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Marketing your business is the most important aspect of your getting your business off the ground and keeping it there.

There are many free and paid advertising options available to work at home moms (WAHMS) online, but do your research before you buy any kind of advertising space. Find out the number of people who will be exposed to the ad, what kind of search engine ranking the site has, how long have they been in business, etc. And don’t forget to talk to other moms through message boards and discussion lists to ask them what kind of advertising they have had success with.

To get you started, here are 25 free and paid advertising ideas to promote your business:

Free Online Advertising

1. Link exchanges.

2. Ezine and newsletter ad exchanges.

3. Post your ad in the appropriate section on message boards and forums.

4. List your link in website directories.

5. Submit your site to search engines through the “submit a site” link. (Usually located at the bottom of their homepage.)

6. Banner or button exchanges.

7. Write business articles and include your bio at the end with your business name and website address. Submit them to reprint websites so others can use your article in their newsletter or ezine.

8. Write a press release and submit it to free press release distribution sites.

9. Barter your products or services in exchange for advertising.

10. Host an online party on websites that offer free party rooms.

11. Join a network group that focuses on WAHMS. They usually have a day on which you can post your ad to the group. This is also great for meeting other moms in business and making valuable contacts.

12. Sign website guestbooks and include your business name and information.

13. Classified boards and directories.

14. Plug boards.

15. Post your comments in blogs and include your website address.

16. Message boards/forums.

Paid Online Advertising

17. Buy ad space on a related website.

18. Buy a shopping mall ad.

19. Website submission services.

20. Newsletter classified or solo ads that target your market.

21. Banner or button ads on other websites.

22. Buy a virtual table at an online party hosted by many websites.

23. Pay-per-Click ads.

24. Sponsored listings in search engines.

25. Advertise on an Internet radio program such as WAHM Talk Radio.

Begin right away to use these simple, doable tactics to promote and build your business online!

Article ? Darlene “Dee” Bishop and Business Support Group. All rights reserved worldwide.

If you’re like many women who want to start a home based business, one of the things that may be stopping you is a lack of funds.

While there are many new Network Marketing and Direct Sales businesses that are free to join, it will take at least some money to get things rolling…money for business cards, inexpensive marketing and advertising methods, postage, your own personal products to experiment with, samples, etc.

Even if you are starting an online business that markets a service, or that has no physical product, you will need money for domain name registration, web site hosting, low cost advertising and the like.

Here are some ideas for raising the needed capital.

Get a loan.

Do you have a relative who would loan you the money to get started? What about that Great Aunt who always said you’d be great in your own business? How about Mom or Grandma?

Perhaps they would accept barter (your new product, for instance…good rejection-proof way to get them hooked on it!) in lieu of repayment? Does Grandma have a shed full of stuff that she’s been wanting to sell or eBay but doesn’t have the energy? Would Mom like to have her house cleaned for the next few months?

Ask your sponsor for help.

Ask your upline sponsor if they would consider buying the starter kit for you, and then taking the profits from your first parties or commission checks as repayment?

Some sponsors do this already, but if not, she may be so impressed with your drive to succeed that she will say yes.

Have a yard sale

This is what I did to get started in my business. This one has twofold benefits…you’re making some extra cash but also have a captive audience of people coming to you! If you’re really energetic, go around to your neighbors and tell them that if they leave their castaways in a box on the curb, you will come pick them up. Do this before your sale. Slap a price tag on the merchandise and cha-ching!

Be sure to make a sign advertising your new product or service and plenty of flyers or business cards to give to each shopper.

Sell some stuff on eBay.

Sell things from your own home (name brand kid’s clothes and popular book titles are easy and almost always pull a good price). Go to library book sales and buy books for .10 or .25 and list those. Use your my eBay page to advertise your new website!

Use your tax return.

Release the clutter, sell a useless piece of furniture or item in your home.

For me, it was the dusty electric guitar

Kitchen appliances (you know what I’m talking about here!) that were going to make your life easier, exercise equipment that makes you feel guilty when you trip over it…

Pre-sell the product.

I got this one from my beloved Kim Klaver, aka Ms. Stud. Go around to your tribe (the people who love you enough to do anything you say), your coworkers, neighbors, playgroup Mommies, and show them a *picture* of the product, tell them what it does, collect the checks, deposit them and order your product. Sell it back to them at retail.

Do a quick, temporary odd job.

A friend of mine just did this one. She put a sign up at a local health food market that said “Non-toxic cleaning services”. (Notice that she created a niche). That day she got a call, did a job for an elderly women and made $150. Of course, she used her own nontoxic cleaning product and will probably end up getting a customer out of the deal too! Babysitting for a couple of weeks, dogsitting, housesitting…you get the picture.

Talk to dh.

Notice I’m leaving this one until last! Hopefully you have the kind of relationship where your husband will be overjoyed that you want to improve your financial standing. If you garner his support in the beginning he is much more likely to be helpful along your journey, with the inevitable ups and downs of business life.

Looking for your first MLM company could be quite a hard decision to make, especially if you are concerned about the cost involved with starting your first multilevel marketing business. Luckily for the inexperienced network marketer, their exist many low cost MLM companies that can help you learn the ropes of the business and go easy on your wallet at the same time.

Should You Join A MLM That Is Free To Sign Up?

Unfortunately there is no company that will let you remain a free member forever and will at some point ask you to become a paid member which can cost a lot of money. You should find out first up front if their are any hidden costs involved with free MLM companies and what their upgrade costs are.

You might find a company that you can remain a free member forever and recruit, but you will never be able to receive the benefits of the compensation plan from the sales produced by your organization. You will have to upgrade if you want to make money.

Sometimes it is best to join a company that has a free trial instead of a free sign up, so you can try it out risk free and decide after the trial period if it is the right business for you.

The other disadvantage of free companies is that you will have a harder time getting people to upgrade because they are expecting not to spend money and you will have a harder time building the business and have a larger ratio of free members to paid members.

Find A Low Cost MLM First

Before you get involved you should consider getting started with a low monthly fee mlm. Many people who get involved with mlm don’t have a very big budget and are looking to achieve financial stability and that is going to be a lot harder if you join a network marketing company that costs a lot of money.

If it takes you a long time to start getting the hang of recruiting and duplication, it’s going to be stressful staying involved and keeping motivated when you can barely pay the monthly fees.

When you find a good affordable mlm with a lucrative compensation plan, you will not only be able to afford the opportunity but will also have more money on hand to advertise your new business and get into profit quickly.

Pros And Cons Of Low Cost MLMS

When you find a company that is affordable and cheap to remain a member, you will find it much easier to get people to sign up and you will be more motivated to work harder when you see you are getting results.

You will also find that your downline will grow much faster and have longer retention compared to the higher priced alternatives. The main reason why most people drop out is because they can’t make enough to cover the cost.

The one downside of most cheaper companies is that usually the compensation plans are not as big as the higher priced network marketing companies. Most of the time the commissions are relative to the cost of the business, so if you are earning ten percent on a $100 a month business, the cost of a $10 a month business would get you $1 in residuals.

On the other hand you will find it much harder to get people to pay $100 a month so you might be in negative for a long time until you get 10 people to sign up a remain members to cover your cost.

Final Thoughts

Low cost mlms are a great solution for the complete newbie to the business. Their is no better way to test the waters and learn the business while at the same time cutting your losses if you do not succeed. For the more experienced network marketer the appeal of a cheap mlm might not be as attractive because of the small money compared to what they might be earning, but depending on the compensation plan sometimes you can earn just as much and in a quicker amount of time.