75 Big Marketing Ideas for Small Marketing Budgets
Don’t have a six-figure marketing budget like the “big boys” to throw around? Worry not my friends you can still go big without breaking the bank.
Here are 75 big marketing
ideas you can begin implementing today to grow your business regardless
of the size of your marketing budget. Many of these can be done with
little to no money, and will cost you nothing more than a bit of your
time.
1) Get Active on Twitter
It takes just a few minutes to make a contribution to Twitter
and making this a part of your daily business routine is a steady way
to build up a network of followers interested in your area of industry.
2) Start a Blog
This needn’t be an everyday thing but posting to a blog a couple of times a week
is a way to keep in touch with your customers and to convey more about
your business and the market in which you operate to your potential
clients.
3) Blog Commenting
Contribute to the conversations on blogs by bloggers in the same niche in which you operate.
4) Forum Discussions
Find and sign up to forums on a related topic to your business.
Actively take part and get to know your fellow posters. Try searching
for “Your Topic + Forum” in Google to find relevant conversations.
5) Register Your Business with Google Local
Google has been offering local businesses a chance to register their business address and phone number in its local listings for some time
6) Register Your Products or Services with Google Merchant
Another helpful and free service from the search giant, Google Merchant is a place for businesses to upload a data feed which includes products or services.
7) Make Your Business Cards Memorable
Choose a design that stands out. Here are 51 creative business card ideas to get you started thinking creatively.
8). Consider Paid Search
Google AdWords
is the largest sponsored search result program. While this marketing
channel isn’t free, it does fall under budget marketing ideas for new
businesses simply because you are able to manage it yourself within a
small budget.
9) Build a Basic Reward Scheme
Offer an exclusive incentive to your regular customers which will help the business retain customers and win new ones.
10) Improve Customer Service
Many forget that customer service is a form of advertising. You’re advertising that you care, and that gets noticed.
11) Let Customers Know You Appreciate Them
Customers who feel appreciated are going to give the love right back
in the form of loyalty. Send them and email, make a call, interact with
them any way you see fit. Just let them know they are important.
12) Become Vain
Do you know what your customers are saying about you online? Get vain, and search for yourself! Then, respond to your customers.
13) Don’t Forget Current Customers
We’ve all heard the old adage that it’s easier to keep an existing
customer than win a new one. But it may also be worth going through your
list of older inactive customers and trying to reactivate a few of the
better ones. Give them a call, tell them you value them, ask what it
will take to get them back. You might be surprised at how simple or
low-cost it is. If they say no thanks, consider it a learning
opportunity and wish them the best. Then call them back in a year and
ask again.
14) Article Marketing
Write expert articles and submit them to sites such as Ezinearticles.com. Here is a list of the top 50 article directories, ranked by Alexa. Get writing!
15) Advertise on Yourself
Make some simple t-shirts with your company name and website on them, wear them around town
16) Advertise on Someone Else
Check out guys like iwearyourshirt.comfor a fun, creative, and realtively cheap way to get your company seen.
17) Add your Business to a Review Site
Adding your business to a review site such as Feedback Jar can help put you in touch with customers.
18) Email Signature
Use every email as a way to promote yourself and your business.
19) Social Networks
There is a social network for every niche. Join one and start networking.
20) Leave Biz Cards
You’ve followed #7 above, now don’t just leave those cards in your
pocket! Give them out, to anyone, everywhere. Heck, just leave them
laying around, or in library books, or anywhere your customers may see
them.
21) Postcards on Windshields
Easy and cheap to print, place them under windshields at parking lots. The more creative your card the more they’ll get noticed.
22) Flyers on Community Boards
Community cork boards are everywhere. Try putting up a flier or two
on these boards…cheap and easy, and you never know who will read them.
23) Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
A local chamber can be a great way to get your business out in the
community for very little cash outlay. Chambers offer programs and
services free for their members, and oftentimes refer business to
chamber members.
24) Give a Talk at an Event
Any chance you get to get in front of a group and show your expertise – do it!
25) Send Special Deals to Your Newsletter List
Give your newsletter subscribers even more value by offering a “Newsletter only” deal.
26) Don’t Have a Newsletter List?
27) Give it Away for Free
If your product or service rocks – it’s your best advertising. Give
it away for free, for a limited time of course, then charge when they
can’t live without it.
