Marketing On A Budget: Is It Possible?

Are you one of many small business  owners who are marketing on a budget? Unfortunately it is true, not everyone has an unlimited budget for marketing (darn huh).

Even if you do have a good amount of money available you shouldn’t necessarily dump every dollar you have into marketing without having a rock-solid strategy in place first.

One very common misconception about marketing is that you need a lot of money to make it worthwhile, well that is FALSE. We have worked with companies that have a huge budget and ones with very limited funds, and both types can be very successful.

Let’s dive into 5 ways you can market your small business without breaking the bank.

Create Engaging & Interesting Content

Bar none, one of the best marketing ideas is to write captivating content that is both relevant and interesting to your readers. Think of your customers pain-points, how you solve them, and why your  business is uniquely suited to help them. Then write about them.  Blogging is the cost-effective because all it really costs you is your time, and a bit of creativity.

The more content you create, the more chances you have to get noticed and appear in search results. When creating content think of ways to attract, engage, and keep your reader interested.

How Can You Keep Your Reader Interested?

Use writing tips like:

• Short sentences
• Cliffhangers
• Lead-ins
• Easy-to-read grammar structure.

Picture an 8th-grader reading your content. Write with that mentality and you will be golden.

Produce Your Own Video

No, you won’t become some famous hot-shot producer, but, you can get a ton of visibility and leads for your brand from video.

In 2019 almost 80% of internet traffic was generated by video. You don’t want to miss the boat.

Video Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive

People love reality… seriously! If they didn’t then the Kardashians wouldn’t be rich and famous. What this means for you is that you don’t need thousands of dollars worth of equipment, nor do you need to hire an expensive film agency.

What Do You Need?

• A camera (Any good smart-phone or tablet with a camera will do just fine)
• A microphone (check out our favorite pick on Amazon)
• Good lighting (either outside or inside with windows, or invest in a ring light)

Once you are set up make sure create as many videos as possible.

We love using videos as a marketing tactic because they are darn versatile, plus it’s easy to share the videos on multiple platforms with ease.

Our recommendation is to upload all your videos to YouTube first, then, from there you can embed the videos onto your website or share clips on social media.

What kind of videos should you make?

Anything that shows your brand in a positive light can be made into a beneficial video.

Team Up With Local Businesses

Your best weapons are often the ones nearest to you. Local businesses that are in the trenches with you are often the most affordable marketing partners around. In order to choose the correct business to partner with think about which business would best compliment your business.

For example, if you are a real estate agency, you could team up with an interior designer to create a winning combination. The best part of local partnerships is that you gain access to their audience and they gain access to yours.

And don’t forget to ask for referrals. They are free to ask for and they can bring  huge results.

Email Marketing for the Win

Emails as you know are free, so this is another must do tip for small businesses. Email marketing is an effective tactic because it is very far reaching and usually drives approximately 20% in open rates.

Emails can be easily crafted in your spare time and allows you to use your time and budget wisely.

Develop your email campaigns around promotions or products or other important topics that will provide value for your subscribers. Within the emails, you can include links to existing blog posts, eBooks, some of those videos you just created and other content that your leads and customers will find helpful.

Email Marketing Tools & Tips

There are multiple tools that are either free, or come at a very low cost that you can use to improve your efforts.

• Mailchimp – Use their free account to create HTML based email content.
• Use irresistible subject lines – Speak to readers directly and promise them something that stands out from the other emails in their inbox.
• Know your goal – Have a single goal, identify one thing you want to achieve for each email, and nail it.
• Promote Action – Make sure you include a killer call-to-action.

Stay Active On Social

I know, I know, this point is a touchy subject. Especially seeing as though we ourselves need to work on this. But that in itself is proof that it works.

Your customer base is active on social media, they spend hours every day browsing funny posts and viewing your competition.

Billions of people use social media every day, it is free to post on, and again only uses time as the investment.

• Tip – Aim to post at least once weekly on all major social platforms. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

And there you have it.

5 affordable ways to market your  brand on a budget. If you need help or would like some assistance implementing your own marketing strategy give us a shout  and we can help work alongside you to improve your digital presence.