Nothing happens in business until a sale is made. Marketing is simply about getting new customers and keeping them. If you’re not doing something everyday to market and promote your business, your competitors are. Here are ten easy-to-implement tips to effectively market and grow your business:

1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each oher. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list.

2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate then a website and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com.

3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino, and a fresh newspaper.

1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They’ll already become emotionally attached before they buy.

2. Turn your ad into an article. It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead them into your ad without them knowing it’s an ad. They’ll already be interested when they get to your sales pitch.

3. Make sure you show your reader that they are getting a bargain. Tell them the usual price you sell your product for is $99. Then tell them if they order today they can buy it for $69.95.

4. Direct your ad headline to your target audience. Your readers will feel important and belong to a select group of people who buy your product. For example; “Attention! Accountants, Discover A New Way To Increase Your Client Base!”

5. Tell your reader how fast they can receive your product or service in your ad. Their buying decision may be based on how fast they can receive your product. They may need it by a certain deadline.

One of the easiest ways to increase sales is through networking and one of the best ways to network is to network easily. What I mean by this is to do things that come naturally to you.

Some of the ideas that can be helpful for networking are:

1. Join groups that you would be interested in joining. For example, if you like to run, join a running group; if you like to play bridge, join a bridge group; if you would like to go to church, become a member of a congregation. Joining a group just for the sake of networking, generally doesn’t work.

2. Volunteer to speak at events. You can start by speaking to small groups and then in time you can become more selective and speak to larger groups. Toastmasters is an excellent group to join to improve your speaking ability as well as another networking opportunity.

3. Write articles. There is something that makes someone seem like an expert when they write an article on a specific topic. Articles are easy to write if you are passionate about what you are writing about. There are also hundreds of publications that are hungry for material. Again, you will have to start small with local publications and work up to other publications. No one wants to publish you? Use some of the free online services like www.isnare.com or do a blog (which can be a great networking tool on its own).

1. Email (opt in)

If you’re not sending your own personal email newsletter you’re missing a huge opportunity. I don’t care if you’re an employee of a Fortune 500 company or a self-employed consultant. You MUST develop you own email newsletter.

An eZine will allow you to build your relationship, credibility and trust with the people that subscribe. Provide them useful, unique and pertinent information and watch your sales skyrocket.

2. Pay-per-Click (PPC)

Pay-per-click or PPC ads are a very effective and cost efficient way to drive prospects to your website. Whether it be a one-page sales letter or a “squeeze page” for them to sign up for your ezine, PPCs are an easy way for you to build awareness.

By using PPCs you can achieve laser like focus on your target market by using specific keywords. Then run ads for only those keywords. The benefit is when the prospect clicks on that ad they are not going to a general site with all kinds of garbage on it they are landing on your specific, targeted site. Niche marketing at its best.