10 LOW-COST MARKETING STRATEGIES EVERY STARTUP CAN AFFORD

Are your products going to sell themselves?

Probably not.

Having a fantastic product is essential, but having just that will never be able to make your startup a booming success.

In addition to your extraordinary product, you’ll need an outstanding marketing strategy to grow your startup.

However, not every entrepreneur can afford to spend a fortune on marketing and therefore we bring you 10 low-cost marketing strategies every startup can afford:

1. Email Marketing

   

Undoubtedly, email marketing still is one of the most cost-efficient marketing strategies around and some sources have claimed email marketing has a Return on Investment (ROI) of equal to or more than four hundred per cent.

So make a good list- make sure its originally curated and not bought- and a stable but non-invasive flow of outgoing email blasts, and you shall be able to see a notable return for the time, money and effort you devoted.

Email marketing can also serve as a highly efficient tool when connecting with the industry influencers:

• Draft a list of all the experts and influencers in your field,
• Shoot an email requesting them to try your products and services (for free), and
• Include and explain the monetary or non-monetary rewards they would earn by referring a user.

 

2. Be your own PR Officer

   

According to statistics, more than 500,000 businesses launch every month which means you face some serious competition to the attention of your target market.

Build cordial relationships with bloggers and journalists in your industry as this will help you frequent public-relations mentions and attract more customers.

Make your own pitch by doing the necessary research, associate yourself with eminent videographers or writers in the industry, alter your pitch to fit the respective beats.

 

3. News features and Press Releases

   

If you can’t be your own PR Officer, then news features and press releases are the best marketing strategies for you.

People regularly flick through the news and when you have something notable to report, then news agencies will be eager to publish it for you.

It’s not only inexpensive but also gets your name mentioned in some of the most important publications.

 

4. Affiliate Marketing

   

This is another cost-effective strategy that always works. All business regardless of their size should adopt affiliate or referral marketing.

Studies have shown that people are four times more likely to buy a product when it is referred to them by their peers.

Even though the internet is full of reviews, individuals prefer personal recommendations.

If you are really interested in this strategy, then you can either set up an affiliation program through networks such as Impact Radius or you could offer your customers a discount on their subscriptions or a commission or a cash reward for referring a new customer.

Just focus on getting your word to your target customers.

 

5. Social Media Marketing

   

Since social media is freely available, you can learn to master it if you devote your time and effort.

Start small by setting up profiles on your organization on prime platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Make your profiles stand out by syndicating content that your audience would like to see.

Get in touch with your audience and make it a point to stay connected with them. With time you will grow your audience and that will generate traffic to your site.

 

6. Pay Per Click advertisements

   

PPC ads can sometimes get expensive especially if you choose to target high traffic head keywords.

However, there are some platforms and niches that are pocket-friendly to even the most tight-fisted entrepreneurs.

For example, some types of ads only cost $1 a day.

 

7. Piggyback Marketing

   

This is a low-cost marketing entry strategy wherein two or more organizations represent each other’s complementary (and generally non-competitive) products and services in their own markets.

Airbnb’s integration with Craiglist is a classic example of ad hoc integration for user acquisition.

 

8. Personal Branding

   

Personal branding has recently gained a lot of popularity and is similar to corporate branding.

The only difference is that it applies to you as a person: you go ahead and advertise yourself and you promote insights (or expertise) across all the platforms of social media.

You also have an exclusive blog, but be honest with your audience so that you not only win their trust but also their loyalty and can influence their decisions.

This will help you in attracting additional traffic and will earn you new followers every day.

You can attract new leads and syndicate your content- all without spending a penny.

 

9. Content Marketing

   

This is a perfect marketing strategy for small businesses and startups because it does not require significant investment and works within the confines of limited resources.

However, not everyone finds success with this strategy and that happens when you don’t have a documented content strategy.

Without this pivotal piece, your efforts will be less impactful.

You will need fresh content, honest opinions and anything and everything to keep your audience well informed and entertained in an extraordinary and a practical manner.

Manage your blog well by streamlining your content- marketing process by creating an editorial calendar, keep a track of your strategy’s progress and how well it is performing to attract the audience.

Videos, infographics, and podcasts all belong to the content marketing strategy and you must use them to improve your inbound traffic and ultimately your brand reputation.

 

10. Groups and Forums

Be involved with the local communities and your neighbourhood, go out on social media and public forums and share your knowledge and expertise in these groups and forums.

Not only are these groups free but usually have a large reach that enables you to reach a large number of audience at once.

Just keep in mind that you find the right platform to support and grow your startup and choose a strategy that actually works and helps you in acquiring the desired number of customers.