Admittedly, I burn the candle at both ends... and in the middle. As I get back to focusing on the book edits, I look back at my own marketing efforts and see some things I haven't discussed much in the past. As you know, I have been pushing my own commercial photography business, and am trying to make it grow to the point where I can be extremely selective about which clients I accept.
So... how to do this while growing all my other businesses and still feed the family? In my world, that has become a pretty easy solution. I have been working for the "Inside Tucson Business" weekly. I've done a number of business profiles over the past few months, meeting successful business owners that are in need of my marketing services. It's really a win/win/win situation for me -- I add to my portfolio, market my services in a service environment, and get paid while I'm broadening my market. The smartest part for the paper is that they don't have a predetermined number of photos they run for each article, and they pay per photo. This means that if they like the pictures they run more.... and I get more.... So, I'm willing to spend a bit of time with the business owner that gets to see me work, gets to ask me all the smart questions, and I'm being supplemented for this process! The paper is just glad to have me on board, and encourages this type of relationship. They know the more I get out of it, the more they will. Everyone wins.
Now, how does this relate to your business? I'm not sure -- but you can probably figure something that works well for you. How about an ice cream shop sponsoring the little league championships, giving all the players in the final game a free cone? You look like a hero, sell to the parents, and get your name on some advertising... The point is that you can do this type of multi-benefit marketing if you put your mind to it!