Marketing Tips

Hidden In Plain Sight – Marketing Opportunities for 2009 in Your Community

We’ve all had the experience – hunting high and low through the house for our keys, glasses, gloves, or what have you – only to discover them lurking in plain sight, too obvious to be noticed.

That’s the way with marketing opportunities: too often they’re ignored because they’re just too obvious. Distracted by the demographics and visibility of high-profile venues, it’s easy to miss the lower-cost (or free!) opportunities right here in Catonsville.

And with the Chamber’s 2009 Buy Local campaign fast approaching, you will never have a more cost-effective opportunity to get your marketing in front of your most important audience – your own community! So here’s just a short list of can’t-miss options for the coming months…

Low-Cost Options

When was the last time you took advantage of all the Chamber’s benefits? Whether you’re best at one-on-one networking or at tracking down a great advertising deal, you can’t beat the Chamber’s services or prices. And to give you the best value for your marketing dollar, the Chamber now offers two ways to advertise your business:

Member Directory
If you want a year of advertising in an easy-access print format, this is your best bet. As a Chamber member, you have a basic listing free of charge, and an economical display ad gives you prominent exposure throughout the community.

Ad Space on the High-Traffic Chamber Website
With online advertising, you’ll have flexible options, a targeted audience, and freedom to design your campaign as you wish. Two additional perks: put the Chamber logo on your site to get an online advertising discount. And link your online ad to your business site to see your site rise on Google!

Zero-Cost Options

Of course, with the economy staggering it’s important to balance paid advertising with free publicity. Don’t forget to add these zero-cost community promotions to your plans for 2009:

Member-to-Member Discounts
This long-time Chamber option is being re-visioned and expanded to fit in the Chamber’s 2009 Buy Local campaign…be sure to come to the January meeting to hear about the groundbreaking new initiative!

Event Announcements
You can get double coverage for zero cost when you upload your event announcement to the Chamber website. Not only will it show up on the Events page, but it will also be included in the weekly e-zine, the E-View.

Press Releases
A well-written press release can be your ticket to free publicity. Don’t limit yourself to the Chamber View – send copies to the local weeklies and dailies as well. And if you need help crafting the story, don’t hesitate to call Your Words’ Worth.

Much More To Come…

As the Chamber continues to develop plans for its 2009 Buy Local program, you’ll be seeing a growing number of opportunities to promote your business to your Catonsville neighbors.

Phila Hoopes
The Tree-Huggin’ Copywriter
Giving Your Vision Your Voice
http://www.your-words-worth.com

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