Marketing Without a Budget: 10 Shoestring Marketing Tips

Do you feel like you’re marketing without a budget? Read this article to learn the best shoestring marketing tips to get the word out.

Even if you’re offering the most useful product around, you’re not actually in business unless you have buyers. In order to drive sales, you need to put the word out.

But marketing for business can be hectic, especially for small businesses or startups on a tight budget. The good news is that there are several tried-and-tested ways of marketing without a budget. Keep reading to find out the top 10 marketing tips to help build your business on a budget.

1. Strategy First

A strategy is the single most valuable tool when it comes to marketing without a budget. Though the act of strategic thinking is often time-consuming, it helps eliminate guesswork. A strong strategy can help you to cut your loses and gives you direction for where your winning positions are.

Think efficiently and with reverence to predefined business and marketing goals. This will help you refine your plans, goals and intentions as well as a guide to determine where and how to spend your dollars on marketing.

2.Create Online Content

One way to promote your business and market your products or services affordably is by creating online content. Content marketing is all about providing valuable and exciting information that helps inspire interest in your brand.

Also, interesting online content attracts page views. The key to doing this effectively is by providing useful content regularly.

3. Start a Blog

Blogging is one of the most effective low budget marketing methods that can put your business on the map. You can create a website for your business using WordPress. This CMS (WordPress) is the most customizable option and you can set one up without breaking the bank.

Start publishing content to your blog that’s relevant to the people you want to read it. By providing valuable content, you’re able to attract the right audience while at the same time establishing yourself as a thought leader in your field.

Plus, the more you publish content on your blog the more likely you’ll appear in search engine pages when prospects search for terms related to your business. Be sure to implement the best SEO practices on each webpage.

4. Focus on Conversions Over Views

Before jumping into paid advertising to attract page views, ensure your blog is converting at a rate that makes using paid traffic worthwhile. You can use a free tool, such as Google Analytics to monitor how visitors are converting, what prospects do on your website and even the time they’re likely to convert.

After collecting this data, you can analyze it and make any necessary changes to your website. This might help improve your conversions, making paid ads a worthy consideration.

5.Set up Social Media Channels

Create your social media channels as soon as possible. While no social media channel is off-limits, you want a platform that adapts well with your content. Resist the temptation to join every social channel out there and don’t restrict yourself from setting up a social channel based on industry stereotypes.

The best thing about social media is that it provides you with a lot of creative freedom compared to traditional media which is often heavily regulated. Create exciting accounts that represent your team’s personality. You can also gain access to a larger majority of your audience in one spot using these platforms.

6.Ask for Referrals

Referrals are a cost-effective way of marketing to generate new business. The problem is that many people feel weird when asking for a referral. Others don’t want to appear desperate.

Thankfully, there are numerous ways to request referrals without coming off as a bit desperate or feeling awkward. Some ideas to ask for referrals include asking for referrals and giving a free gift in exchange (such as a coupon code). Also, consider joining a referral networking group.

7.Build Solid Relationships

It’s quite expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an old one. For this reason, entrepreneurs are advised to establish a strong relationship with your existing customers.

One way to keep in touch with your customer base is via email marketing. Ask clients for their email addresses when they visit your website or store. Then, make professional communications that are informative and helpful—something they will always want to receive.

8.Prioritize Local Search

Your rank on search engines is more important than ever, especially for those with physical stores. Think about this for a second─ what comes to your mind when you want to buy something? Probably an online search.

Whether you intend to buy it online or visit a physical shop, you’re probably going to start by looking online for research or find the nearest store. To help you rank higher on search engines, SEO for small businesses is a critical step to include in your marketing mix.

You should also claim your business with google. Google My Business lets you adjust how your company appears on Google, including location, photos, hours, and customer reviews.

9.Social Advertising and Pay Per Click

Social advertising (on Twitter and Facebook) can be powerful. The social networks let you pay to serve ads to a particular demographic or have a specific update promoted to a bigger audience.

These campaigns are amazing for people looking to do marketing on a budget. Even if you have a $15 budget, you can still get results.

Pay Per Click (PPC) ads can pay, especially because you won’t be charged if your campaign isn’t working. In addition, PPC can be scaled to any budget. With Google AdWords, for example, you bid on certain key phrases related to your company and pay a small fee.

10.Run a Podcast

Podcasting is a great way to do marketing without a budget. If you’re among the lucky ones who likes their own voice, then you should consider doing a podcast. 

Starting a podcast helps not only to build brand awareness but also to make your business more human. Besides, the human voice can be connecting in ways most media can’t, making podcasts amazing marketing tools.

Master Marketing Without a Budget

As an entrepreneur, understanding that marketing is one area you can afford to ignore is important. And if you are trying to get your business out there on a limited budget, don’t worry.

You can do effective marketing without a budget. Many great companies have successfully done it before. Stay persistent and know when to something is working versus when it’s stale.

We discuss a lot of advertising and marketing topics on our site to help businesses of all sizes. For more tips and advice, check out the rest of our blog.