50 tactics (1.24mb)

Derek Heck

50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using

Ideas to make marketing a small business easy...

50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using ©2011 Bootstrapping Blog. All rights reserved. ✪ bootstrappingblog.com 2 17.11 i of i

50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using

Derek Heck

Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content, they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. You use this information as you see fit, and at your own risk. Your situation may not be suited to the examples given here; in fact, it is highly likely that they won’t be the same, and you should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly.

Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

Please think. Nothing in this publication is intended to replace common sense, legal, medical or other professional advice, and is meant to inform and entertain the reader.

Copyright © 2011 Derek Heck, Bootstrappingblog.com and Scapes. All rights reserved worldwide.

Published by: Bootstrapping Blog and Scapes 14 Shawglen Way SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2Y 2R1

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50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using ©2011 Bootstrapping Blog. All rights reserved. ✪ bootstrappingblog.com 2 17.11 1 of 9

This list of Guerrilla Marketing Ideas started out as just a few tips until it eventually turned into this ebook you have now. The biggest thing to remember when you read this is to have pen and paper ready and let your creative ideas flow. Let it be a catalyst for taking the next step in your business to make an effort to create a buzz but more importantly to connect with your potential client in a meaningful and memorable way.

The Calendar1 There are not end of ideas in the calendar for things you can do to find customers and make an impact. Why not recruit some aspiring actors from the local college to put on a little flash mob skit promoting your product or business on National Talk like a Pirate Day. I am also starting the “Make a Day of It” Celebration Podcast so keep your eyes and ears on http://www.bootstrappingblog.com for the shows.

Sticky Notes2 Another way to use your stamper or even your printer: Sticky notes are noticeable anywhere because people know what they’re for; notes. Put these on local business doors, offices, cars, or above mail boxes in apartment complexes and people will take notice. For the earth’s sake, please try and use those made with recycled paper.

So Many Stamps 3 Looking for a way to get noticed in the huge pile of advertising-mail potential clients get? Send your promo material in a big manila envelope and put 39 - 1 cent stamps on it. Out of 100 envelopes, who’s do you think will catch the eye first?

Do Not Disturb4 Heading to a blog expo anytime soon? Get some door hangers printed up with your business information on it and possibly a link to something free on your site. Get the attention of everyone in your market this way, and it’s super cheap as well. No one else I know has been doing this so you’re sure to stand out.

Pay It Forward5 When you’re heading into the movie theater, pay for the ticket of someone a few spots behind you and tell the cashier to give them your business card. You’re not guaranteed that the person will become a client but I bet the word of mouth on that one would be pretty big.

Fake Publicity Stunt6 You could have people picket your storefront with signs that read “This business is too nice” or “Company X is too good at their job.” There are a million fake publicity stunts — use your imagination and I bet it’ll work no matter how weird or out of the box it seems.

Guest Blogging7 This is for the bloggers out there or even the freelance writers. Guest blog on other blogs largely related or semi-related to your websites niche. Opening other people’s eyes to your name and your website is always good promotion, especially if you’re an awesome writer. Not to mention networking with other bloggers is great for business as well.


Business Cards8 STOP! Don’t skip this one. So many people see this and think you’re going to tell them to print cards and hand them out. I’m not! What you do with these cards is head to every library or book store in your city and find the section that relates to your business. Open each and every book and place a business card somewhere in the book. This is great targeted marketing and only costs you a few bucks for the cards and an afternoon of placing the cards. If you need some great business cards, check out UPrinting.com

Bumper Stickers 9 These are great because they can go anywhere; not just on your car. Bathroom stalls, street poles, etc. Get creative with where you place them—they can grab people’s attention when placed in the right spots. Of course, don’t forget to put one on your own vehicle!

Temporary Tattoos10 I saw a post on some guerrilla marketing ideas over at Daily Bits and they talked about this as well. These temporary tattoos will last for X amount of days and would be perfect for blog expos or other events where tons of people will be. Placing it in a weird place (forehead, neck, full back, foot, etc.) is also a great way to get it noticed. Hey, if people talk about it, that’s the whole point, right?

Help Home-Based Businesses11 Most home-based business (HBB) owners try to keep their records hidden from local housing authorities so they’re hard to reach. Head over to your local chamber of commerce and suggest a HBB committee. They might appoint you head of it (be proactive and ask for the head position) and you have a bunch of HBB owners who will come to chat and you can promote to with business cards, flyers, booklets, etc.

Anything Else?12 No, the list isn’t done yet. These are two words to say right before you exchange money with a client/customer. This will make them think and could open doors to a larger pay day. This is a form of a soft upsell. A prime example of this would be “Would you like fries with that?”

