Let’s face it, even if the economy is currently pulling out of the worst recession in 70 years, money remains tight and the independent entrepreneur needs to consider ways to reduce costs while retaining their brand image and placement.

So, what can a company do on a $2500 budget?

Invest in a custom blog

For $2500 you could have a fully functional and branded blog with custom features.

What does this price buy you?

• A persistent platform you can use again and again, whenever you have an announcement or other content.
• Custom blogs can build up traffic for your own domain, giving it ready-made credibility should you later expand to a more comprehensive presence.
• Once your blog is in place you do not need to pay for each individual post.
• You do not need to learn HTML or CSS.
• You do not need to take time away from earning money for your business.

Send out press releases

For $2500 you could afford 6 serious press releases (4 if you’re also paying for writing)

Press Releases are a time-honored tradition that goes back to when print media ruled the day.  Even now a successful press release (one that generates two or three articles total) can be a boon to any organization so long as the articles come from the right place.

However, there is no way to guarantee that even a well-written press release will be successful.  The best that a reliable distribution service will be able to offer you is a promise that your copy will cross the desk 100-200 major and topical news agencies once.

There are no “inside deals” that will guarantee that a reporter will pick up your press release and write a story based on it.

If you want your press releases to be persistent, you will need to create some other web presence where you can store them for future visitors to reference.

Turn to the Airwaves

On average you can air three 30-second radio spots for $2500 in the Bay Area, and that’s not even including the cost of production.

As with a press release, this is a one shot deal and you’ll still want some sort of online presence so that listeners can learn more.

Go Free

It is a truth of this new, online world that you can find almost anything for free.

• No money goes into joining Facebook or Twitter.
• Wordpress.com will give you a free blog if you agree not to advertise or monetize in any way.
• “Help a Reporter Out” will never charge for it’s thrice daily newsletters.

However, there are other truths to these zero-down solutions.

• It takes time to develop something free into something usable.
• There is no guarantee that what you find is what fits your needs.
• Consumers today are very web savvy.  A “Do-it-Yourself” solution will shine out in their inequity unless you have solid underlying skills.
• Every hour you spend making your “free” presence presentable is an hour that you aren’t closing sales, completing projects, or earning money.
• Even if you do know how to design a page, change your settings, and tie everything together, free solutions limit the number of available options.

Conclusion

Marketing today requires some sort of persistent and accessible presence.  Free solutions can give the impression of a talented amateur, but if you want to look like a professional, you’ll want the assistance of someone who knows the ins and outs of online communications.