If you run a small business, your life is ridiculously busy.And if you have a significant other, spouse, kids or anyone else that deserves a chunk of your time, well, then your life is probably almost impossibly busy. That doesn't mean your business has to suffer for it. But if all you're managing to do every day is just take care of clients, put out fires, and handle the day to day tasks of running your business, trust me, it is suffering. Because right now, with the economy teetering on the edge of disaster, you absolutely must find time to work on marketing your business. Maybe you're thinking, "I don't have the money to do much marketing even if I had the time..." Here are 9 ways you can market your business for free or cheap in just a few minutes: 1 ) Get Free PR - Get access to queries from reporters all over the country who need sources and information for their articles, books, blogs and interviews. Join HARO at www.helpareporter.com at no charge, read the query lists that land in your Inbox three times a day, and respond to the ones you can genuinely help with on target information. 2 ) Say Thanks - Write a thank you card to a client, prospect who contacted you, referral source, or anyone who has helped you along the way. Everyone appreciates being appreciated, after all. 3 ) Become a Blogger - You don't need your own blog to benefit from the power of the blogging...You just need to post comments that are interesting, relevant and helpful on other people's blogs. Then people who read and enjoy your comments can follow a link back to your Website. 4 ) Get Networked - Online social networks are a terrific way to market in your own backyard, and beyond. A quick Google search will turn up a boatload related to every topic under the sun. Sign up for a no-cost account with one that's related to what you do and set up your profile. I like Biznik.com, LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com for general sites. Twitter.com is also worthwhile. 5 ) Be Helpful - Many social networking sites like Biznik.com, StartUpation.com and LinkedIn.com have Q & A sections where members post and answer questions. Jump in there with helpful advice and people will want to learn more about you and what you do. 6 ) Connect - Make a point of getting in touch, and scheduling phone meetings, with interesting people you find on your social networking sites. You never know who you might meet or how they could help your business grow. 7 ) Speak and Be Heard - Start podcasting and adding the audios to your blog or Website. The easiest way I've found to do this is with a nifty little free service at http://www.utterli.com that lets you record your podcasts by phone. Simple! 8 ) Stay in Touch - When was the last time you called a past client or referral partner just to check in? If it's been more than 6 months, there's no time like the present to pick up the phone and say "Hi. How's it goin'?" 9 ) Get Your Expertise Out There - If you regularly write articles, submit them online. Again, Biznik is a terrific place to do this. I also like ezinearticles.com and evancarmichael.com, but there are plenty more options out there. Find ones targeted at your niche and have fun. Do have other ideas for marketing your small business inexpensively and easily? Please share by leaving a comment below! Want 110 more powerful, practical marketing ideas (normally $17) for free if you help me out with $2 S&H? Go here now and take advantage of this special offer… http://www.freesmallbusinessmarketingtips.com/ [tags] Cheap Inexpensively, Free Ways, Market Marketing, Small Business, Fast Online Article submission, PR podcasting Ideas, Social Networking [/tags]

Have you been thinking about jumping on the online video bandwagon, but didn’t know where to start? Maybe you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the technology… Or you’re just not sure online video is for you. Well there’s no better time than the present to turn on your inner director, bust out a video recorder, and get your own videos our there. After all, video is destined to be a big part of the wave of the online future (just look at the popularity of YouTube, and all the new technology for video email and conferencing). Yet surprisingly few small business owners have jumped on. This means online videos are a terrific way for you to stand out from the crowd. Did you know…

• Marketing with video is up to 600% more effective than print alone (according to a study by the Wharton School of Business)
• Video converts customers 3X more than other media
• Video builds instant rapport and establishes an immediate connection with your customers
• Online Video is proven to increase sales and boost conversion rates
• Video also improves your search engine rankings
• Your video could “go viral,” reaching millions of new customers

And thanks to all the advances in cameras, I promise they’re a snap to make—even if you’re a total technophobe. And they’re also a really effective way to market your business on the cheap. Of course, as you probably already suspected, there are a few secrets to creating and posting videos without pulling your hair out. Nowadays I can create and post a video in about 30-minutes. But when I first decided to start posting videos it wasn’t that easy at all. I got out my trusty mini-dv recorder, made a short video, and got all excited. I wasted almost 8 hours trying to edit the darn thing with 3 different software programs. And I hadn’t even tackled formatting or uploading it yet! About to give up, I ran across some helpful tips, made a tiny investment in a Flip video camera (about $130) and re-recorded my video. Then had it edited, formatted and posted to both YouTube and My Space in about an hour. Woohoo! Now I’ve posted 5 more, and have others on the way (you can see ‘em all here: http://www.youtube.com/user/StacyKaracostas). The result has been about 350 or 400 more people finding me than would have otherwise. Not bad, but not as good as I’d like. So I’m excited to learn more when I interview Lou Bortone, “The Online Video Guy”, next week. He’s promised to share all his best online video tips and secrets with you on the call so you can… “Get Started Making Your Own Web Videos Quickly, Easily and Cheaply…and Profit from the Incredible Marketing Power of the Online Video Revolution!” You’ll even get the chance to ask him your personal questions live at the end too. If you’ve been thinking about making and posting videos on the web, you should join me for this month’s teleseminar too: Get the details and save your spot on the call—or reserve your copy of the audio—by clicking this link: http://www.success-stream.com/teleseminar-9.htm Have you been using online videos to market and grow your business? If so, I’d love to know what’s been working best for you. Please do share by leaving your comments below. [tags] Marketing Your Small Business, Online Video Tips Secrets, Lou Bortone, Stacy Karacostas [/tags]

