider checking with your local government about any rules and regs related to signage just to be on the safe site.
Print Your URL with Your Name
One of the most common mistakes I see businesses make is being discreet in their marketing. Unless you’re MTV or Nike, don’t produce ads or print materials with just a word or two and your logo. People gravitate to the internet for research purposes and there’s no reason to make it more complicated for a prospect to find you and hopefully become a sale. Print your URL everywhere!
This guest post was written by the sign printing experts at CustomSigns.com!
Lovely photo courtesy of cote.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Some really good ideas. Not much is said about ways to promote yourself offline anymore. Thanks for the reminder that a lot can be done away from the keyboard.
I love the caveman picture. Phil Hartman was the best. If you really want to get the word out locally join a chamber or BNI Chapter in your area. That is how I got started and built locally. Toastmasters is also great and you will learn public speaking.