There’s nothing like a little free advertising is there? If you are a trades person or you operate a small business, an offer of free advertising is like a gift. You know you have to do everything in your power to promote your services – but if you need to advertise a lot and you have to part with hard earned money every time you advertise, your profits can quickly shrink.
One of the best places to find free advertising is online. The Internet offers several avenues through which you can obtain some free advertising to boost your income. Obviously, if you can only supply your services locally, you’ll need to choose sites where local clients are likely to find you and your advertisement won’t result in you spending time politely declining offers of work in New York.
Not all types of free advertising online work for all businesses but here are a few you might like to try – after all, they’re free!
Posting Profiles on Work Related Websites
There are numerous sites that allow freelance workers, tradespeople and small business operators to post their profile online. The sites you choose will depend on the services you offer. Some are completely free and others charge a membership fee or a commission. Some sites are restricted to particular business or service types.
Whatcanyoudo.com.au is completely free and anyone from tradespeople and IT experts to freelance writers and craftspeople can post a profile on the site seeking work. It doesn’t matter whether you are looking for a full time position of employment or offering your services as a sole trader or freelancer. Best of all, there’s no catch at all – it’s completely free advertising. Who could resist?
Of course, if you are a writer or IT expert there are also several freelance sites you can join. These sites allow you to bid for jobs posted on the site and usually charge a small fee or take a commission. If you’re a trades person, there are sites like ServiceSeeking.com.au that allow members to receive quote requests from website visitors for a small fee.
Free Classified Advertising
One of the best places to advertise online for free in Australia is the very popular Gumtree.com.au. Gumtree is a high quality classified advertising site that offers free advertising for a wide variety of purposes. Visitor numbers are high and there are plenty of jobs and job requests posted there. If you find Gumtree works for you, they also offer premium advertising for under $20 that can keep your advertisement on the top of the listings for a period of time.
Craigslist is another site where you can advertise you services for free.
Google Adwords Trial Vouchers
If you have a business website and you’ve never used Google Adwords before, the chances are you’ll be able to find a free trial voucher that will enable you to try it out without cost. Go to the Google Adwords site to read more about this form of advertising.
The Downside of Free Advertising
There’s a downside? Only a very tiny one – you have to invest your time and effort to discover what might work for you and to ensure your advertisement or profile is as appealing as possible. The upside can be more money in your pocket, so free advertising can be well worth the effort.