
Budget-Friendly Marketing Tips
Starting your own business is exciting and scary all at the same time. Once you file your business name, create a logo, print business cards, and publish your website, it starts to get real. But, unfortunately, if you’re like many business owners, you don’t have a degree in marketing and most likely don’t have a large budget for marketing either. So, in this post, I’ll share a few tips to help with your marketing strategy while wearing all “17 hats” to run your business and minding your budget.
My name is Priscilla Parra, and when I dove into entrepreneurship, I didn’t have any capital or a marketing strategy. Honestly, I didn’t even realize my business was a brand, let alone which kind of marketing I should invest in. This problem is how I became a marketer and copywriter. (A completely new direction from the efficiency consulting services I offered at first.) The following is what I learned to be most important, and it’s the same advice that I use to help service providers apply to their marketing strategy.
Build Your Brand
Building your brand is more than just having a logo. Your brand is what people remember about you and the product or services you provide. Therefore, your brand should include the following:
- Values
- Consistent tone
- Consistent look
- The problem you solve
- Your story
Keep in mind that humans like to feel understood, and your ideal clients are usually people who can relate to you. So take a moment to write these out as the pillars of your brand.
Know Your Ideal Clients
Probably the most confusing aspect of marketing is figuring out what kind of clients you want to work with. As new business owners, we’re afraid to niche down because we think we’re leaving money on the table if we do. So instead of niching by business, identify the qualities the people you’d like to work with possess.
If you’ve had several clients, what characteristics did they have in common? You could also use yourself as an example of an ideal client because, as I mentioned before, humans are drawn to humans they can relate to.
Once you know who you want to work with, it’s much easier to attract them.
Setup Your Profiles
I’ll get into social media in a moment, but before I do, make sure you create your business profiles everywhere! Here’s a list of the most relevant accounts for you to build credibility when someone searches you and your business:
- Google My Business
- Alignable
- Yelp
Show up On Social
Social media is free in the sense that you can do it all on your own (until your business grows) without having to spend money. You will pay for it with time. So set realistic goals and expectations.
How much time can you dedicate to creating content, maintaining a posting schedule, and spending time networking/engaging on social media?
Consistency is essential regardless of which marketing method you use, and the best way to take advantage of this “free” marketing is to keep showing up!
Create content that displays your brand’s qualities and connects to your ideal clients. Keep their pain points in mind and how your service will make them feel once they have it. Then, make them want that feeling! (Writing Tip: Emotion makes us want to buy, then we justify it with logic. Write in a way that triggers those emotions )
If you want to learn more specific details about social media marketing, writing content, and how to develop your brand, send the word “Ambitious” to priscilla@ambitiousafcopywriting.com for templates and other actionable tools.