How to Get Free Publicity and Increase Your Local Leads

1 - Free local advertising.

Most businesses are so focused on their paid advertising, they may forget to utilize local free and almost-free advertising. Craigslist.org is easy to use and can bring in a lot of local leads, depending on what kind of business you have. Additionally, your town may have a presence on sites such as backpages.com, cityslick.net, hubspot.com, etc. Just do an internet search on "local free advertising" for more ideas. Additionally, your local town or community may have free publications where you can list your business without paying a fee (as opposed to the bigger, flashier paid ads). Take advantage of this local free advertising to get more local leads.

2 - Start a blog.

Blogs are useful for gaining organic ranking (which refers to which sites shows up first in an online search) and a lot of blog owners are missing out on local search traffic because they are not using local tags or keywords. For example, if you are a CPA in Charlotte, it pays to incorporate keywords like "Charlotte CPA" and "Charlotte accountant" into your blog and your website. Starting a blog is free and easy, and you can get started at WordPress.com.

3 - Ask for referrals.

One of the easiest ways to grow your business locally is to ask your existing clients and customers for referrals. This can be as simple as posting a sign in your place of business ("A referral is the greatest compliment you can give us.") or sending out an email to your client base, or calling some of your key clients to ask for referrals. Whether or not you incentivize your clients (offer a gift or payment or finder's fee) for their referrals is entirely up to you.

4 - Host a workshop.

In most communities (even the tiny ones!) there are a variety of ways to reach potential clients by offering free workshops, lectures or information. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce, library, community center, colleges, and Small Business Administration (SBA) to see what kinds of classes or free information is offered, and find out how you can participate. For example, a CPA can host a free 1-hour class on how to save money on your taxes, how to apply for an extension on your taxes, etc. That attracts the perfect target market, and gives an opportunity to collect information from these leads. Additionally, you can monetize these free workshops by giving people a reason to buy today - create a special offer or a discount to invite them to sign up on the spot.

Be on the lookout for other ways you can promote your business for free in your local community. The possibilities are endless once you know where to look.

About the Author:

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