You may think of bartering as something that took place long ago and far away from Internet marketing but it is alive and well and that includes the Internet too! While you are searching for ways to promote your online business, don’t discount the power of bartering. Internet marketers use this tactic all the time, trading their products for the products and services of other Internet marketers when they can’t afford to hire someone to do what they need done.
As the economy has weakened, bartering has taken a front seat both offline and online. There are several websites that cater to the bartering enthusiast and, luckily for Internet marketers, skills such as writing, graphic design, software design, and writing computer code can be bartered with others in all parts of the world. So, for the sake of argument, say you are a graphic designer but you hate to write articles. You could trade your services to a writer who could provide you with your website content and articles for marketing to article directories. That writer may need their own website designed or a logo designed or a variety of other services the graphic designer could provide.
Brainstorm for Bartering Products and Services
Many of the larger cities across the United States have formed bartering exchanges and you may even be able to get office supplies or office furniture in exchange for your products or services. Some people have gotten vacations, house painting, and even dental services in exchange for what they have to offer so there is almost no limit as to what you can get for bartering. If you need the kind of service or product that can be sent to you in a digital format, such as writing or graphic design, you literally have the world at your fingertips. For more tangible items, you may need to barter locally, although there are some bartering exchanges that ship items, especially movies and games.
You can join a bartering exchange that is already in existence or you can run your own ads where you advertise the services or products you are willing to exchange for the ones you are in need of. Sometimes, you may need to add cash or accept cash when the value of the items you are exchanging vary greatly. Most items involved in bartering exchanges are assigned a dollar value so you will be able to trade products and services fairly. In addition, some of the online bartering exchanges offer a feedback system, similar to the one found on eBay so that others can gauge a barterer’s reputation before they exchange their own products or services. Bartering can be a great way to get the things you need to run your online business so don’t overlook it as you are growing your business.
