DSF

I have fell out with YELL for the final time, and so am looking for alternative online promotion.
Logobear is totally a local shop, we don't do post out work, so I want the campaign to be totally local, and to generate email inquiries, make the phone ring, or get people to visit my shop.
Yell at it's most basic was costing about £10 a week, so what would you do?
Targeted and specific pay per click/ Google Adwords, facebook ads, back to Yell, setup an ebay shop to generate local traffic, something else?

I know that there are lots of promotional activities that don't cost money, but do cost time, I am looking for an additional simple idea that costs a little money, and not too much time.

What works for you?

Google local mate used to be google maps................ works great

No point in an ebay shop if you don't post out, as most people don't search by nearest first, but by cheapest first/ending soonest.

Have you looked at local community websites and local Facebook pages. The Facebook page idea only works if you have a Facebook page - you team up with other local businesses (operating in different markets) - you make a posting on their Facebook Page and they make a posting on your Facebook page - or they recommend you and you recommend them. I run a local community Facebook page and I have several local businesses who post once every few month.

i find facebook brilliant and its free x

I agree, Facebook is a great idea. But dont over do it. I have a personal and a business Facebook page. But , there is one friend/customer who posts about three times every day on my wall. Its for his business but he just overloads his posts. So much so that I just ignore them. My advice....Keep it simple....

You could try targeting some local clubs (rugby, football etc) with a leaflet/order form. Perhaps contact the club first and once you can do the contract deal then print off a couple of hundred flyers for them. One area that I think is always worth a try is local mobile DJ's Come up with a uniform package and price it well and they will come. Would suggest 1 Fleece, a couple of polos, perhaps a button shirt, maybe a sweatshirt and possibly a hi vis. If you want to get their attention quickly then contact DJ agencies and offer them some sort of discount/deal to send a flyer with every contract they send out (most decent agencies will have a couple of hundred plus acts/djs on their books. They also will have on their books loads of upcoming weddings, so stag and hen stuff is a good potential there for them to send a flyer with every wedding booking as well. As I used to be a DJ (and still do a bit to help out a friend of mine) I know loads of ways that I think DJ's can improve their image and having looked at you site I think you are quite well suited to supply their needs. If you need help with the marketing then you can always PM me. You could always try wedding fairs, this would be a slow burner as most attendees are not getting married for well over a year so its not as if you are going to get flooded with floor traffic within a week. Please note... NEVER PAY THE FULL ASKING PRICE if exhibiting at a wedding fair and also do extensive research. Some may only have 50 people walk through the door, while others will have 1000's.

Out of interest why do you not post out?

The idea behind local online internet marketing is to sell your products or services without buying advertising. You basically let the consumer come to you and pay for the item. These days, online marketing campaign is essential for every business.