Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Hi,

You could always make a very funky video of what your product is about on www.animoto.com - it will come out looking like a stunning commercial - I had huge successes with this nifty tool, as you can publish straight to youtube and from there you can include it on your website, blog or even Facebook.

I have also had great success on Business Directories - simply place your listing in a popular directory and watch the hits roll in onto your website...

Okay, but this is just for advertising your website - for promoting a new product, I would recommend writing an "ezine article" and then send it to popular ezine websites or newsletter distribution websites...it works like a charm.

I will post some more ideas, as they come up... :-)

I'm assuming your business will be local (and won't be shipping your food afar). The best way is to have people taste your product (I'll assume you have all the proper food/safety licenses for your area). Go where they are - farmer's markets, street fairs, busy office buildings, etc. - and let them experience how wonderful your product is.

It doesn't sound like you have much of a budget, but you should consider some promotional products as giveaways. I would highly recommend full-color business card magnets. You can put a picture of your products on there, along with your contact information, and while you're selling your stuff locally, give away a magnet. People will stick them to their fridges forever! (You should see my fridge!)
These magnets, generally speaking, are VERY cost-effective. You could probably order 500 of them for around $200 or less, depending on where you go.

Another idea would be to get some "champions" for your product by sending samples to people with influence. Anyone who has an audience is a potential target. It could be as high as local celebrities, association leaders, radio stations, bloggers, etc. Send them a sample (make sure it is professionally packaged or they won't touch it). If they like it they'll often talk about it to a wide audience, reaching a lot more people than you could with a limited budget.