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Tell us more. You have 27 posts so far this year and your Members page is blank.
Where are you going with this question. How and why are you asking and about WHAT??
There are books on everything and you can a lot of info online.
Help me to help you by
YOU sharing your thoughts with us.
LUCKIEST

Take a look at my post here:

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/3371?tstart=0

This is exactly what you need.
Drop me an email and we can discuss this over the phone.

Does this help??
If your advertising
budget, assuming you even have one, is low to start with, blowing it all on a
single high-profile ad placement isn’t likely to yield significant long-term
results. It might make more sense to try a variety of low-cost outlets to find
something that works.

Small business
owners face a daunting task of breaking through today’s non-stop ad clutter to
reach buyers. Do NOT give up. There are ways to win the small business
advertising game. “For the average business owner, creating and placing an ad
is like learning a foreign language,” says marketing consultant Andrew
Griffiths. “But advertising works and the more time and energy you put into
your advertising, the greater your results will be.”

Time, energy
and creative thinking are critical. You can find low-cost options in almost
every advertising category. While display ads in magazines and newspapers can
be expensive, advertising in the classified section costs less and is often
overlooked. Readers flock to the classifieds in many trade and specialty
magazines. Look for publications that specifically target your customers. Try a
few test ads to gauge response.

Advertising
online through search engines is inexpensive and has become the single most
popular new advertising outlet for small business. You’ll find complete details
and guidelines on creating and managing pay-per-click ad campaigns at search
giants such as Google and Yahoo!

A
lower-cost option in the direct mail arena is postcards. They are simple,
timely and easy for customers to read quickly at a glance. And they are
considerably less expensive than typical letter-and-envelope type mailings.

Choosing
the right ad medium, however, is only part of the battle. You still need to
create a plan for your ad program and craft a message that works. A few tips:

Choose
words and images that appeal to your customers and prompt them toDon’t
advertise on impulse. Create a plan; select several ad methods that can
support each other, and don’t give up before your ads have a chance to
work. Seek
outside assistance. Many SCORE counselors have an advertising and
marketing background.

LUCKIEST

Have you identified your target market? Who are your customers?
Targeted marketing-The magic key in your marketing plan.

Advertising budget- How much is each potential customer worth to you?
After you determine the potential dollar amount each customer represents you can develop your return on investment strategy.
The strategy- How much money am I going to spend advertising and where am I going to advertise

Track it! Trail it! Where did you spend money advertising ? Did it work?
Look for repeat advertisers because they may have a niche that works.

Tara, I like your answer, Where did you go to college??

From your bio "Our contributors become known as “experts” in their field, while providing readership with valued information about products, services and resources
available to them –
a huge benefit from a FREE publication! Our publication format allows readers to gain an understanding of “who” the
contributor is
prior to making the first phone call.
In essence the newspaper
becomes your referral and networking tool".

This web site likes FREE
Please post more, LUCKIEST

With todays technology and the internet at our finger tips (litereally). Businesses of all sizes with need to implement more creative ways to get our message across to our consumer base. Traditional communication methods consisted of:

Face to Face (if you can catch your customer's attention w/out interrupting their work schedule)

Mail (if it doesn't get stacked in the "read this mail later" box

By telephone (if you ever get off hold before your cell phone minutes run out for the month LoL)

Purchase incentives (not to thorough as you might only hear from your customer when they purchase and want the incentive)

But now you have:

Text messaging (if you can distribute your cell number for business purposes)

Email EFFICTIVE (just make sure to use +read mail receipt+)

Ecards (you can design your own templates, upload them and send

Video's (PowerPoint simple "Hello There" presentions, if you do it yourself it's cost effective, eye catching, and will get you remembered

There you go just a few ideas...