Freebies (and cheapies)!

I searched for and compiled a short list of freebies - useful things that could help you with business marketing and development. There's a lot of free "junk" out there, so I tried to only list things that were really, truly, free, or the cost was negligible, for instance, a small shipping fee. Be aware though, that anything free, will likely want your email or home address for future advertisements - they have to get SOMETHING out of the deal.

Don't forget to download the totally free eBooks listed in the right column, including the Really, Really Broke Entrepreneurs ebook which contains detailed information on the basics of starting a business. In addition, the other books cover everything from search engine optimization to personal motivation strategies that help you stay focused on your goals.

Books & Magazines
Home Business - Free one year subscription to this dynamic publication covering all of the important facets of running a home business, including franchising opportunities, startup and financing advice, and much, much more.

Black Enterprise Magazine - Complimentary one year subscription to the premier publication of industry profiles, success strategies and the keys to entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneur Business Book Bundles - Entrepreneur magazine is offering free business book bundles, you pay only S&H. There are two bundles of 10 books each, one is Start & Run Your Business, and the other is Manage & Grow Your Business. Shipping is $39, but for 10 books with a retail value of nearly $200, that's less than $4 each for such titles as Writing Killer Sales Proposals, Stay Out of Court, and Powertools for Women in Business. Order a bundle and share it with a fellow entrepreneur.

Marketing
PR.com - Big businesses send out press releases - why don't you? A great way to get the word out about your company, special promotions, position changes and more. PR.com offers free press releases for your business promotions, and they do all of the work to distribute the information throughout media outlets.

Free Business Ads - This classified ads site is totally free for any business ad for up to 14 days. They do a high amount of traffic and even their rates for extended and upgraded ads are extremely reasonable starting at $6.95 for 14 days.

Promotional Products
Business Cards - I am asked about these free business cards all the time, they're high quality and look just like any other set of business cards - until you flip them over and see the Vista Print logo on the back. To their credit, their ad on the free cards is very lightly colored and not very gaudy, so its not as bad as one might think. I would pay the additional cost to have their line removed, BUT if you really can't afford it but still need business cards right away, then these will do just fine. You can store your information and return later for reorders without the ads on back.

Magnets - While not free, I included these because of the option to order such a small quantity, as low as 25. Most promotional items require you to order at least 50-100, and Vista Print offers 25 magnets for only $12.99, plus an additional $5 to upload your own logo. That's a small price to pay for something you can give to your valued clients that will keep your company name in full view for a long time.

Software
Remote Link Checker - a free, downloadable application that will scan your html pages and verify the links are valid. While Dreamweaver has this feature built in, if you use another program, you may not have the same capability. Very handy.

Agreement Builder - This free software download contains a huge vault of contract templates that you may require to execute with your clients. Simply edit the contracts as needed, and print.

Logo Creator - Another great free application that enables you to design a logo for your business.

Fonts - I'm always surprised that more people I run into, aren't aware of Coffeecup's vault of free fonts. They literally have everything here, and its all free. The only annoying part is that you have to enter your email address because each one is delivered by email. But I've had an account with them for years and I can tell you that they don't spam you or bother you with unnecessary emails. While you're at the site, take a look at their other free software - not trial software, but free, scaled down versions of the full featured applications. Still worth a try.

Web Development
Domain Names - I'm a GoDaddy regular but I found this company that beats their price. For only $2.99, you can get a .info domain, and .com domains are only $5.95, that's $3 less than most places, including GoDaddy. You don't get the free email, but I do like their control panel and their quick customer service. It's an option to save a few dollars, no biggie, but it all adds up!

Website Hosting - I never recommend free hosting packaging, in fact, I'd encourage you to just wait until you could afford a good business host rather than go with a free site. However, if both time and cost are an issue, I choose this company for a free website, because there are NO ads on your site and you get FTP access, which is uncommon for a free site. You won't get any advanced features but it will work until you can upgrade later to a full featured web host.