1. Business cards
   Have business cards with you at all times. Drop several cards on every bookstore, coffee shop, restaurant or anywhere you can find a cork board that allows businesses to advertise.
2. Promotional Items
   Use caffepress.com or any online store to create t-shirts, mugs, calendars, etc. made with your company’s logo and URL on it. You can also offer these promotional items as prizes in a contest on your blog or company website. They buyers will advertise for you wherever they go.
3. Wear your URL
   This goes hand in hand with the item above; create for yourself and friends custom t-shirts or hats with your company URL on them. People will want to know more and that’s all you want, right?
   

   Wear Your URL

4. Yard or Garage Sale
   Sell items you no longer want and make sure to put up a sign with the words “Sponsored by (URL of your company”
5. Post Flyers
   Create a poster about your website and post in appropriate places; the more exposure to traffic the better your chances to gain more visitors to your site.

6. Public Browser Trick
   Go to your local library, computer store, and internet cafe or computer lab and set your website name as the default browser homepage on all the computers you can easily access. Make sure you are not violating any internal policies.
7. Router Trick
   Name your wireless router after your website or blog. People in your area will see it whenever they connect to their own router. If you live in the vicinity of a coffee shop that offers free wireless internet access – the better because those who are trying to connect will see your router name too.
8. Luggage Label
   Order a custom patch or label and display it proudly on your entire luggage, laptop bag or any other piece of travelling container. You will get a lot of eyes, especially at the airport carousel. Quick tip: let it rotate for a while if you are in no hurry.
9. Laptop Label
   On the same token, put a custom made label with your company or blog URL on your laptop. Forget about being cool while displaying the little fruit your laptop already has etched on its cover. Your company is much more important, plus the laptop manufacturer is not paying you any money for displaying their logo, are they? Imagine the number of eyes in the coffee shop reading your URL while you look busy writing your next great article for your blog.
10. Bumper stickers
    Create a funny bumper sticker and offer it as a prize in some kind of contest or simply ship it to your client list. Give some to your friends and family. They will be more than happy to drive around and promote you and your company. 
    

    Bumper sticker with your company name on it

     

11. Throw a Party or Organize a Picnic
    Tell friends, family and neighbors that your company is sponsoring a party with food, drinks or whatever you want. When everyone shows up, hand them a card with your company name on it. It will create some great buzz offline.
12. Sponsor an Event
    Contact your local newspaper and find out what upcoming events do they plan on writing about. Select one that is dear to your heart (and to the public) and become a sponsor. If you are a designer, offer to design a website for them. I did that for “Run for Autism” and you cannot believe the number of calls I receive after that.
13. Sponsor a Little League Team
    Provide the T-shirts for the team and don’t forget to include your company’s URL on the back. It’s a great way to show your support for sports and advertise your business in the same time.
14. Magnetic Vehicle Signs
    Create custom magnetic signs and put them on your car, your friends, family and whoever else is not embarrassed to help you out.
15. Send eCards
    Keep a list of all birthdays of your clients, friends, family, etc. and send them an e-card to let them know you and your company/blog care about them.
16. Unusual Advertisement
    Take advantage of every holiday or special day and create a fun scene in your front yard. In the winter make a snow man holding an ad with your advertisement on it. For Halloween carve pumpkins with your company or blog URL on them. For 4th of July have hundred of balloons with the name of your company and URL on them. We did this once, by mistake, when working for a home builder and people 3-4 states away called us asking to build a home with us!
17. Sugarcoat your URL
    Take advantage of any holiday and order custom made candies with your IURL on the wrapper or etched on the candy itself, if possible. Now people can actually taste your company!

Marketing Candy

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 Claudiu Geanta is a successful online business owner and founder of Design by Satori Inc. & ProIncome Marketing, LLC. He teaches businesses how to build an optimum online presence. He is also and accomplished web designer and photographer. You can follow him on twitter.

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