If you have a limited marketing budget, here are 101 cost-free ways to start promoting your business today:
Social Media
- Reach out to influencers on social media and partner for new content.
- Re-share blog content on social media. Link back to the original source.
- Post product photos on Instagram and Like, Comment and Follow prospects.
- Vlog on your daily routine. Publish directly to YouTube.
- Capture video shorts and exclusive photos. Post to Snapchat + Instagram Stories.
- Compile videos and create a Weekly Highlights documentary for YouTube or Vimeo.
- Search for new business opportunities on Twitter.com/search. Reach out and solve their problems.
- Answer questions on Quora to show your industry expertise.
- Join Reddit and participate in relevant community forums.
- Create a branded hashtag for Twitter and Instagram. Use it everywhere in your communications.
- Connect to LinkedIn alumni. You already have something in common with them.
- Ask for LinkedIn introductions to get warm referrals.
- Get involved with LinkedIn Groups or start your own.
- Add Facebook Messenger to your website to receive live chat inquiries to your phone.
- Add shop and product photos to Pinterest to reach new marketing channel.
- Collaborate with influencers on Musical.ly to reach a younger demographic.
- Improve your LinkedIn Summary to convert more viewers to take action on new product releases.
- Become a LinkedIn Influencer to build your brand credibility.
- Like, Comment and Follow the Followers of your competitors on Instagram.
- Take a product photo and crop it into 9 squares. Post the 9 squares on Instagram as a grid to stand out.
- Manage multiple social media accounts and post scheduling with Hootsuite or Buffer.
- Export your CV/Resume from LinkedIn and share background story with prospects.
- Add emojis to your customer communications to become more personalized and human.
- Ask customers if they could share their photos with your product on Instagram.
- Share popular blog posts on Twitter and then @ mention the original publisher to ping them.
- Include a call-to-action URL link in your Instagram bio. Use a pointer emoji to say “Shop Now”, etc.
- Change your Instagram bio link to a specific landing page to focus on a special promotion.
- Standardize your brand messaging and voice by ensuring you speak the same on all social media.
Blogging
- Guest post for the top blogs in your niche or relevant niche.
- Start a blog with WordPress or Medium.
- Invite others to write on your blog.
- Write a press release for your local newspaper. Include a link to your website.
- Use headers in your blog to break up long-form content (just like this guide).
- Interview your staff, customers and other experts. Publish findings on your blog / vlog / podcast.
- Create a “how-to” series, then publish and share.
- Capture behind-the-scenes video footage and share.
- Have staff handle your content marketing if they are a millennial crowd. Train them on best practices.
- Write 500-800 words of quality content on your blog consistently. This will boost your SEO organically.
Digital
- Create an FAQ webpage to answer common objections from prospects.
- Launch a podcast – the voice recorder on your phone is all you need. Publish feed on iTunes.
- Write an eBook and publish on Amazon.
- Create a course on Thinkific, Udemy or Coursera.
- Host Google Hangouts webinars to educate live online.
- Broadcast interviews and events with YouTube Live.
- Set up a Clarity account to offer coaching and mentoring sessions.
- Join Fiverr to sell a service.
- Launch a new idea on Kickstarter.
- Improve the page speed of your website to convert more visitors. Reduce image sizes and animations.
- Create a contact form on your website to capture new leads.
- Use Google Sheets to build your CRM. Don’t get fancy.
- Apply for Upwork projects. Share your freelance profile.
- Set up a Google My Business page to promote your physical space in search.
- Record video walkthroughs with Loom video capture.
- Set up a Calendly account to capture booking details and emails. Add Calendly link to your webpage.
- If you start growing and need more CRM features, use Streak or Insightly. Still free to start.
- Set up an online portfolio page with About.me.
- Use Unsplash for free professional photography.
- Set meetings in Google Calendar. Include location and reminders for guests.
- Host video calls / product demos with Hangouts / Skype.
- Use Canva to create beautiful marketing collateral and graphic designs for communications.
- Build your marketing processes with Process.st checklists.
- Build an automated marketing calendar with reminders of activities through Process.st.
- Use Craigslist to market a job opportunity.
- Use Craigslist to market your products / services.
- Revive old media living in your cloud folder. Make links public and share.
- Create an Our Team webpage to build trust between your staff and prospects.
- Gather customer feedback to learn what prospects want with a Google Forms NPS survey.
- Make product prices higher on website and then discount with a sales promotion.
- Create a free product as a way to get prospects to buy a full product version later. The freemium model.
- Build a referral form and ask friends to fill it out if they know others who should check you out.
- Create animated photos using Giphy.
- Take your photography skills to a new level by placing the focal object off-center.
- Take your photos to an even better level by adding filters pre-share.
- Use Google Drawings to create quick artwork and designs for your social feeds. For the artist-types.
- Use AutoDraw to transform your scribbles into art.
- Launch an Email Marketing campaign on MailChimp to nurture your prospects to buy.
- Use your local business directory listing to gather 100+ emails per day. Reach out with a free eBook offer.
- Share your social pages with your email list.
- Set up an email subscription form on your website with a free content offer if a visitor subscribes.
- Use Gmail for email messaging. Add site and social media links to your signature line.
- Email prospects with an automated drip campaign in MailChimp. Take them from intro to purchase.
Offline
- Launch a live event at your location next week. Send invites through email and social media.
- Speak at a school about your business and passion.
- Cross-promote with your neighboring business.
- Reach out to distributors to expand your product reach.
- Ask for referrals. Everyone has friends.
- Get your product in local coffee shops, bookstores and grocery stores.
- Attend free local trade shows or networking events and collect business cards. Add to mailing list.
- Host or attend a Meetup group.
- Offer pro bono services in exchange for qualified referrals.
- Build partnerships by referring opportunities to other businesses.
- Provide a service in exchange for a service that addresses your business shortcomings.
- Ensure prices include the “left-digit” effect – $19.99 is psychologically more attractive than $20.00.
- Experiment by increasing prices drastically. Prospects can value a perceived higher quality and price.
- Once the prospect is interested in your initial products, upsell and cross-sell your other products.
- Ask customers for referrals, either via face-to-face, email or social media.
- Place products in coffee shops or random areas and take photos. Experiment with Guerrilla marketing.
- Build a brand ambassador program to acknowledge your top fans.
- Ask personalized questions to identify prospect pain points.
- Finish every conversation with “how can I help you”. Look for every opportunity to provide value.
- Be helpful with your knowledge, experience, advice and tips and avoid being pushy with Sales.