My Marketing Budget Is Small - How Can I Make The Most Of It?

Regardless how small or large your budget is, there are a number of ways you can make it go farther. One way is to capitalize on the seasonality of your business.

For example, it may not make sense or be necessary to market consistently all year long. Are their times when your particular industry is slow and customers are not likely to purchase? Conversely, are their times during the year when customers are more likely to be in the market for your product or service?

Schedule your marketing activities to take advantage of these peak times and to avoid what I call the "valleys" (when no one is in the market for what you are selling). Aim to persuade as many people as possible to buy from you when they are in the buying mood.

Ever notice how health clubs market heavily in January and in the spring? They know people are more likely to be focused on getting in shape at the beginning of a new year, and before summer and swimsuit season arrive. So they spend more marketing dollars and focus their promotional efforts during these times of year and they maintain a lower profile the rest of the year.

Ask yourself these questions: What "seasonality" exists in my business? How can I schedule my marketing to take advantage?

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

20-year marketing veteranDebbie LaChusa has developed The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners successfully market their business, themselves. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html%3Fid%3D54b23495-7805-46b1-83cb-1340c14cb4adcid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNEgT-TdO38mDA57rrI9JK25A28caQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=vjxN7sF0tzUJimgurl=a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/4bffca32-8393-4582-a216-f2db7777bafd/cigarette.jpg%3Fsize%3Dl width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Canada.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/scotus/la-na-scotus7-2008oct07,0,6819370.storycid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNGxUavt4moPK46J6bTHB4eL7m_-yQSupreme Court opens term with cigarette bmarketing/b case/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLos Angeles Times,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1But a lawyer for the consumers said Congress did not intend to wipe out suits involving deceptive bmarketing/b. Lawmakers who set the warning labels in 1969 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4718997a12.htmlcid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNGHQ2rvNIzYxp4HU0j1FV4uSHJXZwUS Supreme Court tackles light cigarette bmarketing/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrStuff.co.nz/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/06/scotus.roundup/cid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNGngPwXHZf818S9ml6LYg-FCcr7NwSupreme Court rejects appeals, including Mumia Abu-Jamal#39;s/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNN/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200810061343DOWJONESDJONLINE000547_FORTUNE5.htmcid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNF30yv4IZ033r5-P-YS6xV8ld2uCwUPDATE:US Supreme Court Appears Split In Altria Cigarettes Case/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iq0HLKcscsec0kKo11KLXIrtQznQD93L3HLG0cid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNG-E98nWtpWGKYRy9WAJGoUdPSuvQnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601103%26sid%3Da.oxV6FEz_DM%26refer%3Duscid=1254560058ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNFVTXOPIEfMWg94ohJ_bINeqblhPAnobrBloomberg/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254560058hl=ennobrall 432 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/victoria-godfrey-joins-zipcar-chief/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BBE497535-232D-48B3-83CB-626B347D372E%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254829585ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNHX-jZ6rSOwKS8u-6vf2iz2lftClgVictoria Godfrey Joins Zipcar as Chief bMarketing/b Officer/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Zipcar, the world#39;s leading provider of cars on demand by the hour or day, announced today that Victoria Godfrey, former Chief bMarketing/b Officer of the b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fingerhut-direct-marketing-poised-strong/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B4DE273DD-8107-47D6-8E2A-B51F6BA4A3F2%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254880283ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNGsyv155_kZDhkDcEd6_uXz02gP_QFingerhut Direct bMarketing/b Poised for Strong Holiday Season/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 06, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Fingerhut Direct bMarketing/b, Inc. (FDM) today announced it is well-positioned for the upcoming holiday b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/10/merketing-profe.htmlcid=1254846580ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNEQpQnosrU2DRZiWD7w_kvXVyMZZwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ZXOVx4MwHQUJimgurl=blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/06/081006_marketingbook.jpeg width=61 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Wired News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/10/merketing-profe.htmlcid=1254846580ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNEQpQnosrU2DRZiWD7w_kvXVyMZZwbMarketing/b Professor Adopts Radiohead Business Model for Textbook/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWired Newsnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Chris Snyder October 06, 2008 | 11:53:24 AMCategories: Books, bMarketing/b Noel Capon, RC Kopf Professor of International bMarketing/b at Columbia Business b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.internetnews.com/webcontent/article.php/3776016/Name%2BYour%2BPrice%2BTextbooks%2BHit%2BThe%2BWeb.htmcid=1254846580ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNGq0zPrZuY03Z6PBav84p_uMCB45gName Your Price#39; Textbooks/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternetNews.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/columbia-business-school-professor-takes/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B32CB05A8-79B6-44EE-9CAF-1B79DEE6BF07%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254846580ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNEzfScZCLBmI_sMTdtStz5dYNnlHgColumbia Business School Professor Takes Lesson From Radiohead/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254846580hl=ennobrall 9 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/site-search-seo-email-marketing/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BB8D4AD41-8DAB-4A12-9BA9-312A9812B832%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254819602ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNHB5lMdqnkcKC0KpBtA7jZX0XzrOgSite Search, SEO and Email bMarketing/b Ranked Top Three E-Commerce b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Those retailers that are minimizing bmarketing/b spend due to current economic constraints are not inclined to diminish their core bmarketing/b programs, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/most-hr-buyers-turn-internet/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BD706E8AF-0838-42CA-99FE-04B4732AEA0E%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254819602ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNFRgSurdt11vm-hBXeN2sajnqIwFQMost HR Buyers Turn to Internet First When Seeking Products and b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254819602hl=ennobrall 16 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10440785/1/economic-crises-call-for-better-marketing-plans.html%3Fpuc%3Dgooglefi%26cm_ven%3DGOOGLEFI%26cm_cat%3DFREE%26cm_ite%3DNAcid=1252750466ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNG-00Zgil1vPtyVv91U2QqKJ01hagEconomic Crises Call for Better bMarketing/b Plans/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTheStreet.comnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Now is the time to bolster your sales and bmarketing/b plans and get ready for disaster business planning. Lehman Brothers went under, Merrill Lynch (MER Quote b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://newsticker.welt.de/index.php%3Fchannel%3Dfin%26module%3Dsmarthouse%26id%3D789561cid=1254889969ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNH1Dv0UlbuK2RNyczXDZIx_DhFsWQAcxiom(R) brings big business bmarketing/b solutions to growing companies/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWELT ONLINE,nbsp;Germanynbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Acxiom ® Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) is opening new doors for companies in a broad range of industries to address bmarketing/b challenges through a b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/breaking-news-multiple-sources-emetrics/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B2220197D-D22B-4671-B72A-3D4504F05AAA%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254803279ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNHw5FZs3xYcz6TstBLu8OuwvpRlegBreaking News From Multiple Sources at eMetrics bMarketing/b b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1WASHINGTON, DC, Oct 06, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Year after year, the bmarketing/b optimization industry and major corporations turn to the global b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/context-optional-social-marketing-platform/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BA8E186A8-5706-4428-8B35-890960BE00F4%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254820817ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNE6cge1Zzp-0j5pJjlfFwxn8my_RAContext Optional Social bMarketing/b Platform Now Widely Available b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Context Optional#39;s proprietary Social bMarketing/b Platform is comprised of three components: the Social Application Server(TM); the Social Influence Optimizer b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.adotas.com/2008/10/context-optional-introduces-social-marketing-platform/cid=1254820817ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNHSejnng73kHv9zWeYiKApVYQXCVgContext Optional Introduces Social bMarketing/b Platform/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrADOTAS/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254820817hl=ennobrall 6 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/10/06/daily3.htmlcid=1254823376ei=5djqSKfrDImE6QON3bSACQusg=AFQjCNFWSmujK9-_P6cKIL_9mta3sKgMiQIvy Tech wins awards for bmarketing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Ivy Tech Community College won 17 awards for its bmarketing/b program at the regional conference of the National Council of bMarketing/b and Public Relations b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
marketing - Google News

