Could your business use some help with advertising? Chances are that the answer is “yes,” especially if you are a small business or a new business looking to get off the ground. If you fall into one of these categories, you know that an advertising campaign could really help your business, but also understand just how expensive one can be. You might even feel as though doing advertising isn’t something that’s possible for you.

However, help could be on the way thanks to Staples. The office supply company is providing a chance for a small businesses to reach their marketing and advertising goals thanks to a new contest. The recently-launched “Give Your Small Business the Push it Need” contest will give five small business owners access to up to $50,000 that they can use to advertise their company locally through TV commercials.

If you are one of the five winners, you can choose from receiving $50,000 in advertising or $40,000 in advertising and $10,000 in cash. Here’s how the contest works: people are being asked to submit information about their company at the Staples Facebook page at www.facebook.com/staples along with a 15-second video explaining why they deserve to win the contest. Staples will select five winners, who will receiving 15 seconds of advertising during Staples commercials airing in their local market.

If you own your own business and work from home, you could be eligible for some major tax breaks. The IRS gives significant deductions to people who operate a home office – that is, people who do a significant amount of work from their home. In the eyes of the IRS, this means that the part of your home dedicated to work-related activities (such as your computer room if you are a writer or kitchen if you sell cupcakes) can be treated as your primary place of business and count as a partial tax deduction.

Of course, the IRS also has strict rules governing how these deductions are handled and is often stringent in their enforcement. Here are a few tips to help make sure you get the most our of your potential home office deduction and avoid running afoul of federal tax laws:

Calculate Your Home Office Area: How much of a deduction from your mortgage or rental costs (along with utilities, rental fees and other costs) you can claim is determined by what percentage of your home is used for work. Provide an accurate assessment of how much space you use during work and avoid the temptation to exaggerate.

Keep Private and Personal Effects Separate: Your office spaces needs to be clearly defined as such, so you need to keep any private items away from it. Of course, you can decorate your office space with pictures or have items such as an MP3 player. But having items such as a baby crib or video game system that you would never have in a traditional office is a no-no.

Only Expenses for Your Office Space Are Deductible: This means that you can’t include expenses for the upkeep your your overall home in your deductions. Deductions relating to fixing your office space are acceptable; deductions for landscaping your front lawn or installing a new oven aren’t.

One of the most popular ways for people to get involved in the business world is to become a franchisee of a successful business. Whether it’s owning their own fast food restaurant, fitness gym or haircut place, people can pay an upfront fee and get involved with a proven company. Becoming a franchisee lets people become a business owner with the comfort of an existing corporate structure. For first-time entrepreneurs with the money to invest, it’s an obvious first choice.

So why do so many franchisees wind up failing, never making money and eventually having to close their doors. In many cases, it’s because they made a poor choice when it comes to choosing the business to operate. There are thousands of potential options for people looking to franchise an existing business, meaning people have a lot of choices – and potentially a lot of wrong choices. Many markets are saturated, so choosing the right franchise to operate is a huge step.

Potential franchisees need to do careful research of the market and their area before making any decisions on opening a franchise. A franchise should fill a gap in service to a community. If there are two fast food restaurants on a street corner, chances are that it doesn’t need a third one. Pay attention to demographics as well – a video game franchise located near a high school is going to do better than one located in a neighborhood that mainly consists of senior citizens.

Another factor to consider is if the business you are potentially franchising has long-term staying power. Many business are successful in the short-term but only cater to one specific need. If interest in those needs suffer, the franchises can lose value remarkably fast. Recent example of hot franchise areas that have fallen on hard times include ink cartridge replacement and meal preparation services.

Many businesses spend a lot of time and money collecting information about their current and potential customers. It makes sense to do this – after all, you have to know your target audience before you can provide the goods or services that they are interested in. But gathering information is only part of the equation.

After all, if you don’t do anything with the customer data that you collect, what‘s the point of getting it in the first place? It’s important to study the information that you receive from all angles in order to figure out patterns that can tell you what people are looking for. Take a hard look at demographic information such as age, gender and income levels when reviewing your data.

Another thing to look it is how people are coming to your business. Are they being drawn in by your website? Maybe they found you on a social media network such as Facebook or Twitter, saw advertisements that you made online or on billboards around town or were referred to you by a friend.

This is just a small sample of the information that you can leverage by reviewing the customer data you collect. Raw data is great, but it’s only value if you can turn it into actionable information that can shape your business and marketing decisions. Leave no stone unturned when it comes to evaluating your data.

What is location-based marketing? It’s one of the most important ways that a company can leverage the power of mobile users to promote their business. With location-based marketing, you are attempting to reach customers who are using the Internet – particularly on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices – to make a purchasing decision in a specific geographic area. It gives you a chance to reach customers who are motivated to make a purchase and are looking for information.

So what are the first steps that you should take in order to start a smart location-based marketing campaign? Take a look at three things you must do:

• Claim your brand on sites such as Yelp, Facebook Places and Google Places. These are incredibly popular services and claiming your listings gives you a chance to give people information such as your website, hours and the products you offer.
• Collect customer information such as emails and home addresses in order to follow up with customers after their initial contact. Giveaways are a great way to collect information and engender customer loyalty.
• Provide specials or contests on sites such as Facebook or Twitter to encourage fans to follow you. Get creative and come up with ideas like online or physical scavenger hunts with clues that people can get from following your social media accounts. Followers will spread your information and help your brand grow.