28) Have a “Weird” Sale
Read about a guy who ran a pretty successful “I just broke my foot so you get 25% off sale”. The key here is to keep it fun, and get people talking about it.
29) Ask Your Customers for Referrals
Don’t be shy, come right out and solicit referrals from happy customers. They will be happy to tell their friends about you.
30) Give’mSomething to Give
Put something in the hands of your happy customers they can give to
somebody else. Free samples, a “refer a friend” coupon. Build a small
army of happy customers to help you spread the word.
31) And While Your Giving
Don’t forget to always give’ em the pickle.
32) Free Classifieds
Use free classified ad servicesto
promote your product or service. Aside from big online classified ads
(Craigslist), there may be other free options specific to your
geographical area, maybe even some free inclusions in local print media.
Do some Google searches and see what is available in your hometown.
33) Reciprocity Advertising
Talk to local business owners and explore cross promotion you may be
able to do with them. They are probably in the same boat as you, and
would be willing to work out a “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”
type of marketing campaign.
34) Barter
You may think of bartering as particularly “old school”, but there is
no reason you can’t trade a product or service with another business in
exchange for some marketing opportunities. Trading an hour of your
consulting time, or a couple free products to a local business who is
willing then to plug you in their newsletter or mailings could result in
a better deal than paying out of pocket for the same marketing. Start
with the barter directory, and go from there.
35) Write a Press Release
Write your own press release and submit it to the appropriate
channels. If what you’re doing is particularly newsworthy, send it to
local media. Also submit your press release to the free services online.
36) Networking
Scout out free networking events in your area, you’d be surprised how
many “meet-ups” there are. Not only are they a great way to get out of
the house, but think of every networking event as a mini-marketing
campaign. Use MeetUp.com to scan for opportunities near you.
37) Organize a Meet Up
Not seeing a meet up that meets your needs? Organize one.
38) Link Exchange with Other Businesses
Offer link exchanges on related business websites where your link
will add value to their visitors, and their link will add value to your
visitors.
39) Cross Promote
Like a link exchange, but more in depth. Set up a cross promotion
with another business. For example if you sell pencils, find a business
that sells paper and work out a deal to send each other business.
40) Develop a “Niche Discount” That You Get Known For
I read about a guy who gives a “Laugh Discount” – a small % off if a
customer can make him laugh within X minutes of meeting him.
41) Guest Post on Blogs
Expand your reach and audience. Use a service like MyGuestBlog to find blogs looking for guest articles. Or guest post with us.
42) Publish a Free Report or White Paper
Put out a free report related to what you do on your website, or
distribute it to those in your target market. A report is a great way to
get your name out there, show your expertise, and best of all these
reports tend to get shared. Also, use the free report as an incentive to
subscribe to your newsletter email list.
43) Encourage Sharing
Once you have a free report to give out, better than waiting for it
to get shared, build in some encouragement to do so. Offer a deal if
they share it with “X” number of people.
44) Make a Helpful YouTube Video
Video is pretty easy to produce now, and nobody expects it to look
like Scorsese directed it, so put up a couple helpful videos explaining
how to use one of your products or how we can benefit from your service.
Better yet, answer a common question about what you do, or solve a
problem in your video, it will get shared if you’re good.
45) Video Testimonials / Interviews
Better than just you on video ask some satisfied customers to take
part in an interview where they talk about you and what you do. This is
the best social proof that you don’t suck.
46) Partner With Another Business to Give Away a Prize
Don’t have the money to give away much on your own? How about
partnering with a complimentary business to give away a great prize and
getting some great advertising for the two of you? Then figure out a
way where both of your customers can enter for a chance to win!
47) Sponsor an Event
Cheaper than you think, and sponsoring a local event can really give you a lot for your money.
48) Use Your Friends and Family
Ask friends and family to spread the word about your business.
49) Print a Coupon on the Back of Your Business Card.
People rarely use their business cards as a form of advertising. But
if you want to have people remember you, or actually use their service,
why not put something on your card to encourage their business…you’re
giving those cards out anyway, right?
50) Join and Attend Professional Groups
Join a couple professional groups. These don’t have to be related to
your niche, they could be something you want to get better at (such as Toastmasters), or an area of interest. You’ll meet other professionals, and who knows what those contacts will turn into.
