I did everything myself, from finding clients to accounting, from marketing to administrative tasks. My business’ revenue was my income, and as a part-time, work-from-home mom, there was no room for expenses other than my time. I had no budget, so everything was DIY. I learned to be creative and was constantly learning new things to keep my business running. Never underestimate the power of a mom with no budget and limited time!

If you are in a similar boat, with a business to run but little to no budget (or maybe just a really tight budget), I’m happy to share what I’ve learned over the years to help you succeed in your business through creativity and problem solving. Marketing for business owners can be done professionally, and with the highest quality, with a small budget and a little guidance and support.

How do I market myself as a small business?

Regardless of the size of your budget, you need to start with a solid strategy that will help you to be as efficient as possible with your time and resources.

There are three main steps to setting a solid foundation from which to build your low cost marketing strategy:

1. Set up Customer Personas as your business’ North Star. 
2. Establish Brand Voice Guidelines to serve as anchor language for all marketing messaging.
3. Conduct thorough competitor analysis and target audience research so that you know where you should show up, what you should do, and learn from what your competitors are and aren’t doing (you get to fill in the gaps).

Once you have these three foundational marketing strategy elements in place, you can start to make decisions about the type of marketing you should conduct.

What type of marketing is best for small business?

The first low cost marketing strategy angle you should consider is your budget. Do you have zero budget? A tiny budget (maybe $50/month)? A slightly bigger but still small budget ($100/month)? Your budget makes a big difference in what you can and should focus your efforts on. 

Using the three foundational elements listed above (Customer Personas, Brand Voice Guidelines, and Research), paired with your budget, you can decide what is best for you. Unfortunately, there isn’t a wrong or right answer that I can give you, since “cookie cutter” marketing often leads to poor results. Each business’ marketing strategy should be as unique as a snowflake!

How can I do digital marketing for my business?

In our day and age, digital marketing IS marketing. You can’t really do marketing without being online somewhere: a website, a Google Profile, a Yelp Listing, etc. Even if you are heavily tied to physical mailers, it should provide a link or QR code to your website for more information, to make an appointment, or to order your product. 

Low cost marketing examples for digital marketing include:

• Setting up a social media profile and using it for organic reach (which means not paying to boost your posts). Which social media platform you use should be the one(s) your audience is using.
• Creating a DIY website and optimizing it for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so that you rank on page 1 for the particular keywords that your audience is searching for. I personally used the Free Website Guys to set up CraftedVoice.com and am happy with the results. I then wrote my own SEO content.
• Sending out a newsletter is a must for any business. Most email platforms have a free subscription until your list grows to a certain size. You can also write LinkedIn Newsletters, which is free to use and you can invite all of your connections to subscribe. Here is a great example from Huxley CPA of a LinkedIn newsletter. Substack is another great option for a completely free email platform AND they offer a way to monetize your content – pretty amazing!
• If you are a non-profit, you may qualify for free Google Ad Grants, which provides free advertising money each month. 

How to promote your business locally

In our global world, a local presence with strong community ties is a refreshing and personal experience. Here are a few ways to tailor your marketing efforts to a local audience. As a small business, local focus is a great place to start marketing. 

These low cost, localized marketing strategies can effectively promote your brand within your community and attract loyal customers.

How can I market my business with no money?

It’s one thing to consider low cost marketing strategies for startups…it’s another thing entirely to market your business with no money whatsoever. But it can be done, and it doesn’t take a Herculean effort to make it happen. The next section provides 17 ways you can market your business with zilch, nada, nothing in your budget.

How can I market for free?

It is possible to market your small business for free! Here is a list of free marketing ideas for startups:

1. Be ready with a compelling Elevator Pitch so that you can promote your business at a moment’s notice to those around you.
2. Social media is free (if you don’t pay to advertise or boost your posts). Share engaging content, interact with followers, and use relevant hashtags to increase visibility.
3. Launch a blog on your website to establish your business as the expert in your field and boost your SEO. 
4. Host educational workshops or webinars related to your industry or niche. 
5. Attend local networking events, business meetups, or community gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs and potential customers in your area.
6. Partner with micro-influencers or industry experts who align with your brand to reach their audience and gain exposure. If they require a fee, offer to barter instead!
7. Participate in online forums, industry-specific groups, or social media communities where your target audience hangs out. Offer valuable insights and solutions to establish credibility and build relationships.
8. Implement basic search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages.
9. Utilize free tools like Canva or Unsplash to create eye-catching graphics, infographics, or videos to share on social media and your website.
10. Encourage satisfied customers to refer friends and family by offering incentives such as discounts, freebies, or exclusive access to promotions.
11. Start building an email list of subscribers interested in your products or services. Almost all platforms offer a free plan while LinkedIn newsletters and Substack are completely free.
12. List your business on free online directories and review sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places.
13. Run social media contests or giveaways to engage your audience and increase brand awareness. Encourage your audience to share with their friends for additional entries.
14. Provide free consultations, demos, or trial periods of your products or services to allow potential customers to experience its value firsthand.
15. Reach out to local newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and bloggers to pitch story ideas or offer to contribute expert insights related to your industry.
16. Offer to write guest blog posts for other websites or industry blogs to showcase your expertise and reach a new audience.
17. Participate in free virtual conferences, webinars, or industry events to network with peers, learn from experts, and promote your brand.

What is the most successful form of free marketing?

There is not one simple answer to this question since the best low budget marketing campaigns are those that are tailored to your target audience and are rooted in a strong brand presence. 

To discover what the most successful free marketing strategy will be for your business, you’ll need to create customer personas, brand voice guidelines, conduct competitor and target audience research. Then, you can weigh your options based on the results.

While not free, Crafted Voice offers an affordable, on-demand e-course on developing data-driven customer personas. Enroll today!  

How can I promote my product for free?

If you are looking to promote a product for free, there are many creative marketing activities and marketing campaign ideas that you can experiment with to choose the right method for you and your target audience.

Host fun and engaging social media contests or giveaways to generate a buzz around your product. While not a content, per se, The National Parks Service hosts Fat Bear Week each year, a competition to “celebrate the resilience, adaptability and strength of Katmai’s brown bears.” It’s creative, fun, and effective! Think outside the box as to how you could adapt this type of marketing to your product promotion.

Provide free samples or trial versions of your product to potential customers allows them to experience its value firsthand. I was really nervous about making my first big investment in my company when considering DemandJump. I created a free account with their platform and someone from their company offered to meet with me. This trail offered them an opportunity to address my fears and enhance my perspective of their product’s value. I am now a paying customer!

Leverage social media platforms to showcase your product. These are free platforms to showcase your product and tell the story of why your customer needs it in their life.

Encourage satisfied customers to share photos, reviews, or testimonials of your product on social media. Then, repost user-generated content on your own channels to showcase real-life experiences with your product.

Attend networking events, join online communities, and collaborate with other businesses or influencers in your industry to increase exposure for your product through partnerships and cross-promotion. You can often offer to barter with businesses or influencers that charge a fee, allowing you to do it for “free.”