While promoting your company online is crucial in this digital age, offline marketing still matters. The tried and true ways of offline marketing are various and at times, very expensive. Commercials, billboards, and ads in magazines and phone books can be quite pricey and often not have the impact that you were hoping for.

There are ways to promote your brand offline without breaking the bank. The key is to engage people in conversations and make your product not only visible, but tangible to possible customers.

These ideas are easy to execute and fairly inexpensive.

1. Host a writing or design challenge

Ask your customers to take part in a competition where the winner will have their work featured in one of your campaigns. This sparks the consumer to interact and become familiar with your product. They will be able to boast of winning the challenge and seeing their work displayed in a public forum and your business will have a bit of work done for free. This will show that your brand wants to connect with people in a real way, and not just online. The buzz about the contest will surely drive more people to learn about and perhaps, invest in your product.

2. Speak at or attend events and trade shows

As a speaker, you get to show that you are an expert in your field, by offering advice and using examples of how your company runs. Even if you aren’t ready to be a speaker, just attending a tradeshow or event can be a great networking tool. Other attendees may be people in your field looking to connect or you might find customers out comparing the competition. You might want to invest in a booth and purchase promotional materials, but if that is too much money, you can just around and talk to other vendors. Either way, you get your business out there.

3. Donate gift certificates or products as prizes

Hosts for fundraisers, competitions and parties are always on the lookout for prizes and raffle items. Even just $10-$15 gift certificates can go a long way. By donating a gift certificate or one of your products, you are showing that you are a generous company and that what you have to offer is something that they want, because they’re competing for it. It will showcase your product not just for the person who receives it, but everyone else who is attending will have, at the very least, heard of your brand.

4. Business cards

Leave them everywhere. Post them on bulletin boards. Drop them in fish bowl contests. Leave them with the tip at a restaurant. A well designed business card will be memorable. If people see it every time they get their coffee, they’ll be more likely to think of you and contact you when they need your services.

5. Sponsor a local sports team

By sponsoring a local sports team, you show your community that you care about something more than business. Your logo may be displayed on their jerseys and perhaps even as a banner in the field or stadium where they play. It may be a bit more of an expensive choice for marketing, but your logo will be up for as long the season lasts, which is typically a few months. This not only offers an extended amount of time of advertisement, but many people will see it. It will be seen by the team you sponsor, opposing teams and everyone attends the games.