Social media, email newsletters and self publishing blogs are excellent ways to promote your product and business but the benefits of these marketing initiatives are intended to be long term. I don’t know about you but I sometimes get tired following the same trends as everyone else and can’t help but to ask “does this really work anymore?”. The answer is yes!. Traditional marketing is still very effective but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things up and think outside the box.

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Here are 3 unconventional ways to get free publicity for your product that are proven to work- fast!

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#1 Find Bloggers and Influencers

Ok this isn’t exactly ground breaking but you’d be surprised how few people do it, or at least do it properly.

Start by doing a simple Google search for sites that are related to your niche. If you sell hand made backpacks for kids, then you’ll want to search for people who write about/review products like bags, kids clothing, schools and child nutrition.

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Finding influencers is an essential part of promoting your business. Research shows that over 70% of online buyers people rely on reviews and opinions before they buy. That said, if you can find the right person to write about or review your product, it could turn in a lucrative lead magnet for your business.

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The easiest way to find bloggers and influencers is to Google them. Try searching for terms like:

“Top mommy blogs”, “Blogs related to kids fashion” or “influencers on kids product reviews”

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Once you’ve found the right person(s) don’t jump the gun and ask them to do a product review for you. Get to know the author first. Leave comments on their posts, follow them on social media and try to make a connection. Once you’ve built up a rapport, then  politely ask if they would be interested in writing about your product.

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 If you want to save time and avoid building your list of bloggers and influencers, hire someone on craigslist or fiverr.com to scrape through Google and create a list for you.

 

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#2 Join a meet-up group or start your own.

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Meetup.com is a group planning website that brings like minded people together.  There are over 9,000 active meet-ups and you can find just about any activity from football viewing party’s to business networking events.

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Try joining a local meet-up where you can promote or show-off your product. Using the example of the hand made back pack for kids, you can join a parent play date group and bring the backpack with you to show other parents.  As hard as we try, nothing can compare to actually allowing people to see, touch and try on the product.

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Don’t be afraid to take initiative. If there are no meet-up groups that relate to your interests, then start one yourself.  Meet-up organizers have a lot of pull. They get asked questions all the time and people are always connecting with them. It’s actually one the easiest ways to build a network.

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#3 Be a guest on a podcast

The podcasting industry is thriving!.  What started out as a hobby has become a full blown industry with large production budgets and 6 figure sponsors. I mean who would have thought the president of the United States would visit a guy in his garage! to do a podcast interview, much less one that’s called WTF!? If it’s good enough for the President, it’s good enough for the rest of us.

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Getting on a podcast is relatively easy. Start by using iTunes or Stitcher to search for programs related to entrepreneurship, eCommerce and business development. Here are a few of my favorites:

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Shopify masters

Startup Madness 

The 100 MBA Podcast

ecommerce influence podcast

ecommerce fuel podcast

I’ve found that podcasters are some of the nicest and easiest people to approach. If you send them an email, they’ll usually respond and be happy to interview you.  At the very least, they’ll acknowledge you and probably connect via social media. It also helps if you leave a review for them on iTunes and follow them on social media.

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Sign up for the radioguestlist newsletter and you’ll get automatic notifications when radio shows and podcasters are looking for guests.

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Conclusion

While social media, self blogging and email newsletters are a great way to build traffic and promote your business, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and reach out to other people to help you. Blogger outreach, meet-up groups and podcasting are just a few of the ways to do that.