Top 10 Reasons to Choose YOU13 Instead of leaving business cards or other promo material at a business or in someone’s email box, create a list of the top 10 reasons why the prospect should choose your company. Make them 100 percent true, humorous and memorable. Get them made into to door hangers and have them delivered.

Note: Make sure you are solving real problems that the prospect may be facing in the 10 reasons you choose.

Demonstrations14 Have a service business? This is perfect for you. Find a local store that pertains to your services and put on a free demo of your services. Does your service involve the outdoors? Contact news stations and let them know you’ll be offering a BBQ and free service demonstration. The BBQ could get a little costly, but the amount of press and promotion could really pay off. Besides, as an intelligent business owner you always calculate the potential lifetime value of a client, right? One BBQ for $100 to get $3,000 in business? Yeah, I’ll take that ROI.


Print Calendars15 These could be given to each of your clients or left in a store for people to take for free. Print your website address and a little slogan or client testimonial on each month’s picture for exposure every single day. The people using your calendars will even help you out when they have company over who will see the calendar, especially if the images you use are high-end and visually appealing.

Window Decals16 Get a custom printed window decal on your car with your logo/website and possibly a slogan. Looks professional and is great for red lights. Just be sure that it is big enough to be read from a distance. And make sure that it has some form of contact information (e.g. website, phone, email)—you ever notice how poorly designed many billboards are? All too often, they feature an engaging image or slogan and yet fail to tell people how they can be reached.

Fish Bowl Business Cards17 You know the fish bowls at stores offering to choose a random card for a free lunch? Well, there’s two ways to benefit from this.

Put your card in the fish bowl Hey, a free lunch is a free lunch, and who knows, the owner of the store 1. might need your services.

Ask the store to let you have the losing cards each week/month which will generate a ton of free leads for 2. you. If the store owner is reluctant to do this, you may try offering them free product or some of your time; pro bono.

Sponsor an Event18 Doing this is usually very inexpensive and also GREAT for publicity, especially if it’s a big event. You normally get your logo and business mentioned in all of the event’s promo material which is tons of publicity you normally wouldn’t get. Be at the event to add extra stickiness to your business name and interact with the guests. Be at the event to interact with the guests—this will add extra stickiness to your business name.

Holiday Greetings19 Send emails or snail-mail to your past clients wishing them happy holidays (e.g. Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years). This helps them keep your name/business in their head, and will help you to stand out from the other people they’ve done business with before. And if you’d really like to stand out from the crowd, and aren’t afraid to poke fun at yourself, then check out JibJab.com for some hilarious greetings you can send people.

Charity Donations20 Donate some of the profits you generate every month to charity. This is not only great for promotion in the media (supreme press release opportunity), but will also help clients to feel like they’re helping out the charity by purchasing from you.


Hold a Contest21 This could have 1-10 winners which helps the word-of-mouth promotion everyone needs and wants. You can gain free press for starting the contest, plus publishing the winners is great for more press coverage.

T-Shirts22 This is great for turning yourself or others into walking billboards. You can give the t-shirts away as prizes which is also another great way of gaining word-of-mouth promotion. Your t-shirts for the prizes don’t need your website address on it. Just give away a great, fashionable shirt and that’ll have people eager to tell friends and family where they got it from. Remember, the more fashionable or less sales-oriented the t-shirt, the better the chance that they’ll wear it more often and tell more people about it. (Additional tip: Buying bulk amounts will help you get discounted pricing.)

Partnerships and Strategic Alliances23 Do you run a web design business and want to find more potential leads? Try partnering with a web hosting company. Do you have a lawn-care business? Try partnering with a window washing company. Any partnership which benefits both companies is a great idea and a great way to grab the attention of new potential clients. This is also a great way of giving your business targeted marketing.

Blood Drive24 Host a blood drive, contact newspapers, TV news, radio, etc. Have 1-2 banners up with your website information and also have business cards at the sign-in table. Everyone loves to help their country, city, state, etc. and giving blood is the easiest way for some people to do that. Putting yourself in the forefront of your city’s next blood drive will make your business very visible/impossible to ignore to a whole range of new potential clients and word-of-mouth advertisers.

Client Appreciation BBQ25 Invite your clients to a BBQ and let them invite 1-2 friends to come with them. This will help your customers LOVE you even more than they already do, as well as bring some new faces into contact with you as potential clients.

Outdoor Signs26 Ever see the huge amount of signs in the grass for mayor elections or in the front yard of a house that just got remodeled? This is a great and inexpensive way to get your website and business name out there. Pick a great tagline or picture for the ads, and you’ll be sure to get noticed. Ask the homeowners or business owners for their permission. If they are reluctant to do this, you may try offering them free product or some of your time; pro bono.