51) Newsletter Cross-Promotion
Buddy up with another business and do some cross promotion in your
newsletters. Again, you’ll want to be complimentary businesses to each
other for this to really work.
52) Do Something Different
Write down everything you and your competitors have in common, then
come up with one thing you can do differently than them – then do that.
53) Start an Affiliate Program
Use a service like Shareasale.com to start your own affiliate program. Offer a nice commission and people will be happy to sell your products/services.
54) Ask for Testimonials & Use Them!
Ask for testimonials from existing clients. Good testimonials are
perfect for your web page and promotional items. Don’t just ask for
testimonials and then let them sit. Put those things on everything you
do – website, advertising, handouts, newsletters, etc.
55) Send Promotional Items
Send out invoices to your clients? Why not send them a small promo
gift to go along with it? You never know where those pens will end up.
56) Join a Social Networking Site For Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
Here are 40 such networking sites, take a look and find one that suits you and your business. Then get using it.
57) Pull a Publicity Stunt
Are you the creative type? Not shy in front of crowds? Try a memorable, creative, or weird publicity stunt!
58) Hold a Webinar
Creating live, online seminars or webinars is relatively easy these
days. Why not hold a webinar relating to your expertise, then promote it
as a freebie or special benefit to current customers or to attract new
customers?
59) Offer a Guarantee
It’s been shown that guarantees result in more sales. Make an iron
clad guarantee, or better yet offer a guarantee that is outlandish and
gets noticed…but if ever called on it, be sure you hold up your end of
the bargain.
60) Get Reviewed
Use ReviewMe.com to get reviewed.
61) Become an Expert on Q/A Sites
Jump on a Q&A site and be helpful, answer questions related to
what you do, become a trusted expert. These should get you going:
62) Donate to a Charity Auction
Charity auctions are constantly in need of things to auction off and
raise money with in the process. You’ll feel good about your donation,
and get your name out there.
63) Do a Memorable Giveaway
Local tire sellers Les Schwab
has a “Free Beef” event every year. Buy tires, and get free beef – what
does one have to do with the other? Your guess is as good as mine, but
it gets people talking and that has been a very popular sale for many
years now.
64) Go to a Trade Show
If you can find one in your niche – great! If not, go and talk to people…you just never know who will need what you sell.
65) Use your 404 Error Page
You know that “404 Error Page”
you get on a website when it can’t find what you were looking for?
Well, you can customize that page to say whatever you want. So instead
of your visitor seeing “Hey sorry you’re lost”, have it say “Sorry you
didn’t find what you’re looking for here’s 10% coupon off our services
to make up for it”.
66) Surprise Upgrade ala Zappos
Why not “upgrade” a customer out of the blue sometime? Completely
make their day, make them feel special, and they will tell everybody
they know. It worked for Zappos…
67) Use Your “Thank You” Page
When someone signs up for your online newsletter they are taken to a
thank you page. Customize this page to offer them something of value,
give them a deal, coupon, whatever – just use the space creatively!
68) Use Someone Else’s “Thank you Page”
Chances are other website owners haven’t thought about using their
own thank you page to promote something. Why not offer to buy some add
space on their page? It will probably be cheap, and as long as there are
some synergies between your businesses it can be effective.
69) Create a Podcast
Podcast can be quick, easy, fun, and FREE to produce. Here’s how to get startedPodcasting
70) SEO Your Website
Making sure your potential clients can find you is important. Take a few minutes to make sure your site is SEO’ed. Here’s 9 tips to get you started.
71) Know you USP
What is your unique selling proposition? You first need to know why
people should buy from you. Once you do, you’ll have no problem telling
them.
72) Create an Elevator Speech
In 30 seconds or less can you tell me what you do, what makes you special, and why I should care? That’s your elevator speech.
Think about how many times you are asked what you do, the better you
get at explaining it the more customers you will get – easy as that.
73) Sponsor a Local Youth Team
When I was 6 my soccer team was sponsored by the local Uhaul. Almost
30 years later I still remember that…30 years from now some grown up
kids could remember your business, and their parents could have been
using your business.
74) Place Google Ads for Influential People You Want to Meet
Do what this guy did to get a job, but replace the names with people you want as clients.
75) Your Turn
Put the 75th idea in our comments below.
