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29 Low-Cost (even free) Marketing Ideas

By
Mortgage and Lending with Mortgage Master Inc.

29 Low-Cost (even free) Marketing Ideas

 

 

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Keeping in touch with your clients and staying visible in your community doesn't have to cost you a bundle. Take a look at some creative, inexpensive and even free ways you can keep your business growing.

•1.    Send a Digital Newsletter each month packed with useful articles and tips for your clients.

•2.    Write a personal email just checking in and send it to ALL of your clients.

•3.    Email a piece of trivia to your database each month, and award the first person to respond with the correct answer a $25 gift card to a restaurant.

•4.    Hand out free balloons in or outside of your office. Make sure your business card is attached!

•5.    Partner up and cut your marketing costs in half. Choose your favorite professional referral source and send out a postcard together.

•6.    Host a neighborhood picnic/potluck. Invite your neighborhood either over to your house or to a neighborhood park. Provide soda, water and some snacks. Tell them to invite a friend too!

•7.    Conduct a survey of your clients. Ask them what they most need right now, what their biggest fears are, etc. Follow up with each based upon the results- you never know who may need your expertise.

•8.    Email a motivational or inspirational quote of the day to your clients.

•9.    Choose one person per day from your database and send them a hand written note card simply saying "hi."

•10.  Start a blog. Write about personal and business related topics. Send an email reminder to your clients each week reminding them to read it!

•11.  Write a "tip sheet" relating to your industry and email it to your clients.

•12.  Host a free educational seminar and invite your favorite professional referral source to present with you.

•13.  Contribute an article relating to your industry to your local publications. Become the ‘local expert.'

•14.  Choose five people per week from your database (starting with your top tier) and send them a $5.00 Starbucks gift card and a handwritten note to see how they are doing. They may call you and invite you to have coffee with them and talk about their current needs.

•15.  Keep a vase full of carnations or inexpensive flowers in your office with your business card attached to each one. Make sure everyone (even the delivery personnel) take one with them when they leave.

•16.  Call your clients. Choose 3 people each day and call them just to say hello.

•17.  Offer free "Lunch and Learns" to local businesses to talk about your industry, products and how you can help them.

•18.  Contact local business owners and create a "discount package". You can send this to your database as well as the client lists of the business in which you partnered up with.

•19.  Check with local schools (elementary, middle and high school) and see if you can contribute an article or offer a discount in the newsletter that is sent to parents.

•20.  Sponsor a charitable event in your area and invite your database to participate with you for a good cause.

•21.  Post a well written and benefit driven ad and offer a discount for your services on Craig's List.

•22.  When you find any statistics or fun facts about your industry save them and compile a list and email it to your clients each week.

•23.  Ask local businesses if you can place your business cards or brochures in their offices for their clients to take.

•24.  Contact all Alumni associations of schools you have attended and tell them about your services or new company developments.

•25.  Sponsor a local high school sports team and get an ad in the team program.

•26.  Sponsor a float in a city or town parade.

•27.  Get car magnets printed and sport it proudly on your car. You can even ask that your office mates do the same.

•28.  Go to your local bookstore with a stack of business cards and place them inside of books that relate to your industry. Even better, write a personal message on the back of your card- "hope to hear from you soon."

•29.  Celebrate a season in your neighborhood. For example: plant mini flags in neighborhood yards (with business card attached) in July or place mini-pumpkins on doorsteps (again, with business card) in October.

 

Evelyn Panning
Property Connections Realty Inc. - Alturas, CA

These are all great ideas !  Thank you for posting them.  ~Evelyn

Jul 30, 2008 06:35 AM
Nathan Diones
Regioncy Real Estate - Redlands, CA

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing..I will put these to good use.

Jul 30, 2008 06:39 AM
Michael Wayne Jackson
Coldwell Banker - Novato, CA
Broker - Seniors Real Estate Specialist Novato

Great post Jason. I will definitley bookmark this page for the near future.

Jul 30, 2008 06:49 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Good one J-man!

Jul 30, 2008 06:53 AM
#4
Linda Mae Croom
Topock, AZ
(928) 768-3040

Great Ideas. Some new ones I had never thought of. Thank you.

Jul 30, 2008 06:57 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Hey, Jason. I think that these are all great ideas, some we have used ourselves. Thanks for sharing, Jim & Maria

Jul 30, 2008 06:58 AM
Michael Krotchie
Tierra Antigua Realty, LLC - Tucson, AZ
Tucson Realtor, 520.261.MIKE

Bookmarked for future reference Jason, appreciate it!

 

Jul 30, 2008 01:08 PM
John Thomas
Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. - Newark, DE
First Time Home Buyer Expert

Jason, Great Ideas.  Thanks for sharing.  I am going to try some of those this week.

John Thomas - Certified Mortgage Planner

Jul 30, 2008 11:07 PM
Amy Bowman
Stonebrook Mortgage - Boise, ID

More good ideas, Jason! Gosh, you should get paid for your ideas ;)

It's hard to keep things fresh and come up with new ideas to keep both you and the clients motivated to keep in touch with you.

I'm not sure how Barnes & Noble would look upon the stick- the-card-in-the-book idea, but I guess it's easier to ask forgiveness ;)  The library would be cool though!  Interesting fact I heard the other day--only 3% of Americans actually have a library card!

Jul 31, 2008 02:36 PM
n d
Naoma Doriguzzi - Virginia Beach, VA

Jason - it is always good to keep brainstorming for new ideas!  thanks for the list and going to keep it handy for a slow day! 

Aug 01, 2008 02:55 AM
AMY SHRADER
Hurst Real Estate & Auction - Morristown, TN

Jason--great post.  Many of these ideas I've heard of but how easily we forget.  One to add to the list would be:

contact FSBO's and offer to create a CD with a visual tour of their home that they can send to prospective buyers.  its inexpensive.  they email you the pictures, you burn onto CD (along wtih your information). 

Posts like this are what make Active Rain great.  If only each person commenting would add their own successful idea---

Aug 01, 2008 03:26 AM
Thomas Hargreaves
TriStar Financial Services - Eugene, OR

Great ideas Jason, thanks so much for sharing.  It is amazing the number of ways you can market yourself for free if you just take the time to use your mind

Aug 11, 2008 06:04 PM
Anonymous
Stu Pidasso

These are all ideas that you have copy and pasted from someone else's get rich quick schemes. 

May 16, 2009 02:33 PM
#13