I've already discussed networking and promotion, but there's another aspect of getting the word out that I haven't yet talked about. That aspect is advertising.

Note: I don't want to quibble over the semantics of what advertising is. Assume that in this case I mean paying to be listed or have an ad displayed somewhere. 

There are a number of reasons you might choose to advertise your services. Here's just a few:

• You need more work (a big one, of course)
• You want to become more recognizable as a brand/name
• You feel your customer base is too small and want to ensure that it's more spread out, so if you lose one customer you won't be in a world of hurt

If you feel that you do need to advertise, then the first question you need to answer is: To whom? Who are you trying to reach? Try to be as specific as possible, down to individuals is best rather than just a type of company or organization.

You might get started with something simple like this:

"Companies that can use my expertise."

"Companies that need fresh advertising copy."

"Organizations that need new online help materials written."

Now to target them better. Who in those companies and organizations are you trying to reach? Who handles the ad copy? Probably someone in marketing. So maybe a better one there is:

"Marketing executives in companies that need fresh advertising copy."

If you specialize in a particular sub-market (in the case of this example, perhaps you specialize in restaurants and caterers, the food service industry) then you can narrow this further:

"Marketing executives in food service industry companies that need fresh advertising copy."

Mind you, in this particular example, many catering services and restaurants may be small organizations where people wear many hats. There may not be someone there who only does marketing. That said, you're the one who knows your client base. The key here is that you know (in this example) that you're looking for the person who wears the marketing hat, or who at least is partly responsible for those duties.

Now you have to ask yourself what these people read and watch, and where they go:

• Are there key industry organizations or publications?
• Is there a key conference or other event that they attend? Are there local places they hang out?
• Popular web resources? 

Identify the top five or ten places you'd love to advertise in, ignoring the price at first. Once you have your list, then find out the options available and how much each costs. Don't start to panic if some are expensive. Just make your notes. Be sure to jot down what you feel the benefits are of advertising with each of these places. Rate it on a scale of 1 - 5 or 1 - 10 of most desirable to least. 

Then when you feel that you've identified the top options, go back through the list and pay attention to the costs. It's likely that some will be far out of your reach for paid ads. Make notes for each of these with something like "Can't afford." However, others may not involve high end publications with expensive ad rates. If you're on the fence over whether you can afford it, put a "Maybe," and if you think you can manage that much money, put "Affordable."

Are you lucky enough that you have items that are both "Most Desirable" and "Affordable?" It's certainly possible. The best advertising opportunities are not always in big, flashy magazines or popular television shows. Maybe there's a key local food events newsletter that you know many of your target market reads so they know if they should make sure their organization is a part of the event. If the newsletter sells ads they might be quite affordable.

If there are any intersections of "Least Desirable" and "Can't afford" then put an X or other mark beside those items. Of course if it's on your list, it's still a place you're interested in advertising with, but be sure to put your money where you can get the best bang for your buck. Generally that spot will fall somewhere in the "Pretty Desirable" and "Affordable" or "Maybe" range.

For those times where either you have no advertising budget or a tiny one that won't support any of these options, consider other ways to be seen in your top opportunity list. Can you write an article for the publication or the professional organization's newsletter? Attend the related events and advertise yourself the networking way? Be creative. The same goes for if you really want to get into those "Most Desirable" spots but absolutely can't afford them.

A little creativity can go a long way.