What are good cheap marketing ideas for a new fashion business?

[J]

I am hoping to open a fashion store and need great ways to market other than myspace and facebook (which I feel don't work that great). I'd love any creative/useful/affordable ideas!

Thanks!

[Claudiomar]

Hi J,
I wouldn't say that myspace or facebook don't work as way to market you business just yet. The way I see it, they are only great ways to deliver a message to your customer but you still have to think about:
* Your customer (or market target)
- Who they are (gender, age, average income, region, things they like or don't like,...)
- Where they go (for instance, which website they visit)
- Which keywords they use when searching for your product

Your product
- Benefits
- Features
- Potential purchasing experience

The message
- How to write it
* Emphasizing benefits? Features?
* Call for action
- How to deliver the message
* Website
* Blog
* Newsletter
* News papers
* E-mail marketing...

Conversions/objectives
- What do you expect from this campaign
* More people in you site
* More sales
* More newsletter subscriptions...

If you decide to stay online after addressing the points above, you might need:
- Review your site to see if it is ready for the expected conversions
- Start a blog
- Use the social media tools you've been using (and others) to interact more with people and to make them aware of your blog and site.
- Be active in relevant forums.

As you see, it's not that the tools you've been using don't work. They are just a part of everything you could be doing in online marketing. They may be working just as fine as they can. You just couldn't see because you may not be ready (yet) to measure the results or to take advantage from them as communication channels.

I hope it helps.

[InteractiveJunkie]

There are a myriad of ways to market your company. there are several factors you need to know to make your decision, such as what is the demographics that you are looking to go after, web goals, your budget, short and long term goals etc.

Here are a few links that should help:
http://www.learnthat.com/business/learn/...-Business/
http://www.adcomarketing.com/Adco-Marketing-Links.html
good luck!