Doing something without advertising is like winking at a beautiful girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does" –S. H. Britt

Is there such a thing as free advertising? There sure is but sadly many are unaware of where and how to leverage on free advertising. Some are even unaware of the possibility of advertising for free. It is common knowledge that many companies the world over spend huge sums of money on advertisement via both the electronic and print media. Owing to the benefits of advertising, many media houses are making lots of money off the backs of many companies. It is also an open secret that even global brands such as coca cola do not take advertising for granted. Their adverts still run on television screens. They have a clear comprehension of the value of advertising.

Advertising is obviously so essential and yet there are business start-ups, small scale businesses and individuals venturing into entrepreneurship who have little to no capital to invest into conventional advertising, as in paid-for advertising. Sounds like a quandary? Should not be so. This article is written particularly with this category of businesses in mind. Running your business in obscurity is a recipe for business failure. The reality however, is that there is a sure way out of running your business in obscurity. Permit me to share some thoughts on free advertising that have proven to work for me and for many others.

Volunteer your services:

Many do not like the idea of volunteerism especially in business circles since it brings in no immediate profits in monetary terms. However, I dare say it’s a feasible idea for start-ups and individuals whose line of businesses are unknown. What it does is that it exposes your expertise, skill or service to the market you want to reach. In creating exposure and visibility, profitable business connections are made and your skill-set is sharpened. Before you know it, you are being paid for your services.

Provide quality products and services

Be the best at what you do. Hone your skills. Provide products and services that meet client specifications and excites them. A happy client is most likely going to recommend your product or service to others. This is what is termed grapevine. Client base will increase and so will sales in the long run. Never for once take clients for granted.

Advertise on free classified websites:

There are numerous sites that provide the platform to advertise your products and services for free. Sounds implausible? Such sites are easy to find and access. Websites such as tornaton.com, oxl.com, businessghana.com, bebree.com, global-free-classified provide the platform to literally advertise your products, services, and businesses to a global market, all for free. You simply register with them, as in create an account with them and you are ready to go, simply by following simple steps to have your adverts posted.

Advertise on social media sites:

Whereas others may be more concerned about socializing via social media, business start-ups, small scale enterprises and individuals venturing into entrepreneurship will do well if focus is fixed on promoting their goods, services and expertise. You may advertise freely using your account on Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and many such social media sites. Also worth-noting is the fact that some of these social media sites offer users the opportunity to create "pages" to promote a variety of causes, businesses, products and services, all for free.

It ought to be established that all these sites I have mentioned have some services that can only be used for a fee (charges are relatively low) but truth be told, you can do without those services, at least for now; your adverts can still be placed and can still reach large segments of your target audience if it is done well and overtime.

Join professional websites:

Join professional sites in your area of expertise, business or industry and that offer free membership opportunities. These platforms provide professional networking opportunities. Over time, the more one is involved with these networks online, the more exposure one gets. Some offer free advertising opportunities on their platforms. If you are a writer for instance, you may join writers.net, faithwriters.com, booksie.com, short-stories.net and the likes.

The above suggestions are by no means exhaustive. The world of free advertising is an ever growing world. One must keep abreast with the times. Do Google searches periodically. There is so much more you can discover and implement to showcase your brands not only locally but internationally. Meanwhile the more you make use of the various avenues I have identified, the better you become at optimizing your adverts for better results.

I wish to also state that for greater impact and for a wider reach, it will be advisable to employ several avenues of free advertising and this can be done concurrently. Wish you the best in your bid to showcase your business, goods, services, expertise and brand to your target market.