Newsletters - A Great Way to Build Business Relationships

This is an excellent way to grow your business using... Read More

Why Most Marketing Videos Dont Work

Every now and then I will meet someone who has... Read More

Writing Business Newsletters: Avoid the ?Me, Me, Me? Mistake

Effective customer newsletters find the right mix of promotional and... Read More

Direct Mail

Do you have a website? A Web Newsletter? A mailing... Read More

Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash!

First of all - keep in touch with your customers!... Read More

Attracting Clients With Incremental Marketing

Do you ask prospective clients to go too far?Must your... Read More

Basic Marketing Dope

Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not... Read More

You Must Get Going If You Want To Get Growing

For many of service-based businesses out there, it's not that... Read More

Niche And Grow Rich

Unless you've been living under an Internet rock, you've probably... Read More

Top 10 Tips To Market & Build Your Professional Practice

In building and running a professional practice (or any small... Read More

Marketing Quandaries

Being in a quandary prevents you from moving forward in... Read More

Newsletters are Marketing Machines!

Is your business publishing a print or e-newsletter? An informative... Read More

Building Credibility for Your Business

Small companies that rely on business-to-business sales often find it... Read More

Lessons From a Six Year Old

My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she... Read More

The Exiler

THE EXILER (your search for true brand attributes ends here!)With... Read More

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure

Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure... Read More

Four Simple Ways to Cut Your Trade Show Marketing Budget in Half

Many times when a trade show is planned for there... Read More

A Creative RIOT

Relevant, original and impactful: that's what my friend Creative Director... Read More

Loan Officer Marketing ? How to Target the Right Agents

Once there was a loan officer, who marketed his services... Read More

Effective Lead Generation

How to Gain your Prospective Clients' Attention and Generate the... Read More

Ready, Fire, Aim!

You probably read my headline and thought, wait a minute,... Read More

4 Steps to Successful Offline Event Booths

A great way to gain more local sales is to... Read More

Why Pay for Online Press Release Distribution?

We've all heard that "free advice is worth what you... Read More

Connect to Your Customers with Superb Sales Letters

In the age of e-newsletters and e-mail, you may not... Read More

Can Message Board Marketing Work For You?

One of the things that makes the Internet fun is... Read More