By Floyd Jackson

Let someone pay you to expose your business offerings. Believe it or not, there are people who will pay you if you let them toot your horn. These options could be just what you need to start to get the word out about what you’ve created.

People who will pay you while exposing your business

Hopefully, you will grow accustomed to receiving compliments, whether they come in the form of customer testimonials or top ratings. The effect could make you more comfortable with advertising and marketing your creative business offerings yourself. Depending on your personality, letting someone pay you to expose your business could be a near “must”.


Fact is, if you’re like many other creative business leaders, when you advertise your products and services, you feel like you’re manipulating people. Yet, you know that you’re not going to reach your target audience if you keep your creative developments a secret.

Here are people or places that may want to learn about your creative business. These places can introduce your creative products or services to new customers.

• Award developers – It’s not just major motion pictures that benefit from get nominated for or winning an award. Books, technological products, artwork and other creative products can receive mass exposure by getting nominated for or winning an award. Speak at an award show and you could get paid to cover a segment of the show.
• Contests – Not only could contests expose your business, you could get paid hundreds or thousands of dollars if you win contests. Go with contests that advertise winners on and offline and you could broaden and deepen your reach.
• Conferences – You don’t have to attend every conference to expose your business. Some conference organizers allow you to send in free grab bag giveaways. It’s a form of free advertising that could pay off big, especially if the conference draws lots of attendees. Similar to awards shows, volunteer to speak at a conference, so you can potentially get paid for your appearance.
• Schools – Bring handouts and samples of your creative business products to school events when you teach. Also, bring copies of your products to guest seminars that you speak at. Don’t just get paid to speak and share what you’ve learned so far with students, expose your business.
• Business events – Businesses bring in guest speakers throughout the year. Add that you will showcase your products or services during or at the end of speaking engagements. Include this information in your contract.

Keep the momentum to expose your business going

You can continue to submit your creative business products or services to the above contacts. However, to build and maintain momentum, you need to get comfortable with telling others about what you’ve created. Start by carrying bookmarks, flyers, business cards and product samples in your purse and vehicle.

Give away free samples. Wear t-shirts, jackets and hats that advertise the name of your creative business and your website. Boldly add images of your products onto mugs, gift bags, umbrellas, pens and notepads. Prepare a quick answer or response for people who ask you about slogans, pictures and quotes on the marketing materials.

it’s time to get comfortable with business exposure

Attend industry specific seminars and trade shows. Make an appearance at one or more of these events a month. Always bring product samples and marketing materials with you. Look around and you’ll see this is what major corporations do. To maintain their mental imprint on large numbers of people, leaders at major corporations make getting out in public a top priority.


Do the same. While you get more comfortable marketing and advertising your creative business products or services, continue to submit your work to authority figures and award organizations. Get memberships with organizations that have impact. Stay out there, right where the people your creative business products and services support and empower are.