One of the things that I’ve been asked about in the six minute entrepreneur communities is how you can market your business on a zero budget – and I mean a zero budget!
The good news is that while you might have a bit more of a challenge on your hands and it might take a little bit longer to see some of the payoffs, you can absolutely do a ton of stuff to promote your business and it really doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Now, before I go into all of this, I just need to give you a disclaimer. I want you to have a think about where your business is at and realistically how much time you can afford to spend on doing each of the things that I’m going to suggest. I want you to think about what your priorities are and I want you to focus your time and your efforts in those areas, okay?
One hundred percent time and effort dedicated to one area is better than spreading yourself so thin that you don’t have an impact in any area.
First of all, make sure that you’re taking advantage of social media.
Lots of people use social media platforms as a search engine so you want to make sure that your social platforms are engaging, informative, and you capture your audience from the get-go.
They’re also a brilliant way to form communities. You can create groups for where your customers can join, where you can offer to provide them with exclusive content and access to news before anybody else. In return, you’ve created groups of really engaged and loyal customers.
Again, don’t try to do everything, you should only focus on the platforms that your target customers use. Post consistently, engage with your followers and respond to and like messages to let them know that you’re watching and listening and keep your content really relevant.
You can also experiment with competitions and giveaways and it’s a brilliant way to get in front of people who might not already be following you. It creates a lot of excitement, engagement, and ultimately it gets eyes on your page.
Number two, public relations.
Now, PR is a brilliant example of spreading the word about your business with zero cost involved. Because it’s PR, there’s no guarantee that your press release will get picked up, but if it is, you have the benefit of your news being distributed by a reputable outlet and read by an audience of potential customers.
You need to put together a press release about your new product, partnership, event or achievement and then reach out to journalists or bloggers in your area or industry. You’ve got to make sure that the information is clear and concise, and let them know when you’re available for follow-up questions or ask if they want to do an interview.
And always check that the piece you are sending is relevant to the paper and the journalist. Otherwise, trust me, you’re not going to get anywhere!
Now number three is content marketing.
This is a brilliant way to spread your message and reach potential customers. If you’ve got a website, create a blog section about things that relate to your business and your industry. For example, at Crafters Companion, we have blogs that include things like what sort of craft tools you need to get started, how to use our products and some inspirational projects that customers can create at home with the items that they’ve bought from us.
All of this stuff is brilliant content that your customers will really enjoy. Not only does it feel like the customer is getting something back from you for no cost, but it’s a brilliant way to improve your SEO and drive organic traffic to your site by customers who are coming across you through an online search.
Number four is referral programs.
Referral programs aren’t a new thing by any means, but as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? They’re a really great way to incentivise your existing customers to spread the word to their friends and family, especially when you offer something like a discount code to them for them and the new customer when they both make a purchase or both parties are getting something out of the deal.
And, if you do use a discount code or something similar, then you can track how successful it is by looking at how many people have used it over the length of time that you’ve run that promotion or discount code for.
Right, number five – use free online tools.
This is a brilliant tip, especially if you’re in the early stages of running your own business. There are tons, and I mean tons, of free tools available that can help you with your marketing efforts, you just have to go and look for them.
So for example, you can create email campaigns with platforms like Mailchimp to create some simple but effective emails to keep your customers informed about offers and new releases.
You can use platforms like Canva to create graphics and social media posts and flyers – they’ve got free templates for everything.
And, don’t forget to get yourself on Google! It’s so simple to do, but if you set up a profile for your business on Google, it’s going to help customers to find you when they go and search online.
They can see helpful information about where you are, your opening times, and also really importantly, they can leave a review when they purchase from your business.
So there you have it, some marketing tips that won’t cost you a penny. They might take a little bit of time, but could make a real difference in your business. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and I hope you can start and implement some of those in your own marketing plans.
Let me know any comments or any feedback. If there’s anything that’s been really useful that we can dig into in a little bit more detail!