Owning your own small business can take a lot of time and hard work. Most business don’t just spring up overnight, they take years of planning and dedication to develop. If you own your own business then you understand firsthand how difficult the entire process can be. Getting your business started, however, is just the first half of the challenge. Once you get things rolling you have to keep things rolling; that’s where marketing comes in.

When you market your business you want to know what types of people you are going to target. Knowing your target audience can help you to be more successful with the advertising that you do. You may have to combine one or more marketing efforts to maximize your results and get the kind of business that you are looking for. Generally you should set aside 10% of your total revenue and reinvest that amount back into marketing for your company. Here are 3 of the many ways that you can market a small business and increase your sales:

1. Internet Marketing- Internet marketing includes Pay Per Click advertising, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing. If you are going to effectively market your business online it is important to seek the help of an experience digital marketing agency. A good online marketing company will have worked with a wide variety of clients and offer a number of solutions for your marketing needs.
2. Radio Advertising- Radio advertising is a wonderful way to get spread the word of your business to a large number of people. With radio advertising it can be a little less difficult to target who you want to share your message with, and the total costs can be higher than other forms of advertising.
3. Print Advertising- When you think of print ads, think about flyers or hangers that you find on your front door. While some of these can certainly be annoying, for the right business that can have a great return on investment. Print ads work well for local businesses and are also commonly used to advertise in-home services. You may want to try a small number of print ads and see what kind of return you get before you spend a bunch of money on them.

Advertising for your business is something that isn’t necessarily fun, but it is necessary. You’ll need to focus heavily on metrics and see what type of advertising provides the most ROI (return on investment). When you see which method works best for you, then you can reinvest your fund appropriately and hopefully increase your leads. The idea with any marketing campaign is not only to drive leads, but to find more qualified leads: people who are more likely to convert into a sale.

Micah Castro is a freelance writer for bankruptcy attorney, Benjamin Skinner who has helped hundreds of individuals overcome debt.