Marketing can help brand you and it may not cost you any money.

An online newsletter recently interviewed me. This led to the video with over 6.5k views on YouTube in the first two weeks. Two months ago, the email newsletter Morning Brew interviewed me on one of their recent videos.

This was not my first interview and probably won’t be the last.

Previously, I was interviewed by Money magazine on two different occasions, Army Times, Company Command, and Yelp. The best part is I didn’t spend any money on marketing myself.

These companies did all the work.

Of course, you still have to dedicate time for the interview.

If you want to spread the word about yourself, you need to spend time or money on marketing.

Marketing can take money from your budget. When you can get marketing for free, that is the best part.

I’ll share a few ideas that worked for me in the past that allowed me to land these interviews. As an entrepreneur, writer, business owner, or professional, marketing is the name of the game.

Over 2.89 billion people are on Facebook.

YouTube has about 2 billion active users.

Twitter has about 206 million users.

Social media is the place where many people spend their time. Newspapers and magazines are slowly dying.

Last year, people spent an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media.

More people are online than a decade ago. This may be one reason Money magazine stopped its publication in June 2019.

If you want people to know who you are, you need to get your name out there. Once they know your name, people will want to know who you are and what you do.

How did I land free marketing from these companies?

3 Ways you can get free marketing

Tell a story

You need a story that sets you apart from everyone else. Your story needs to stand out. The story needs to tell the reader immediately; I need to hear from this person. Your story may do well.

Before you apply, you need to think about what story can you tell?

What makes your story so special?

What grabs the attention of the reader?

If you can pass this test, there is a good chance you’ll get an initial interview. The interview will help the company decide if your story is worthy to be featured.

Subscribe or follow the content they produce

For any publication, first, you need to follow the publication. You need to know what does the company typically produces each week or month.

Does your story align with their typical content?

What do their stories typically cover?

If you answer these questions, this increases your chances to get an initial interview.

Actively read/view their content

This last one is key. Not only do you have to know about the company, but you also need to read what they produce.

If you don't read their content, it will be hard for you to know when they are looking for a story.

You need to read their content as often as you can.

When a company is looking to interview someone, the information won’t be in 25 font for you to see. Sometimes you need to read the information which could be hidden in their publication.

Reading the information often will allow you to see when the company is looking to interview someone. As soon as you see the information, apply right away.

These companies have deadlines so the sooner you apply, the more likely they will contact you.

Final thoughts

In whatever profession you’re in, you want people to know your name and what you do. This is what marketing is all about.

If you can find a free way for a company to feature you, then you should take advantage of it. This is the best type of marketing you can get.

You can easily pay Facebook, Instagram, or another company to buy ad space. But that only costs you more money.

If you have the money to spend, then go for it. Otherwise, take advantage of the free marketing. Companies have a budget to spend on marketing and they already have an audience.

After Money magazine featured me, I had complete strangers email and congratulate me. Then I had friends send me messages on Facebook congratulating me after they saw me in the Army Times. Many of these friends I hadn’t talked to in years.

Marketing is only getting more expensive.

Gary Vaynerchuk said:

“Once they start calibrating how bad it actually is… once they take that money from page 147 of Sports Illustrated and from a commercial… and they put it into Facebook and Instagram the price of that attention is going to go through the roof.”

Marketing may seem cheap today but when big companies transition to using online marketing, Gary feels the price will only go higher.

You can pay for the advertising and marketing or you can try getting exposure with free marketing.

While you can, free marketing is still available but you have to use some of your time to get it.

Have you used free marketing that has worked for you before?