I am lost on how to advertise my business

Princess, save yourself the hassle of dealing with people that guarantee these first page rankings. There is going to be someone in your community that can help you design your website to achieve the results you want. There are no shortcuts. In order to get the best results you have to have one o the  best websites, I have been working with a professional web designer and I am so pleased with the results. The official launch is next week and hiring a professional was the best thing I could have done for my  business and web presence. I wish you the best

Marc Barnes

Copper Canyon Tax

I'd suggest you work on getting some word of mouth referrals.  Let everyone you know--friends, family, neighbors, etc. know about your business and that you're looking for clients.  Consider a small ad in neighborhood newsletters or church,school or daycare newsletters.  Try to partner with a daycare or Mother's Day Out to have a party there and send home coupons/flyers with the kids.  Get creative to get the word out!

Some great books you should be able to find at your library--by Jay Conrad Levinson--Guerilla Marketing!

Pretend you are a potential customer - what would you do to find a business like yours?  Since I am a mom who has thrown a similar party, I'll share how I looked for ideas.

1. I asked other moms - including ones who had parties my daughter and I enjoyed
2. I searched Google, with narrow keywords including my city  - now I would use Google Maps to do searches like this
3. I researched for well over a week, before I decided what to do.  I didn't know what theme I wanted or what would be just right for my daughter - I was hunting for ideas.  ( As an aside, I've notices that each year I spend about half as much time as the prior year in planning parties for my children - I was done in about 15 minutes for her 8th birthday!)

So, what marketing ideas do I get from this:

1. Make sure you are listed in Google Local.  You can do it for free   . Intuit also has a paid service called Intuit Weblistings that allows you to input your business information once to make sure your business can be found on major search sites – including Google Maps, YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com and Yahoo Local.
2. Try buying some local search keywords that include your city.  Make sure your website includes information on the city/ies your cover. Don't be overly narrow about princess (remember I don't know what I'm looking for yet) but do focus on girl parties, ages 2-8 parties.
3. Find a way to capture leads at the parties you do throw.  What can you offer that will put your contact information in the hands of potential customers.  Here's an idea that I just experienced - provide the Thank You cards - and make sure they have your contact information (appropriately placed & designed so they don't detract from the card)  Better yet, how can you get your name into their hands at the party.  What do you provide as favors or activities that has your information.
4. Ask for reviews.  Then, contact the people with the best reviews to thank them for the great feedback, then ask if they know anyone who might be interested.  Post your best reviews on your site.
5. Make your website more relevant.  Add pictures and blog posts about the parties.  This can be viewed as a benefit for the person who threw the party as well, so they can share it with their extended family and friends.  Blogs make for great SEO and can really help your site get found - they tend to include keywords that people would naturally use.  Offer commentary about other types of parties besides princess - again you need to be found while people are still considering what they should do.
6. Raffle a princess party at your local school/pre-school auctions.  This is another one I just experienced.  A great awareness builder, and the only cost is one party.

Hope these ideas help,

Gretchen

Hi,

Besides making sure that your website is optimized for major search engines with keywords, content, etc, you will want to define your client/demographics-let's say it's "children" or parents of children ages 4-12. 

Where do these people spend their time? (and money) 

In our community we have sites that list businesses for party providers with coupons.  We also get flyers at home from the schools with local events and services.  You can advertise your site on www.craigslist.org, use twitter, write articles on having successful children's parties, put flyers at daycares in the lobbies, etc. etc. I have tons of ideas for you, if you are interested in more, please e-mail me directly.

I know nothing about your marketing budget, but if you have Radio Disney in your area (typically on the AM Band) their programming targets children and should be considered.        

I realize your demo is women, specifically mothers, but many moms play Radio Disney in their automobiles to entertain their children to and from school, daycare and shopping.

Radio Disney is not expensive and since repetition is one of the keys to successful advertising, you should be able to afford adequate frequency for an effective campaign.

Also, the radio station might consider doing a "trade" with you. Advertising for a Princess Party as an on air giveaway.

Good Luck!

Princess,

Congratulations on starting your business and having a website. Advertising a business is never easy at the beginning.  Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson is a great book if your have limited funds and the suggestion of ramping up word-of-mouth advertising for your business.  Beyond these points I suggest you create a marketing plan and determine 3-5 areas you will focus on.  For your themed-princess parties you may want to focus on word-of-mouth, direct mail and children related expos.  Your goal needs to be were your customers are.  Once the plan is completed you need to devote the time to promoting your business if you need additional help look online to find marketing blogs, articles or groups meeting to discuss strategies.  Good luck in growing your business.

Wishing you productivity and prosperity,

Kim Gaskins, MBA    www.kgaskinsconsulting.com