I asked a group of solopreneurs and bloggers, "What's in your marketing mix?"  Here's what they had to say.

Betsy Talbot of Married with Luggage said:

My site is all about making a series of small, meaningful habits to create a big lifestyle shift, and promoting my business is done in much the same way. As a lifestyle blogger, I'm looking for upwardly mobile couples who want to reevaluate their priorities in life. Since many of these people already hang out on Twitter, Facebook, Biznik, LinkedIn, and lifestyle-centered blogs and sites, I go there, too. Rather than blatantly promote myself, I work on adding to the conversation in those places. It is all about engagement, give-and-take, and drawing people in rather than pushing my agenda out to them. After all, I want to be a great resource for my perfect reader, which means I won't be right for everyone. Quality is more important than quantity.

I also employ "the basics" in marketing my site in terms of using key words and good SEO practices. And every business should be aware of easy DIY publicity techniques that can be done every week to get known both online and through the still important newspaper and magazine outlets. A couple of great resources for that are www.mainstreetmediasavvy.com and www.helpareporter.com. Every day that you don't work on your business you are one day further form being successful (my apologies to Ben Hogan for revising his golf quote).

Logan Lindabury of Laughtub said:

I use Yahoo Answers and put a short blip about my business in the “source” box. I paid for a membership on CashingIn Ad Exchange (for $5). I posted queries to Craigslist and created group on Facebook and invited all my friends. The most successful advertising so far, Help a Reporter Out (plus, it’s free!); I submit queries on HARO twice a week, looking for funny stories for a specific topic, and usually get 15-30 responses within a day or so. HARO has a subscriber list of around 80,000 people!

Shell of Sparkles by Shell, Inc. said:

Join as many groups as you can. For me, joining the National Network of Embroidery Professionals has been my biggest referral source. Also, answer questions for industry-related magazine or blogs. Get your name out there anyway you can. If you answer a simple question and you are published in a national magazine - that's free advertising. Also, local networking groups help a great deal for me. Making relationships with people in a networking group helps. Even if you do not do business with them directly, they may pass your name on to someone who is looking for what you do. Also seek out Yahoo! Groups either related to your business or where you can find customers. Again, if you answer a question through one of these groups, you get your name out there for free! Yes, some of this takes time, but it the long run, it is well worth it. I also NEVER leave my home without my business name on my person somewhere. I had rhinestone pins made with my business name, and I also have several shirts made with my business name on it. You will be a walking billboard. Other than fees for the groups I belong to, I have never paid for advertising, and I was able to quit my day job as a paralegal and run my business full time last year!

Jen Goode of JGoode Designs said:

As an artist and a graphic designer, it's always been a logical choice for my promotion to include images. However, it's important to add visuals to your promotion efforts regardless of business type. Images add interest and a visual reference for the topic. A simple blog post or article can become much more inviting with the addition of a single quality graphic.

I always make a point to use the same icon or logo where ever my company might be listed. All of my online profiles and accounts have the same profile picture which is also included on my business cards and website. I look at every placement of my company name as promotion opportunity (you never know where someone might run across what you have to offer, directly
or indirectly). Having this kind of consistent imagery is extremely helpful with brand recognition.

There are a number of resources available for graphics both free and paid. In addition to the standard stock photo and clipart sites, check out the Creative Commons image results. Many great graphics and photos are available free to use, even for commercial purposes, with appropriate permission and credit.

And, of course, you can see my marketing mix here.

So, what's in your marketing mix?  Share your ideas for successfully promoting a small business.