Small Business Practical Marketing Expert Stacy Karacostas from http://www.success-stream.com takes a break from snow camping to talk about ways to Small Business Practical Marketing Expert Stacy Karacostas from http://www.success-stream.com takes a break from snow camping to talk about ways to measure the results of your marketing tactics in this nifty video clip. Follow her savvy secrets and advice to make sure you're not wasting money on branding or marketing tactics that don't result in hot leads or new customers and clients—something small business owners cannot afford to do in the current weakening economy. [tags] Stacy Karacostas, Small Business, Marketing Tip, Secret Measure Results, How To [/tags]

I’m a firm believer that attending conferences and seminars is one of the best ways to keep your business moving forward in any economy. And if you want to get a ton of value for your investment, you should be at the Business Success Summit in St. Louis March 26th, 2009. Scheduled expert speakers include: Sam Black, author of “How to Build Your Business Using the Phone…Effectively!” will transform your sales process with her presentation: “When the Phone Rings”. Keynote presenter, financial consultant and living legend Bob Hardcastle is the past host of the nationally syndicated “Money Talk” radio program and author of four books on wealth and money management. His presentation, “Money Is Still Talking – Are You Listening?”, is a must-see for everyone concerned about finding and keeping customers and creating a thriving business in this New Economy. Karen Hoffman is going to share the how-tos for “Using Barter strategically To Pay for Your Marketing & Business Expenses”. Bill Hebert, a 30+ year veteran business owner in the St. Louis area, co-owns the St. Louis Chapter of the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle. He’s going to share how to “Shift Your Focus to Double Profits In 2009”. Larry Norber, founder and president of AudioVu.com, a website services supplier that specializes in website conversions designed to move casual visitors to live breathing prospects and generating increased website traffic utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and broadcast email. Don’t miss his talk “Basic Search Engine Optimization Is Not Rocket Science”. And me, Stacy Karacostas, founder of SuccessStream Sales & Marketing Solutions. I’ll be showing you how to “Turbo-Charge Your Marketing Materials in 4 Simple Steps”, so you can create marketing materials that:

• Grab your ideal customer by the eyeballs and don’t let go;
• Speak directly to them in a way that is likable, interesting and enticing;
• Make your company stand out from the crowd;
• Convince prospects to pick up the phone, visit your Website, and buy from you

On top of all that small business expertise, they’re going to end the Business Success Summit with a Panel of Experts to be available to answer any and all questions put to them, until the questions have been exhausted! But in case that’s not enough to make you want to be a part of this small business success event… Here are The Top Five Reasons not to let the recession stand in the way of joining us at this most IMPORTANT MARKETING & MONEY-MAKING Business Success Summit ever held in St. Louis. Counting down from five to one…. Reason #5: Since you don't dare invest money anywhere, you might as well invest it in yourself, your know-how, your self-improvement and your business. Reason #4: You aren't going to get a bail-out from anybody but yourself. And it's more than likely too late to be born to rich parents. Or to marry rich. Reason #3: What happens in your business, finances and life still has much more to do with how you think and what information you acquire and who you connect with and what you do, than with the goings-on in Washington or on Wall Street. Reason #2: You can't just "wait this out" and hope everything will soon return to normal." As Dan Kennedy says, an entire New Economy is developing, presenting new challenges and new opportunities, requiring new strategies - which is one of the reasons we are calling this The Most Important Business Success Summit Ever. Reason #1: The Who's Who of Business Growth Strategies in St. Louis will be there plus the specialist-vendors we should all rely on for accelerated implementation – and all of them are experts who do and personally profit from what they teach. The once a year gathering of more growing St. Louis businesses and entrepreneurs per square inch than any other...it's The event of the year, everybody who you need to meet is coming, so you just can't be the poor soul left at home. You know if you miss this you'll hate yourself in the morning!!!! Get all details about The MARKETING & MONEY-MAKING, CUSTOMER-ACQUIRING AND RETENTION SUMMIT here: http://www.StLBusinessSuccess.com [tags] Small Business, Marketing Experts, Stacy Karacostas, St. Louis Business Success Summit, March 26th 2009 [/tags]