I want to get some opinions on whether online or offline marketing is the best. Also I would welcome any input on which avenues have been the most effective for you and what kind of costs were involved.

Hi Cherryj

i would have to vote for online
the best way is creating backlinks to your site through submitting good quality articles with your keywords incorporated the good news this is free but time consuming

I have to agree, article marketing is a great way to acquire backlinks and build a strong Internet presence.

I also get a decent response from from forum posting and blog commenting.

Online if your prepared to put in the leg work. You can do free classified ads, articles if you dont want to write them yourself its very cheap to get someone to write them for you.

Nowadays many people are doing home based business..
People need to stay home and raise a family is a key reason this choice is regularly made. Also, people starting up in their own businesses often choose to work from home because it provides a cheaper option.

I think you need a little bit of both. It also depends on the type of business you have and the audience you are trying to reach. Keep your eyes open for local fairs that would relate to your business. For example there is an arts & crafts fair at a local church coming up that I signed up for vendor space for only $35. I sell purses and tote bags for a company. This will really help me to be able to get catalogs and brochures as well as my website into the hands of lots of people for a small price. I also have done some advertising on Facebook. You can really target specific groups and do a short campaign to try it out. You can set your own budget, so if you only want to spend a $1 a day for 10 days, you can do just that.

You have to check out where your customrs are and how to get to them. I am in the restaurant equipment supply business and have a strong online presence, but that does not mean that I ignore offline. I am present at confernces talk to satisfied restaurant owners and spread myswelf out.
A lot off marketing is all about word of mouth so you can combine something like social media with offline.

I will say online is a great way. So far I have been getting more responses online than offline. Then again consistency is key. Either way you chose to market your business, you have to be consistent with it. This is how you get people interested in what you do.

I prefer online. There are free advertising methods that you can do as long as you have a computer and internet connection. Joining forum discussions is one of that methods.