Everyone who runs a business, however small, needs to have an advertising ‘plan’. Most people who start a small business usually do so on a shoestring budget, but with the internet now available to ‘most’ mobile phone owners, NOW is the time to start your ‘Undercover Ninja Advertising Tactics’.

First, you need to spend a small amount of money to get a cheap but reliable domain name and hosting account. This could cost you as little as $25 inclusive.

Godaddy.com or Hostgator.com are two great services that offer good value for money, as well as a simple step-by-step guide for those with little to no experience.

Choosing your domain name carefully is ‘essential’ to the success of your Advertising Ninja. It has to be short, sharp and agile. Above all, it must be very easy to remember. Like Google, eBay, Yahoo. They’re all instantly memorable, which is why they’ve been so successful. My own domain FRED67.com was chosen specifically for this purpose. Not only that, but the logo is also bright and colorful, adding to its oomph factor. The tagline ‘The Search Ends Here’ adds a bit of mystery to the inquisitive minds of the public.

Your URL could be something like – RED.com – tagline – ‘Red? why red?

Imagine if you saw that scrawled somewhere while you were out and about. Wouldn’t you think to yourself, “I wonder what that’s all about then?” If you had a mobile phone with internet access, you could type RED.com into the little browser just to see, and even if it wasn’t you, lots of people would. But what they find when they get to your index page is vitally important.

Whatever your business. You need to hit them ‘hard’ with your message about your business. Again, it should be short, sharp, and to the point. You must tell the visitor in a few lines “exactly” what it is about. If you have a nice website, that’s fine. But your message might hit people even more “strongly” if it stood alone on a white background, with no decorations or distractions in sight. Just your important message and a forwarding link or phone number for more details.

If you think this doesn’t work, ask Google.com or Craigslist.com, who use the blank page to get their messages across.

Ok, now you have your domain, hosting and index/home page ready for visitors. Now is the time to go underground with a batch of postcards with just your URL: RED.com in big, colorful letters, and below, your ‘tagline’:

Red? why red? plus some ‘blu-tack’ to stick the cards to prominent surfaces without causing any damage. Billboards, mailboxes, the back of buses, bathroom doors, light poles, etc., the list could be endless.

You also have natural Ninja resources like dirt in the back of vans and trucks. Just write the URL and tagline in the dirt with your finger. Most drivers with dirty trucks are too lazy to clean them anyway, and you get free publicity on the roads of your country J.

Grab some chalk and just write it on the pavement in bold letters for everyone to see when they walk by. The sides of the dumpsters are also ideal. For whatever reason, most people will look at a dumpster while driving or walking by. Your little ‘image ad’ might just grab their attention.

If you live near the sea, you will have the beach, just when the tide goes out, scratch your message in the sand with very large letters. Or get big pebbles and spell out your URL and tagline with them. You will have several hours of FREE advertising until the tide comes back to take it away.

If you have a car, like most people. Buy those really cheap adhesive sunshades that have rubber suction cups to fix them. Two side blinds and a larger one for the rear window. They are see-through, so they won’t restrict your vision in any way. Now get a can of spray paint, cut out a stencil from a newspaper or similar, and spray your URL and tagline on it. Put the blinds back on your windows and wherever you drive, your message will go with you without paying for expensive signs or damaging your vehicle.

These are just a few ideas. Post your ‘Underground Ninja Advertising Tactics’ and I’m sure you’ll come up with many more.