Circulars27 Nowadays, a lot of people nowadays are looking for good deals on just about anything, so when they receive “junk mail” it’s not considered as “junk” anymore. Get a brochure put into these and you’ll have a good chance at 10-100K people to see it depending on how big the circulation is.


Newspapers28 You don’t have to just buy an ad. Today, a lot of newspapers are hurting for editorials, so if you have any copywriting skills, you can send in some editorials to the newspapers and include a byline for your company/website information. Just be sure that the content you submit provides plenty of useful information and is not an overt sales letter. If you are not a good writer you can talk to the guys at The Writer’s Rep (http://www.thewritersrep.com) to get a professional article written for your business

Magazines29 Similar to above. Don’t just buy an ad that will get looked over, but write an article. If it is well written, when people read it, they’ll want to check out your website for more information on you.

Put It on a Bus30 Mobile advertising is great and will get viewed by a lot of potential clients on a daily basis.

Postcard Mailing31 This is a bit cheaper than sending out envelopes that might weigh a bit and it also is easier for the potential client to read what you’re promoting without having the OPTION of opening the envelope (a postcard is one single piece of paper). And there is some excellent software, such as Copydoodles.com, that makes your message look handwritten, so you get that personal look without having to rewrite your message hundreds of times.

Write an E-book32 You can do this for two reasons:

You can write a free e-book on a topic in your niche and circulate it so people will start to see you as an 1. authority in your niche, or

You can also sell the book for a small profit and use that money to fund some of your other Guerrilla 2. Marketing tactics.

Giving it Away33 How many people will turn down a free service or product? I don’t think very many will, so your voice and company will get out there in front of a lot of people. It’s also good for press to say you’ve given away X amount of products or services.

Enter Business Awards34 From small, local awards, to big, multi-national ones like Inc., your company could benefit from the exposure inside the awards. It’s an added bonus if you win because then you have a nice trophy in the office or ribbon on your website that says you’re a reputable company.


Link Bait & Viral Marketing35 Los Angeles-based commercial director Walter C. May combined his visual know-how with the musical talents of his friends in the Daylights to craft a viral-video love letter for his significant other. With Lex, his girlfriend, studying for her MBA at Duke University, May decided to write her a song, ‘I Hope This Gets to You,’ with his friends and create a unique music video. But rather than send it directly to her, May tweeted it on Tuesday and asked friends to pass it on in the hope that it will eventually get to her virally. The clip was re-tweeted by Katy Perry and covered by Gizmodo. It only took 2 days to get to her and cost $100 to make and an afternoon to produce. Now the song is on iTunes and is in regular rotation many top pop stations worldwide.

Offer All the Extras36 If you design, offer to set up hosting and buy the domain name. If you cut grass, offer to come in the winter and shovel snow. If you cook dinners for offices or nurses at hospitals, offer to create desserts. The ideas are endless, but if you give your clients EVERYTHING, they will have nothing to go elsewhere for.

Borrow a Wall/Building37 Get a projector and find someone to let you use the side of their business/wall, and have your company logo/website/information shown on it every night. I know I would personally stop and look at what was showing on the side of a building for sure, so I can imagine how many others would as well.

Own the Bus Stop38 Not literally, but if you can get your ad on the poster area of the bus stop along with the seat inside the bus stop, you could effectively “own” the bus stop and the eyes of everyone who stands there on a daily basis waiting for the bus. Add this in with #6 and you’ve got something everyone will remember and talk about.

Movie Theater Ads39 I’ve looked into these for myself and they are generally very inexpensive as far as ads of this style go. Think about the movie you want your ad to show for and target it accordingly. A hip-hop movie would be a great place for my Kicks Junkie website to be promoted, while a teen movie will do best with games/celebrity news.

Doctors Office Magazines40 I’d slip business cards into magazines every time you go to the doctors. That’s what they get for making you sit in a waiting room for two hours at a time, only to be seen by the doctor for 10 minutes.

Sex Sells41 If your business is built for it, use it. Anything that isn’t “highly upper class” could use a little sex in their ads or other various ways. Building on the 24 guerrilla marketing tactics I wrote about, you could have 5-10 bikini models picket outside your business. This will definitely grab the attention of guys in cars passing by.


Sponsor the Homeless42 I believe in helping people in any way possible. If you see a homeless person somewhere on your daily commute to work, or various other places, you could pay the homeless person to hold a sign that reads “YourCompany.com paid me to hold this sign.” Regardless if it brings a TON of business your way or not, at least you’ll feel good about yourself, and you’ll touch that person’s life forever. Buy them lunch and dinner or take them to a grocery store and pick out some chips and various other foods they can keep with them. Buy them a hotel room for the night to sleep in and get cleaned up. They’ll gladly stand with a sign for you after you do this for them.

