What's the best trick to growing the business through marketing? I'm just learning about how people can pay for different sorts of marketing/PR and it blows my mind. I don't know where to begin.

I don't know that there are any tricks. Certainly the best way to grow a start up business is via networking - working with others to promote your services. Forum posting can be huge, over time. Don't overlook your local market - Chambers of Commerce or other associations.

Sound advice from Steve! I'd pay less attention to Press Releases and things of that nature and focus on FACE TO FACE time with people in order to initially grow. Much of your growth would normally be in local markets where you can get a feel from the customer and be able to answer questions instantly (if you have the knowledge). You ARE the face of your company.

Forums, posts, articles, search engines, blogs and all things related should be secondary and treated as an addition to your marketing efforts rather than primary (generally). There are exceptions to every rule, but when launching any businesses, that's the general flow of things.

People have to know you exist before you can grow. It's why you see the "Under New Management" or "Grand Opening" banners on restaurants. It's a CHEAP way to get the word out, but effective. Become a walking billboard. Get some T-Shirts made with "ask me about web hosting" or whatever businesses - you'll be surprised at how many people might stop you in a grocery store and ask just what the heck web hosting is!

Get out there - pound the pavement - strike up conversations about what THEY want, not what YOU want, and above all LISTEN to what they are saying. The ability to listen to customers or potential customers is probably more important than being able to talk to them!

depends on many things mainly on the nature of the business, to select which marketing channel is best suited for your business.

Great advise. I love that "ask me about web hosting" t-shirt concept. Honestly I think I mite actually do something like that.. It will bring some contrast to my http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-app...partment/388b/ shirt which, believe it or not, actually serves a purpose

I checked out those shirts (and hats). I think we may have to talk outside the public forms sometime about some joint marketing or us purchasing some of the caps if we can get our logo embroydered or screen printed to it also. Not something that's going to happen for Christmas Presents this year, but maybe for something in the near future

My "ask me" t-shirts have done well for our staff and also some of our affiliates - "I'm an affiliate with Hands-on, but I got more than a T-Shirt. Ask me what I get!"

In some cases, especially if the businesses have a lot of potentials, using the referral and affiliate based programs could skyrocket the projects. For example, the same formula nowadays some of the world leading hosting companies are using and have managed to successfully have tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

There is no tricks I think you need to formulate strategy for long term gain through organic SEO and implement other methods which are often discussed in forums.

bobchrist is right, no trickts just contant strategies. If you are thinking short term, you will not last longer than 6 months (that is a nice time frame guess there).

I see places go up and crumble down only because they 'wing it', there is no 'master plan' and people seem to think the customers will just flock in. You get in what you put out, so you need to think of ways you stand higher than your competition does and go from there.