First let's start with a question... You got started in business, did you include marketing costs in your original budget? Did you have enough capital to cover that cost as well as the rest of the start up costs?

When you did your initial plan did it include a marketing plan? Target market - who they are - what challenge you will solve for them - how you will get into their heads?Oh and a swot analysis of your competition?

Did you take a look at what marketing the competition does, did or otherwise? Did you say to yourself, I wonder what that costs, and did you do your research to find out what they are payng to market the way they do?

Is your brain hurting yet? :)

Now take a look at whats available, in short, heaps... but it falls into a bunch of loose categorires.

• Print - brochures, newsaper and magazine adverts - busienss cards - fliers - Yellow pages adverts etc.
• Electronic - Radio and TV adverts - Facebook, google and Linked in adverts - Your website - Your social Media posts, pages etc - You tube - emailed Newsletters.
• Netwroking - events where you hand out your information and get to tak to people directly about hwat you have, think markets and business events.

Now you could do TV adverts at 3 am and get a very cheap rate on those adverts and that would be awesome and be a budget conscious way togo, but the results? probably not so hot, unless you are aiming at nightowls etc. ;)

Forst thing is who do you want your customers to be? - If you sell a product or service to plumbers then get your message in front of them where they will see it, not in some obscure place where the advert was cheap but no plumbers got to see it.

Second thing, you need to know is, how often people need to see your 'advert' before they twigg you even exist... then how many before they actually buy, there can be a BIG difference! You might have a cheap advert in a magazine that goes straight to your target market, but if you only put it in once, don't expect a big result, or any result for that matter.

Thirdly, make your business stand out with a professional logo, masthead or similar and be consistent with the image and colours etc.

If your business is localised, you could do social media adverts and set the criteria for where your advert shows up to your area only, that can work well.

Your next challenge is the copy writing, to ensure the advert hits the mark for the reader.

Do you have a page on social media? If so your work here is to get the numbers of readers, followers etc to grow over time so each time you ad something to it you get a good response. The same with an email sign up on your website. Grab people as they get on board and feed them.

Most people give up on social media becasue it tends to take up a LOT of time, especially initally as they have a hard time figuring out what to say about what they have, do or otherwise.

Welcome to the minefield of marketing, it can serve you well or it can BLOW UP with one wrong step, so tread carefully. :)





 

So, I've been a small business owner almost all my adult life and I can offer a little bit of information on how to market a your small business on a budget. These tips below can help you market your small business on a minimal budget or for free:

• Don't be afraid to ask others to market for you. A lot of smaller companies that you might know are able to get a lot of product moved through the use of affiliate marketers and commission-based salespeople. The hard part, of course, is convincing them that it's worth their time. Good commissions can help.
• Start working on social media. It costs nothing to post on social media, add followers, and chat with people. However, it can pay off in local clout and also make your company more established online. 
• Remember that content modeling is going to be free to make, as long as you work on your own. SEO does not *have* to cost anything, and yet it's one of the best ways to market a small business. SEO will help you rise to the top of Google's search results within six months with avid marketing use. 
• Get the best possible advantage with signs. It's funny to think about, but most of the businesses that I know that have a lot of foot traffic near me get their clients through signage. A simple sign that says "SALE" can drive more customers than you'd expect them to. 
• Attend local small business networking events. This may seem silly or just play awkward, but local business events are a goldmine for both knowledge and business partners. If you are a B2B business, then this also serves as the easiest way to market your work and services. 
• If you want to get more clients on a global scale, consider getting an Upwork or Fiverr account. This tends to work best if you are a service company. You get to apply for gigs and make sure that you get the kind of clients you need to keep your company in business while you establish yourself locally. 

Would be great to get your insight @Tim Stokes @Farhad Khurshed @Sandy Moore @Tanya Williams @Steve Gray @Steve Gray @Tom Valcanis