The offline world is full of serious prospects who have lots of money to spend and are extremely interested in purchasing products and services being sold online. So how come more online entrepreneurs aren't selling to these hot, pre-qualified prospects?

With all of the Direct Marketing horror stories out there, it's no wonder why most online directors are deathly afraid of it. And to make matters even worse, offline advertising has very high costs.

For instance, it would cost $2,500 (not including copywriting) to send a mailing to 1,000 offline prospects; and close to $7,000 to send that same mailing to 5,000 prospects. And this is the low end of the price spectrum.

Advertising in a print magazine can cost anywhere from $10,000-$40,000 -- and that doesn't even guarantee any results.

Large corporations may be able to pay these outrageous prices, but what about small to mid-sized businesses that have a limited budget and need to spend every dollar wisely? How can these businesses afford to tap into this lucrative market?

The answer is this: By emulating a small group of very smart and very successful marketers who have learned the secrets to getting traditionally high priced offline advertising for free. The best part is that the techniques they use can work for anyone regardless of what they are selling.

You might be wondering exactly what is meant by "free advertising." Well, free advertising is this: Any mention, listing, or blurb about your product or service in a magazine, newspaper, newsletter, book, manual, directory, or on TV or radio. But more importantly, it's much more profitable than paid advertising. How come?

Paid advertising is less credible because people instantly know they are being sold something. However, free advertising has built-in credibility. You might now be asking how this is possible.

Here's an example: Let's say your local newspaper gives your product or service a positive review. This is positive advertising because the readers probably trust that newspaper, and will therefore trust the review.

So how can your online business get millions of dollars worth of free offline advertising? Here's how:

1. Submit Articles to Targeted Offline Publications. If you are good at writing articles related to your products or services, then write an article. Then submit it to one of the highly targeted magazines or trade publications that cater specifically to your target market. Every industry imaginable has one or more publications, and those publications are starved for quality articles.

When a well-respected magazine or newsletter publishes an article you've written, you will instantly be "perceived" as an expert by its readers. This is a great way to build your credibility. You can then turn that trust into dollars for yourself because people would rather buy from someone they trust (someone who provided them with informative, educational, insider information), than from someone who just placed a hype-filled ad.

2. Send Out Press Releases. Stories about your product in the media are more believable and powerful than any paid ad you could ever run. People generally trust the media, and statistics show that most people first hear about a website through traditional media, i.e. TV, radio or newspapers.

But in order for a press release to generate free publicity for you, it must be well crafted, newsworthy, timely and full of benefits for the audience of a particular publication. Most importantly, it must relate to a publication's target audience. In other words, do not submit a press release about a golf website to "Cosmopolitan," but instead submit it to "Golf Digest."

3. Participate in Joint Ventures. This is one of the secrets that direct marketing experts have used for years to increase their businesses for free. It's also a great way for you to break into the big leagues.

Let's say you know of someone who has a tremendously responsive mailing list, which targets your audience. Approach this individual and propose that you split your profits in exchange for mailing your sales letter to his or her list.

Or, find a direct marketer who targets your audience, but sells a non-competitive product or service. Ask them if they would be willing to slip one of your promotional pieces (an insert) into their mailing. Most marketers would be willing to do this as long as you either let them take the orders for your products and split the profits, or split the costs of the mailing.

These are just a few of the techniques you can use to tap into the offline world of prospects with free advertising. And there are numerous others that you could be using right now to increase your sales. So what are you waiting for?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Article by Marc & Terry Goldman of goldbar.net. The Insider Secrets of Free Advertising will show you exactly how you can get completely FREE advertising for almost any product or service you sell! Find out how YOU can make over $200,000 a year using the pure profit power of Free Advertising by clicking here: http://www.goldbar.net/lsa/c.cgi/1101_roi_fas