www.costsavingmarketing.co.uk Huge marketing ideas on a small budget – 40 marketing ideas you can implement today. The best marketing tips for small businesses on a budget.

1. Huge marketing ideas on a small budget
www.costsavingmarketing.co.uk /huge-marketing-ideas-on-a-small-budget-40-marketing-ideas-you-can-
implement-today-deartanya/
Tanya
Huge marketing ideas on a small budget – 40 marketing ideas you can
implement today #DearTanya
Dear Tanya,
Please give me budget marketing ideas. I need help and have no money. Social media can only do
so much. What is the single best advice you can give me?
Jessie K.
Hi Jessie,
Firstly, to answer your question, the best advice I can give you is to just do it! Massive action beats planning any day.
Put yourself out there is by far the best marketing advice I can give anyone.
Since the launch of Virtual Marketing Manager we have worked with a number of entrepreneurs who understand
that marketing is an important part of their business future but feel like they cannot find the right way to invest their
money and efforts for maximum results.
Marketing can be hard for entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons:
1. There are so many ways to market – how do I maximise my budget? What do I invest in? What works?
2. Putting yourself ‘out there’ may feel uncomfortable for many because you open yourself, your business and
your ideas to feedback and (constructive) criticism.
3. Lack of time – starting a new project is very time-consuming so how do you allocate time for marketing
activities?
4. Lack of money – sadly when it comes to online advertising there isn’t anything like economies of scale. In
fact, the opposite is true – the more you invest, the more people your advertising will reach.
Today I want to give you ideas on how to market your business on a small budget – some ideas will be obvious,
some will not be, some will not apply to your business, some you have to adapt to apply to your business and some
you will probably consider plain stupid.
Get ready to be inspired and please do me a favour – pick your favourite and just do it today.
#1 Inbound marketing
Start publishing quality content to drive leads and get people interested in your products and services. Use third
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2. party platforms like Blogger or Linkedin to create quality links to your website for maximum impact on your Search
Engine Optimisation efforts.
#2 Blog
This one is a no-brainer. Create engaging blog content to build a brand your customers want to engage with.
#3 Social media
Nothing new here – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, YouTube – choose the ones you want to
manage consistently and start building your online presence. Social media takes time to show results so be
consistent, persistent and creative with it.
#4 E-mail marketing
Start building your e- mail list. Click here for more information on the most successful tactics when building an e-mail
list.
#5 A website
This one is rather obvious so I think no convincing needed here. By the way, make your website mobile or Google
will not like you.
#6 Go local
You have no excuse not to be listed under Google’s Local for Business. Get verified and put your business on the
Google map already!
#7 PR exposure
Building a brand always needs great PR. So, use a website, such as www.soucebottle.com to reveal opportunities
to be featured on other websites as an expert in your field. Alternatively, choose a PR website of your choice and
start spreading your brand’s message.
#8 LinkedIn
Send an e-mail to every single person in your Linkedin account. Ideally the message should introduce your brand in
a fun and engaging way. If your Linkedin network is not big, don’t just add people so you can message them as
soon as they accept your request. Engage with them first, get to know them, like the posts they like, be nice, do
some digital seducing and they will start noticing you without you having to do the hard pitch.
#9 Cold prospecting
While you are doing your Linkedin profile growth, why don’t you ask all your ‘close connections’ (such as ex-
colleagues and long-forgotten uncles) for a referral. Come on, be a go-getter, don’t be shy or awkward. Remember,
when it comes to cold prospecting, we are doing SWSWSWN = Some Will, Some Won’t, So What? Next!
#10 A meet up
Create a meet up – seriously, just book an event and ask friends, family and ex-colleagues to join you so you can
introduce your business. Don’t be shy, it’s only a meet up, people will show, even if they only show up to enjoy the
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3. free canapés. Meetup.com is free to use so no excuses!
#11 Joint / co-marketing
Team up with a partner – co-marketing can be a great way to leverage from other companies’ established audience.
Just make sure you choose a partner that understands and treasures your brand values as much as you do.
#12 Get featured as an expert
Find a publication with a massive following (such as the Huffington Post) and apply to be a writer. Your message will
be in front of millions of people. Alternatively pay to be an expert. I am a Marketing Doughnut expert for Yorkshire
which I believe gives me some credibility when prospecting.
#13 Forums
Start answering questions by people posted in forums. This way you can keep building your credibility.
#14 Publish a Kindle book
Self-publishing has never been as big as it is today. Publish a book via Amazon’s KDP ( Kindle Direct Publishing)
and brand yourself as an internationally published author.
#15 Kindle-to-sales marketing
Now that you are an internationally published author, start marketing your business – include a freebie in your
Kindle book which will allow you to build your e-mail list and find new customers.
