Barry S. Lee

Get the best. Always pay the least.

   How to advertise cheaply and still get more bang for your buck is the basic theme of this blog.

Its message is directed to entrepreneurs and existing owners of small to medium size businesses who find it "impossible" to attract customers using a meager budget.


CONTACT INFORMATION:   EMAIL: leebar143@gmail.com        PHONE: 516-510-3803         MAILING ADDRESS: Barry Lee, 22501 Chase #15212, Aliso Viejo, CA  92656

CheapAdvertisingGuy

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill

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1. Just to make certain that we're on the same page.

If you're here at this blog of mine because you were led to believe that I can show you ways to promote yourself or your business without having to pay big...

2. Avoid job hunting disappointments by creating your

own business.

As both an unemployed worker for several years and a self employed business owner seeking customers, I have the same gripes as everyone else. So let's...

3. For the beginner in business, jump-start your visibility (any way you can).

Big business or small, everybody's in the same boat getting the word out about their new enterprise. Showing yourself off is key, not rely on insiders to...

4. There's always a way to do serious advertising without spending a fortune.

The disappointments you face when you initially launch your site on the internet or open the doors of your brick and mortar store can be disheartenibg...

5. Why you are in definite need of a website.

If you're among the reluctant few who still have no internet presence, you know you're losing business to competitors who do, and you are probably...

6. Smart way to use van signage to expand your business potential.

When times are tough, learning about new ways to make a few extra bucks or expand your clientele is always welcome. For you folks out there who are...

7. A bad economy is usually a good time to advertise.

I'm a creature of habit, so when I went out to dinner recently to discuss a new business venture with my brother it was at a restaurant I frequent regularly...

8. Can your company afford to advertise on television?

It's been said that there's no business like show business. If you're among the many small to medium size business or service owners who agree, you...

9. A few words about designing your logo and stationery.

It's time to have some serious fun. I say "serious" because what you do now will define the feeling your entire business projects to others, For want of a...

10. Don't try to fool the public with your advertising because the joke will be on you.

You're excited about running your new ad and you're equally certain that this one's going to be a winner. Maybe some of your facts are a bit fudged, but you...

10. Start building your list for an email campaign.

Getting the word out to potential customers can be done quickly with a well thought out email campaign, but doing it yourself is a big responsibility, since it's...

12. Adding content to your email campaign for maximum effect.

You can do a really fine job of contacting people by email right from your current email provider, or you can utilize a service designed primarily for that...

13. Bartering could be a very big step in the right direction.

Bartering comes naturally. You give me some of those for some of these and we'll callit even. Although you can't survive running your business...

14. A really creative idea often begins with a sense of humor.

Out-of-the-box thinking most likely starts with a sense of humor, being able to see things that make you laugh inside. Taking serious subjects and...

15. Where does one begin planning a video for a website?

Planning a video is like I would picture writing a novel. You walk around, sit around, and no matter what else you do around, your thoughts are all...

17. Average testimonials I receive about once a month.

Sometimes affirmation for a job well done through positive testimonials make business owners feel good about what they do. In my case, negative...

18. I can only offer you the advice; Your acceptance is optional.

The decision to build a site and launch it online is a big step for many. But the whole experience can be a pleasant one if you plan it out with someone...

18. When choosing a name for your website, you can pay now or pay dearly later.

Money doesn't count, especially when it comes to domain names. Although you can buy an average domain name for about 10 bucks, most people...

19. How to overcome the uneasiness of asking for the money due you.

Nobody ever questions the terms of payment to their cable company, HMO, or a lawyer who asks for a retainer. But when it comes to certain creative...

2. Here's something I tried in an effort to stir up business, and it worked.

Business sometimes slows down because clients and potential clients are caught up in everything surrounding a major holiday, or it's generally...

21. Local publications often give you more bang for your small business buck.

The pandemic was a way of showing us how sensitive to change our businesses really are. So learning about an option that will serve to retain...

22. When opportunity calls be confident enough to answer.

Like every other business owner during the pandemic. Long Islander Jim Frazzita experienced an economic void the moment a quarantine...

6. Local hand delivery continues as the remarkable low tech solution to successful advertising results.

Some things just never seem to change. Who would've thought that hand delivery would make a resurgence of sorts in the year 2020, just when...

17. Banners are an important element in your powerful advertising arsenal.

As businesses continue to suffer from one compromising social event or another, such as a global pandemic, it becomes quite evident that...

7. Put more bang into your buckslip.

Most people don't even know what a buckslip is. If you ever received a mailing from a utility, usually an invoice, with an accompanying 3.5" x 8.5" (or...

8. Can register tape advertising register profits for you?

Partnering with supermarkets and national advertisers can bring a steady payoff to local businesses who want to take advantage of...

19. If you have a great business with very little money, you should ride along with me.

As you may have noticed, I've adorned the header on each of my pages with a quote of inspiration from a notable human being. But the most ntable of all,...

23. The television advertising every local business can afford.

I used to buy affordable TV time for my smaller clients on local cable television, but even when the cable company let me select the geographic areas...

24. Paying $30 a year for business rent sounds like a steal of a deal.

It's in a popular neighborhood surrounded by a large variety of businesses, big and small and easy to get to from anywhere. In fact, it's the biggest mall on...

