Creative Marketing on a Shoestring You've ransacked your brain for a shred of creativity, and you still can't come up with some decent marketing tactics. Good news: We've done the work for you.

In a world where a decent print ad can run to five digits, Internet ads start at hundreds a month and direct mail costs a dollar a pop, what's a cash-strapped entrepreneur to do? Fear not. If you're willing to put in time in lieu of money and aren't afraid of a little adventure, there are always ways to market your business-all for the price of a large pizza or less. Just avoid blowing money on methods that don't work for start-up businesses. Instead, try these unorthodox but effective (and inexpensive) marketing measures.

Pull a Stunt
As you sit in a sidewalk caf�FD one sunny afternoon, you notice heads suddenly swiveling. A woman is walking down the street.in a boned, laced bodice that gives her a silhouette that would make strong men faint. She hands out leaflets to her entranced audience. She makes more than $3,000 in bodice orders within the week. Not bad for a marketing outlay of $10 and a couple of hours.

A good publicity stunt is a startlingly effective way to catapult your business into the public eye and gain exposure that could otherwise cost you a fortune-if you're the kind of person who's not afraid to be a bit wacky. Think up a clever, funny, outrageous idea and tell the local media-newspapers, radio stations, TV stations-all about it. Call everyone you know, and ask them to spread the word.