5 COST-EFFECTIVE OR FREE MARKETING TACTICS

Marketing your business can be tough, especially if you’re a small business and you’re looking for cost-effective marketing.

Funds are tight and you know you need to get your business out there to generate awareness and sales.

But how do you do this without having to spend a small fortune? Marketing budgets can be scary!

Lucky for you, we have compiled a list of 5 cost-effective or free marketing tactics.

Here are our 5 cost-effective or free marketing tactics:

1. Run Contest & Giveaways
2. Create Media Content
3. Referrals
4. Email Marketing
5. Networking

1. Run Contest & Giveaways

   Who doesn’t love the opportunity to win something?

   Running a competition, contest or giveaway is a great way to drive traffic to your website.

   It also builds engagement with your platform, growing your followers and increasing your mailing list.

   All for the price of your time if you’re a service based business or the cost of your product.

   The key is to not give something away that doesn’t match your business.

   The idea with a giveaway is to attract your target audience to your business.

   You’re not wanting to attract people looking for free stuff.

   Instead of giving away an iPad or a restaurant or Crown Casino voucher, instead I might opt for 5 x tickets to our next SEO workshop.

   That way we know the people who are entering have the need to come along and fit into our target audience.

2. Create Media Content

   Your business has an angle, so pitch it to the media!

   The media are always after stories and this is where being in small business has its advantages.

   Reach out to local publications or create content to establish yourself as knowledgeable in the industry.

   Go broader than traditional media, think podcasts, bloggers, and other online publications. By the way, while you’re creating media, be sure to check out our post on the 4 Types of Creative Media that you should be using in your marketing. After all, one does not simply create a meme.

   Sourcebottle is a great place to start, it’s where journalists and bloggers put call-outs for stories they are doing looking for sources.

3. Referrals

   The best form of marketing is word of mouth.

   We all know it to be true. It’s why Google reviews are so popular.

   Consumers believe more what their peers have to say about a business than if the business were to say the same thing.

   People trust personal recommendations.

   You could offer a discount to a customer if they refer business or build a relationship with a business and refer back to them.

4. Email Marketing

   With an average opening rate of above 30%, email marketing campaigns are hot property.

   When compared to a 1-2% click-through rate for a Google search, email marketing presents a huge opportunity for business owners.

   At first glance, email marketing campaigns appeal to nobody.

   “I don’t read my email newsletters,” they say. While that might be true for some individuals, the data disagrees with them.

   People are opening and reading their email newsletters, and a good chunk of those are converting through subsequent purchases.

   It is easier to sell to an audience that has already bought from you, and with emails you’re reaching them.

   When you’re just starting out, there are platforms out there that permit for free email marketing campaigns, and you’ll only need to pay once your subscriber list has grown.

5. Networking

   Nothing beats face to face communication and there are so many options for networking.

   Ask a few people you know if they can recommend a networking group, or check out websites like Eventbrite or Meetup.

   If you’re in Perth, we recommend Facilit8 as it we’re closely involved with them and proud sponsors.

   Most groups have the option for non-members to go along once or twice to test the waters.

   Make sure you like the feel of the group, it fits your needs and has your potential target audience there.

   These groups will be with you for a long time, so you need to feel comfortable in them.

   You should also be given lots of business cards at networking events. One of the most cost-effective marketing hacks is to add these people to your email database.

   Under Australian Spam laws people whose business cards you have should qualify for your email list under what is known as “implied consent” but definitely have a chat with your legal team as this advice may not be applicable to you.

Concluding Our List of Marketing Tips

Those are just some cost-effective or free marketing tactics you can try. Remember, unless you get yourself and your business out there, customers aren’t going to be able to find you.