Underground Music43 Is there a genre of music that your target market listens to? I bet there are hundreds, if not thousands of music groups that are unsigned and lack funds to survive off their music. Why not offer to rent the hall for their next performance in exchange for flyers and banners during the show, or passed out at the door? You can also sponsor their CD production, or offer to get their website created in exchange for advertising at their shows, on the site, etc.

Cross-Promotion on 404 Pages 44 Network with other bloggers or website owners and exchange banners on 404 pages. You could also promote affiliate offers or at the very least, put a Google Adsense block on it. The ideas for this are limitless and you can do different tests on each of your websites.

M&M Candy 45 If you go to the M&M website, you’ll notice that you can personalize your candy. You can use this to either promote your business or just put a thank you on the candy and give it to a client.

Hair Salons and Barber Shops 46 How much talking happens in one of these places on a daily basis? Why WOULDN’T you want to be a business they are talking about? Drop in and offer the hair stylists some free food from your restaurant or coupons for free products. They’ll be talking about you to everyone who comes through the salon for weeks to come!

Groupon, Living Social and many others47 These types of daily deals are a great way for you to be able to get the word out about your business. I know a local yoga studio that did this and offered 20 classes for 20 bucks. They had upwards of 2000 people purchase the deal. Many will become lifelong clients. I do have to caution you that often times the funds you make from these type of deals take 60-90 days to reach the business owner. Make sure you have the cashflow to handle this. You don’t want to end up over promising and allow the customer experience to fall behind.


Press Releases48 Regardless of what anyone tells you, a well formed and well written press release can gain you a lot of attention not only from the media, but from the target market as well. Don’t let this simple tool pass you by when trying to establish your bootstrapped business. Just be sure that the content you submit provides plenty of useful information and is not an overt sales letter.

Airplane Chauffeur49 Find out when a trade show pertaining to your business will be in town. Next, hire a student or someone who will work for a low amount of money and have them hand make a sign with your websites address on it and stand next to baggage claim or right outside the door of the airport. They aren’t picking anyone up, but the people walking by and seeing your website address don’t know that.

Let Others Talk You Up50 For the final tip in this list I want to leave you with something that sounds so simple, but you probably never thought about. A lot of people will enlist their friends and family to talk to other people about their business, but why not get people who aren’t super close to you, pay them a bit of money and send them out to bars, clubs, movies, restaurants and other busy places to talk up your business. Any word of mouth is good, even if you have to buy people dinner in order for them to do it. Every little bit helps.

Bonus

Affiliate Marketing51 Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as ‘retailer’ or ‘brand’), the network, the publisher (also known as ‘the affiliate’), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third parties vendors.

Join the Conversation

Bootstrappingblog.com has become a library of marketing tips and tricks for the small business trying to be innovative and creating opportunities to get noticed. Use it as a resource for ideas when you are drawing blanks.

I am also now on Facebook where I will have links to articles, my “Make a Day of It” Celebration Marketing Podcast and various videos to keep you on track.

Follow us at http://www.facebook.com/bootsrapping


About Derek HeckDerek owns a business resource called BootStrappingBlog.com devoted to empowering the bootstrapped businessperson to their full potential. He is dedicated to providing ongoing contributions of the latest in guerrilla marketing, business news, resources, tips and advice-anything and everything necessary to help bootstrapped businesspeople not only survive, but surpass their goals and enjoy themselves while doing it.

He is also the owner and Creative Director of Scapes. Derek has the intuition and tools necessary to truly empower you and your business. Stemming from over 12 years of success in graphic design, marketing and strategy for a wide range of clients, his deep commitment to penetrate well past the surface to address the core is taking his clients to levels that might never have been reached. Through his understanding that in order to produce an effective whole, the kernel must first fully be understood, he’s able to help individuals and businesses to an astonishingly comprehensive degree. This isn’t corporate work for Derek, it’s life work, helping people step up to challenges they never thought they had the skills for.

Derek considers your business, his business, maintaining the same powerful focus across projects, concentrating on what will help you reach your goals and drive your business. He’s been given the unique opportunity to be mentored by industry-leading entrepreneurial and marketing minds, and is eager to pass those lessons on through creative, lasting solutions.

He not only practices genuine care and desire to help others excel at rapid rates, but he has hands-on experience with everything that he prescribes—let him insightfully feed your energy. You will only get concrete, tested and ready-to-use methods. Derek Heck is the now of the business world—can you afford to wait?

Derek lives with his wife, Lucinda and 2 year old son Aidan in Calgary, Alberta Canada.

50 tactics (1.24mb)

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