20. Being an optimist is different than being a dreamer.

Dreamers often hinder their own opportunities for success by creating an illusion based on the premise that everything eventually will get better on its own...

3. I honestly don't know what to make of this.

From all my years in advertising I understand the motivation of buyers well enough to create successful advertising campaigns that draw them...

16. Why it's important to advertise your website on Craigslist.

I'm always amazed with the reactions I get when I suggest to a new client that they include advertising on Craigslist as part of their marketing effort...

25. Taking a realistic look at where you're going from here.

Any season is a season of introspection and strategic planning. Thinking ahead to your economic well-being by laying down some robust goals...

11. How to go about packaging your product.

Packaging can be a complicated and tricky undertaking that's not for the faint of heart. By the same token, it can be one of the most exciting and...

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26. You've got to read this if you live with a canine

companion.

If you reside anywhere in the New York tri-state area (New York, Connecticut, New Jersey) with an unruly, downright unmanageable canine companion that you...

27. Thank You for making the decision to accept my

free offers.

If you can realize that within you lies the power to end the devastating effects of this economy, then you can take your first step in learning how only you hold the key...

If you have any savings, know that they will rapidly deplete just for you to "stay alive". The interviewers look down on you (or so you feel) and you're always completely exhausted from filling out applications at disappointing job fairs and other venues. Everyone you come in contact with seems either overly condescending or downright dismissive and all your application emails seem to go nowhere. In fact, everything you seem to do goes nowhere. Sound familiar?

But the misery doesn't end there.

Enter the scammers. They're the ones who "really" want to help you. They have "government money" to dispense and irresistible business ideas you can take advantage of "right now" that will only cost you a couple of bucks. Hey, didn't you just mention to them that you had no income?

Enough whining, Time to get a life.

As good as it feels to gripe once in a while, it feels better when you're onto something that might just wipe out all your problems. You've got certain skills and you're pretty darn intelligent. Right? So why not pair those two and just figure out what you personally could offer the public that they'd be willing to pay for. You're looking for a job doing something, why not do that something and eliminate the middle man?

Get the feeling that we're moving toward a solution?

Since I know me better than I know anything about you, let me use myself as an example. I have a lifetime of experience in print, broadcast, and direct mail advertising. I made myself pretty savvy on the internet. I've been a Creative Director forever and I know how to write. So if an agency out there can't afford to hire me to do what I do and deal with clients, why don't I do what I do and deal with clients directly... eliminating the middleman.

Now my creative juices are flowing.

So here's what I worked out. I'll offer prices no one can refuse. When you go for a long time without any money coming in, just a small amount takes on new importance. That means that the first thing you have to adjust to is not getting what you always thought you were worth. You're currently experiencing a rebirth. Embrace it. I gave it a name and called it my "cheap philosophy". If my normal rate for "x" was $100, I sold it for $30. Who could pass up a deal like that? I even named my new venture Cheap Ad Agency and that gave the business a name, a philosophy, and a real purpose.










Moving forward sure beats feeling useless.

If this article even gave you a scintilla of inspiration it has done its job. Run everything by friends and family members, Not only the ones who think you can walk on water, but the naysayers who find the worst in everything. They give you the information that allows you to iron out any kinks in your planning. If they can't manage to dissuade you, then you are certainly onto something and headed in the right direction. Some things take longer than others to become successful. In my case it's been since 2008 and I'm still going strong. I was told that the word "cheap" denoted shoddy, but now there's Cheapo Air and other cheap references that says that they were wrong. If you ever want to run an idea by me I'd be willing to help you work out the details, so don't hesitate to send me an email or give me a call. Even in my various businesses I never charge for consultation. Enjoy your day. Barry.

Avoid job hunting disappointments by creating your own business.

As both an unemployed worker for several years and a self employed business owner seeking customers, I have the same gripes as everyone else. So let's begin by blowing off steam so we can quickly get down to solving this problem.

CheapAdvertisingGuy

Here's something I tried in an effort

to stir up business...and it worked.


Business sometimes slows down because clients and potential clients are caught up in everything surrounding a major holiday, or it's generally vacation time for most, or family matters like back to school doings take precedence. But when you're in the service business like I am, you have to figure out ways to get people back on track with you, and this is one that always seems to work.

There's nothing more unnerving to a service business than the feeling that everyone has forgotten that you exist. It's one of those recurring feelings that can haunt a service provider and bring down their overall high confidence level. It really doesn't matter that you've been a successful business for a very long time, and it doesn't even matter that it seems to happen at the same time every year. The fact that it happens at all is disheartening to say the least.


But business is business and you have to rise to the occasion by coming up with a plan of action that gets people to think seriously about giving you a call sooner than sometime. For me it was creating a price ceiling on some of the most sought after graphic things I provide and publishing a list of them with a discounted call to action. So not only did I accomplish what I set out to do, but now I have this list to refer to whenever someone asks for these popular services.


So here's the ad I ran once I put the price list on all my sites. This should also be a lesson for you on how to think out of the box if you ever get yourself into a difficult situation like this one. Click on the art to make it larger and readable. Barry

"I'm looking for someone who can make me laugh"