#16 Adevrtise on relevant websites
Put your ads on a website which attracts people in your target audience. The website www.buysellads.com is a
wonderful place to buy ads directly from content creators.
#17 Sponsor an event
If you want local brand exposure sponsor a local colleague or a local school.
#18 Testimonials and customer feedback
Set up a free profile on your chosen platform and ask existing customers for feedback. If you want to use customer
feedback to give you credibility, use an independent third-party platform such as www.freeindex.co.uk which is free.
#19 Bing
Remember that search engine which is not Google? Yep, it is called Bing. Register your business there, too. In fact,
head over to Yahoo, too since it’s your day to cheat on Google.
#20 Video marketing
So many of you think you need a production team to create professional videos. Seriously, you don’t! Just do it, start
posting on YouTube the videos you film with your mobile phone. The message is more important. Once the
feedback start coming in, define the type of videos you want to create so they are engaging for your target audience.
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4. #21 On-page Search Engine Optimisation
Make sure Google Analytics, Google’s Search Console and all other technical stuff is all good – meta tags, page
titles, 301 re-directs, image alt tags and proper page layout are a must.
#22 Create a lead magnet and promote it everywhere
A freebie, a lead magnet, a trade resent, call it what you want. This is something you trade with a prospect – you
send them something free, they give you their address. Free e-books don’t work too well any more. I’d create a
guide which people can download free of charge.
#23 E-mail signature
Sort it out already! Put links to your social media, your web address, link to your freebie, any accreditation logos and
other information which you want people to know.
#24 Podcasts
They are not dead, ok?!? Find someone with a big following in your industry to interview you on their podcast. Don’t
be a snob now, Mr. Pat Flynn, the guru of digital marketing and passive income, still uses podcasts so if they work
for him, they might work for you.
#25 Get involved in the community
An example – a local college needs someone to talk about looking after your pet and you just started a business as
a vet? Perfect opportunity or what?
#26 Tradeshows and conferences
For some of us, digital nerds, they are pretty cool. You meet other techie geeks, tech companies give you branded
lollipops and fancy lanyards, it’s great! Plus you leave your business card with many people who can even call you if
they like your ideas.
#27 Pitch your business via HARO
HARO (Heal A Reporter Out) – these reporters are looking for the next big thing. Could that be you?
#28 Business directories
Yes, some of us still use them. Yell.com, yelp.com, freeindex.co.uk – there are so many out there – literally
thousands of them and most of them are free so head over to Google and start putting your business out there.
#29 Create a press kit
Send your product to a blogger other industry influencer. If they like it, they will feature it on their website/blog/social
media.
#30 Webinars
You want to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field? Webinars are great for that! By the way, there are
many free platforms you can use to host a webinar so don’t be shy and organise a webinar today.
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5. #31 Affiliates
Create an affiliate programme and head over to a website like www.clickbank.com to advertise it. Get thousands of
people across the web to sell your products on commission. Pretty cool, right?
#32 You local Chambers of commerce
Get involved in any association which may include your target audience. I am sure they would love to meet you.
#33 Google AdWords
Paid Google advertising is the fastest way to put your website in front of your target audience. It is also the fastest
way to waste your marketing budget if you don’t know what you are doing. If you are not sure, call me and I would
love to give you some tips.
#34 Be different – do something crazy
Do you think this flower shop’s image would have gone viral if it wasn’t for the cool message?
#35 Let’s go old school
Create an advertising sign in front of your shop. How about the ones below? Pretty awesome messages, huh?!?
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7. #36 Put your logo in front of people’s faces – literally!
Print your logo on sandwich bags and give those to the local sandwich shop. They get free sandwich bags to use,
you have your logo in front of your customers’ eyes. Win, win.
#37 Branded products
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8. Create a super quirky branded product and give it your existing customers. Do I hear you say they are too
expensive? They are not (always) expensive! Checkout the one below!
#38 Flyers and leaflets
They are still relevant for some businesses. I know a cleaning business which got 45 new customer based on a
single one-page leaflet. Want to know what made the leaflet perform so well? Give me a call and I’ll let you know all
the secrets.
#39 Live chat function on your website
Trying to deal with high bounce rate on your website? Chat directly with customers. Get a free trial with My Live
Chat.
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9. #40 Be innovative
You know your business inside out. You know what you want to achieve with your marketing. I know you can come
up with something amazing. Use the images below to get inspired.
Feeling lost? Too much to do, too little time?
Have a great idea but need more help? Give
us a call, we would love to personalise the
ideas above to create a completely bespoke
marketing plan just for you. Come on, let us
help you smash your competitors today.
Email address:
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