I recently offered some marketing tips to a startup wishing to promote their company in the pre-launch phase, and wanted to share these tips with our beSUCCESS readers. Enjoy, and leave comments at the bottom if you want to add, change or delete something.

1. Get involved with local blogs.
2. Find power bloggers who work in the space and offer them something (doesn't need to be money), in exchange for writing about you. Treat them nice and they can work wonders for you.
3. Get an HD video done from Shakr Media - costs a tiny fraction ($30 - $50) of professional cost and you can do it yourself, easily - it's designed for people like you.
4. A local celebrity endorsement can work wonders. They must also be passionate about what you are doing, but you may be surprised at the response. Local translation service, Flitto, recently got a stunning endorsement from Psy, as he loved / uses their translation service.
5. Speak with local PR agents - good ones will have a chat with you, before they charge - this can give you good insights and some solid leads for PR, without spending anything.
6. If you are asking for a favor, be sure to offer something in return - no on likes a take-take-taker!
7. Make all approaches persona!! Sending a bulk mail out to 500 media people will  result in 1-2 posts... or none. If you do some research and make a proper / personal approach to a few top people it will pay off (trust me, I have experienced this first hand).
8. Make damn sure you understand the local market. Things you take for granted could be major stumbling blocks that end in failure., if you are operating in an unfamiliar market. There will be tips on social media from locals - befriend a few who know what they are talking about - you may event stumble across your future marketing manager for that given country / region.
9. Twitter / Facebook - be consistent in the message you are sending out to the world about your company / idea / service. And be responsive to questions / feedback. And - don't spam your networks!
10. Youtube / Quora / Google + / LinkedIn / SLideShare / etc / etc offer good free options for promotion and are not all labor intensive
11. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool - make sure you are nice, and professional. Think about customer service and retention from before you launch, and be ready when customer acquisition ramps up.
12. You don't get anything for free (so at some point you will have to dig into your pocket for your marketing). But, to get started you can achieve a lot on a very small budget.

Please feel free to leave comments, or further suggestions.

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