Market Share - Buy Low, Sell High

The stock market game is not very complicated: buy low, sell high. Anyone with free capital in today's market is busy gobbling up any common stock they can find in the companies that analysts are confident will survive this downturn. Why? Because their dollars can buy more shares today, which will expand in the future.

What many companies fail to realize is that the same principal applies to gaining market share in your industry. First, the price is low. As publishers and printers struggle to keep their margins up, there are great bargains to be had. Remnants and unsold spaces in magazines, presses that sit dormant, leaderboard and sponsorships that are falling vacant can all be purchased at rock-bottom prices.

But, can you "sell high" on those investments today? Absolutely. While many competitors are shrinking from the market, some will arise in these days of turmoil to buy up the means to top-of-mind awareness in consumers minds, eventually emerging at the other end of a swelling and rebounding economy as the king in their fields. When (not if) the consumer trends reverse and eager buyers go out to spend their newly rejuvenated budgets, it's the vendors who have bought their share of mind that will profit greatly.

Here are a few recommendations of places to look and people to call if you would like to buy "shares" at their lowest:

1. Your ad rep at any printed trade magazine in your niche. Ask for remnants (or unsold spots), even premium placements. Depending on how dire their sales have been, expect 50% of rate-card or lower.
2. Look for email newsletters and websites that have "house ads" running in prominent banner positions. House ads promote the publisher themselves, not a paying client. It's a sure sign that they couldn't sell that spot.
3. Even more daring (but with higher potential for reward)... find top-ranking bloggers in your industry whose sites are conspicuously absent of sponsor ads. Offer to "buy their blog" and put the writer on retainer to write for you. Many small-time bloggers will jump at the chance for a lump-sum exit strategy with residual benefits, and you can now funnel 100% of their traffic to your site.
4. If B2C is your market, take note of all the highway billboards that are now saying, "Advertise here." If that's been displaying for a few months, the owner may well be eager to let the space go for a very small amount IF you can afford a long-term commitment.

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