“Think outside of the four walls” when trying to promote your business, Margie Johnson of Shop Talk said during an educational workshop on Sept. 25 at Gloucester’s Main Street Event Center.

Johnson told the 20 businessmen in attendance to use a variety of marketing techniques to grow their business.

Sponsored by the Main Street Preservation Trust, the workshop was the first of two educational programs MSPT plans to offer here this fall, executive director Jenny Crittenden said. Crittenden said MSPT hosted two educational seminars last year, too.

Martin Buoncristiani, president of Communication Ventures, said that text messaging is the most effective mobile tool currently available. A flyer distributed at the meeting said that a business owner receives a keyword from the provider and invites customers to text that keyword to a number to receive an instant coupon via text directly to their phone.

According to Buoncristiani, ...