Basic Marketing - Marketing Yourself
To advertise yourself, conduct any three of these activities and submit a memo detailing your progress.
1. Leave a personal comment. Make a connection with a person with whom you have a professional interest. Then, visit their profile and see what the other person has to offer. Leave a professional comment about them. If a person is a real estate agent, then say something like, "Jim, thank you for accepting invitation. I like how you are promoting a house on page X." This will make you stand out and let the person know that you are someone who actually navigates through people's profile, which means they will want to know more about you.
2. Use the signature function. Join a forum or discussion board where you can add a personal signature. Put your name, name of business, website and/or tagline there. This way you can chat about whatever topic or issue and still get yourself out there without making a big stink about it. Use your signature on your email as well.
3. Join a directory. There is a directory for almost anything. If you are a female blogger, BlogHer.com is great spot for you. If you are a creator of webcomics, thewebcomiclist.com is your solution. Also, try to get yourself registered to the Open Directory Project on dmoz.org. This is the largest human-edited directory on the web and it can't hurt to have yourself listed. Research. Find. Join.
4. Ask bloggers for interviews. The internet is full of bloggers about every subject imaginable. If you happen to find a blog that pertains to you or your business, ask for an interview. Many bloggers love to meet new people and get fresh material for their blog. If they say no, no harm done. Move on and find someone else.
5. Podcast Ads. If you really want an ad, go through podcast. They are cheap, easy, and effective. Find a podcast that relates to the type of service or product your company offers and strike a deal. They are always looking for advertising and are willing to work with you.