What Types of Advertising/Marketing Expenses Can Small Businesses Deduct?

In the past advertising for small business owners mostly involved ads for print, television or radio (a catchy jingle was always a good way to go), cold calling (rarely a pleasant experience), sending out flyers or courting potential customers at a conference.  Unfortunately, these types of advertising were problematic in that it is difficult to gage the direct impact of their effectiveness.  Additionally, they were often fairly costly, which can especially difficult for small business owners to afford. 

Over the past few years the avenues for advertising have grown exponentially. Many types of advertising don’t even cost anything, except time. You can buy ads on numerous social media outlets that appeal to your target market or if you want to go the free route, you can set up a social media account, post regularly and build an audience.  Alternatively, you can set up a website which you can then optimize so that google and other search engines display it when someone is looking for your product or service. Email newsletters are also another effective and direct way of reaching potential buyers.    One of the great benefits of these types of advertising is that you are better able to monitor the effectiveness of your chosen strategy.