To ensure your opportunity at home is a success, you will most likely have to advertise to attract customers to your home based business. Being creative with your advertising and trying new methods might snag your home-based business the customers it needs to survive. Traditional methods of advertising, such as in the phone book, might be cost prohibitive for a new business. An internet website might also be too expensive when you initially start your business. When drafting a business plan, be sure to include the expected advertising costs.

Traditional methods of advertising include yellow book advertising which can be extremely expensive. You will usually be required to sign a contract for at least a year. An inexpensive yellow book ad costs approximately $100.00 a month for a year. A modest or competitive ad will cost at least $500.00 a month. If you have a business telephone, your business will be listed in the white pages free of charge. Make sure you carefully consider whether or not your business needs a yellow page ad to be competitive and whether or not it is affordable. If you do not pay the contract price for your ad, it is likely a small claims judgment will be taken against the owner of the business for the contract amount.

Obviously television advertising is cost prohibitive for most new home-based businesses. However, it is possible to gain advertising on television by donating time and other resources to local charities. Turn your opportunity at home into a local hero and the local news stations may do a story!

The internet can be used to advertise your home-based business, but a website may be too costly to create and maintain. If you are able to create your business's website and maintain it on your own, I highly recommend you do so. If not, consider some less traditional methods of advertising on the internet such as networking. Some websites such as "craigslist" can provide some free or very inexpensive advertising opportunities for a home-based business. Facebook is another great way to network with customers and other businesses.

It might be best to "attach a face" to your business advertising. If you run a window-cleaning service, go to a neighborhood or business area where there has been recent construction and offer to do the first service for free. Leave a business card and a friendly face in the mind of these potential customers and your reputation will grow. Your opportunity at home will thrive if you plan cleaver ways to advertise your product or services. If you offer a dog walking service, offer to walk an elder neighbor's dog for free and wear a T-Shirt advertising your business when you walk.