11 May

Written by Kathryn Vercillo on May 11, 2009

Most of us who use promotional deals are really trying to just save a little bit here and a little bit there in order to decrease our overall spending. That’s a great approach to frugal living. However, you shouldn’t neglect to look at the bigger picture. There are some promotional deals out there that can save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars if you’re able to get your hands on them. These don’t come along often and they aren’t always worth the investment that they require but you should keep them in mind as part of your overall money saving plan for your future.

Here is a look at the top ten major savings promotional deals you may find:

1. Government-Backed Deals on Green Cars. Green car companies work together with the government to promote their products and to encourage buyers to make the switch to green. When hybrid cars were first released, there were many good deals out there for receiving money back for making this investment. New green car technology (such as hydrogen fuel cell cars and all-electric cars) will likely come with the same promotions. If you’re looking at getting a new car, assess the total lifetime savings with one of these deals and see if it’s a deal that will save you money in the long run. Chances are that it will because this is one of the best promotional deals available. Green technology for the home is another area where these savings are possible.

2. SEO and Web Design Services. Web designers and web marketing companies regularly offer promotional deals on their services as a way to spread the word about their work. This is often offered in the form of a contest on their blog. If you sign up or win, you receive many thousands of dollars worth of work on your website for no charge. Not only do you save this money but an improved website will also earn you more money. Pay attention to the blogs of these types of businesses to see these promotional deals when they come up.

3. Travel in exchange for listening to a presentation. This one is really tricky because the majority of people who do it end up getting sucked in to the promotion. The way that it works is that you agree to listen to a two-hour presentation on a time share or condo. Then they try really hard to sell you on the product. Whether or not you purchase the time share, you get a free trip somewhere and sometimes some additional promotional items. It’s not worth it if you’re going to get sucked into a time share that you don’t want but if you’ve got the will power to turn down the sales person then this can be a great way to travel somewhere at almost no cost.

4. Free classes. Many different types of businesses offer free introductory classes to try to convince you that you are interested in their services. These classes may be on any topic from exercise (as a promotion for a gym) to marketing (as a promotion for an ad agency). If you like to learn new things and would otherwise pay to take classes, you can save money on your education by signing up for these free classes. Again, you just want to make sure not to get sucked into purchasing services that you don’t want. On the other hand, these classes can also be a good way to test the waters of products and services as a means of making wise buys on those things.

5. Food and alcohol. A large number of businesses host events that offer free food and alcohol as a way of promoting the business. Art gallery openings are a terrific example but there are many other types of events like this as well. If you get in the habit of doing your socializing at these types of places, you can end up saving yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars on the cost of entertainment and going out to eat.

6. Percentage off of services for repeat businesses. A lot of businesses that you frequent for services will offer you discounts if you return as a promotional method of getting you to remain a repeat customer. For example, your massage therapist may offer $10 off of your next visit. If the service is something that you’re going to get either way then the promotional deal is a good way to go. Try to find these offers for all of the different services that you use and you could save a lot of money over the course of a year.

7. Free products or services for referrals. Word of mouth is the best way for any business to gain new business. Once you’ve become a customer somewhere, you can leverage that by spreading the word in exchange for free products or services. Many businesses offer this promotion outright but if you’re a customer at some place that doesn’t then you should speak to a manager about the options.

8. Giveaways to Review Writers. One terrific way to save money on many different types of things is to work as a review writer or blogger for different products. By establishing a name for yourself in this area, you can start to receive many different gadgets and items for free in exchange for your reviews. These giveaways could save you a lot of money if the items were for things that you would’ve purchased anyway. For example, many people got free iPod products for writing reviews when the products first came out. Of course, you have to factor in your time investment for the writing that you do.

9. Affiliate programs. Businesses use affiliate programs to spread the word about their work by paying their customers to promote it. For example, an Amazon.com customer can spread the word about Amazon products through a blog or website and can then be paid money for any successful referrals. Many different types of businesses offer these affiliate programs and they can be a good way to make some extra money. You also typically save money at the location you’re working for through special deals offered to affiliates.

10. Any unique promotional offer that you see. Businesses are always trying to outdo each other with unique marketing and this sometimes includes offering really unique (and often outrageous) promotional deals to get attention. Businesses may give away specialty trips, massage beds, new technology, and things you can’t even begin to think of. These are typically good deals because the point for the businesses isn’t to save money but instead to get a lot of attention at once. When you see these things, they deserve a second look.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to use promotional codes when you buy stuff online. Check out some of our new discounts and offers:

1) Marks and Spencer Promotional Code
2) Barratts Offer Code
3) Superdrug promotional code
4) Vodafone promotional code

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About the authors

Kathryn

We are Kathryn and Captain Frugal two money saving fanatics. Kathryn is a freelance writer living in San Francisco which means that she's had to work hard to maintain a frugal budget. Captain Frugal learned from a young age that a penny saved is a penny earned, he's made it his life's mission to beat "the system" a few cents at a time. "Living the high life is easy!" say's captian frugal, "all you need is a little creativity, to improve your lifestyle and still save money!

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