If you're a small business owner, you know how it feels to be stuck in a rut and unable to come up with new ideas to help promote your business. This compilation of creative ideas can inspire you and help you get started in thinking about business promotion in a whole new way.

1. Try affiliate marketing. Everyone benefits from it.

Finding common grounds to work with a partner who share your audience but is in no way competing with you with regards to products or service can mean that you can use the other’s business traffic for your own good whilst he do the same. A win-win situation for both businesses, as well as the clients who get a discount from X for shopping with Y. Eg. Clothes shop partners with a jeweler shop. The clothes shop gives a discount to his clients on jewellery by which he is giving additional value to his clients. Make a deal with a business that you are not competing with for a promotional package.

2. Help a reporter.

Reporters are always looking for people to interview, and this could help you gain exposure. Websites such as helpareporter.com has over 30,000 news reporters and bloggers to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services. Singing up with such websites can keep you in the limelight of what reporters are looking for. Answering them might result in a lot of free advertising.

3. Write an e-book.

Ebooks are a great way to show your clients that you know what you are expert in what you are doing. Besides a useful ebook can help your clients or potential customers solve a problem, and everyone appreciates help with solving a problem! Give it away for free on your website in exchange for an email address and start building a relevant email list.

Download Ebook

4. Start a blog.

A blog is a great way to stay in touch with audience, helping out your clients by answering their questions as well as help potential clients to remember you when the time is right. This will also help you gain fans on-line. For more info read: Blogging for Success

5. Join your Chamber of Commerce.

Take advantage of networking opportunities, and show your community oriented side. According a research study by The Shapiro Group, Inc. and Market Street Services, when consumers know that a small business is a member of their local chamber of commerce, they are 44 percent more likely to think favourably of it and 63 percent more likely to purchase goods or services from the company in the future.

6. Start a monthly newsletter and email marketing campaign.

Email marketing has three times as many user accounts as Twitter and Facebook combined. Combined with social media, that impact is even greater. Done smartly,email marketing drives conversions, increases ROI, and gives you a way to speak to your customers interests specifically. Read the top 10 secrets for an effective email marketing campaign!

7. Lend out your facility for meetings and events.

If your facilities allow it, share your facility with a business with the same target audience as yours. Allow the to use your facilities for meetings, events etc...Besides building good business relationships, it will also help others find out about your business as well.

8. Write about your expertise in an article.

There are many article websites such as wikipedia.com, ezinesarticles.com, selfgrowth.com, Associatedcontent.com and articlebase.com amongst others. Select the websites that match your content and your audience. Sharing articles on these sites will get you a lot of relevant traffic to your website and will help your content being found.

9. Make a marketing video

A viral video refers to a video that becomes popular by means of sharing through the internet via channels such as social media, email and video. Viral videos are used by companies for the purpose of marketing. A marketing campaign that uses viral videos can easily build and enhance the corporate image of a company in a short time. Viral videos cost little money to make when compared to other visual media that have a similar reach such as TV.

Now we would like to hear from you! What creative strategies have you tried for your business?

9 Easy & Effective Business Marketing Strategies