24 Cheap Ways To Advertise & Market Your Business

Learning how to advertise & market your business effectively, with a limited budget, is one of the marketing challenges faced by most business owners everywhere around the world.

In order for your business to be successful, you have to define who your prospects are and then iterate how you plan to reach them.

Moreover, you also have to figure out what’s the best way to promote your business as well as how you can advertise your business in the most affordable ways.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey or have been in business for years, these 24 proven marketing tips will help you market your business and find new customers even with a shoestring budget.

Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, these proven advertising & marketing strategies will help you market your business & find new customers without you having to spend a fortune.

24 Cheap Ways To Market Your Business

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1) DISTRIBUTE BUSINESS CARDS

One of the reasons why most people don’t tap into the wealth of marketing possibilities that is accrued to using a business card is because they assume that this marketing method is outdated or out of vogue in the marketing world.

Yes, you might have your points and analysis to back that up. But, the truth still remains that you will still get to meet your prospective client face to face.

Business events are some of the most suitable places for you to meet serious minded people who need your business cards before they will even think of doing business with you.

You have to get a quality business card for your business, be smart and intentional about distributing your cards so as to maximize its productivity on your business.

2) CORPORATE GIVEAWAYS

Over the years, I have understood that customer loyalty comes with two things; quality product and customer satisfaction.

Putting your clients’ needs in mind and at the same time using the avenue to make them your word of mouth marketing evangelists can triple your marketing result effectively.

Shirts, pens, calendars, key chains, caps, and lots of other household and office items goes a long way in marketing and improving your company’s brand identity to everyone that comes in contact with your customers when there are making use of such items.

We all love giveaways!

3) PRINT ON PRODUCT PACKAGING

Almost every business that is intentional about retaining customers and attracting new ones are making use of every possible outlet to advertise their brand name.

One such way is through the use of imprinting the company name, logo, and address on the packaging that goes with delivering your product.

You can advertise efficiently on the packaging of your products such as polythene, bags, and box delivered to customers for transporting your products after purchase.

If your business is product oriented, this might be the cog in the wheel for your marketing team.

4) ORGANISE AN EVENT

Corporations, big businesses, and small scale businesses are making use of this strategy to drive home lucrative and long term customers without much hassle.

All you need to do is get an enabling environment and the right avenue to gather clients and prospective clients for the brand-promoting event.

You can decide to organize events or activities where you can promote your brand: for instance, a fashion show, book workshop, talks show, exhibition, product launch, etc.

Corporate events are the real deal in the corporate world as we speak. You can add a bit of fun to make it a total package.

5) PUBLIC AD SPACES

The marketing world is getting more diverse and more result oriented, hence, the need for business owners to become more creative and see the lurking marketing opportunities available to them locally and globally.

One such local marketing platform is the acquisition of an ad space to promote your brand. There are so many advertising companies that give you that platform for reasonable prices.

You must have seen something of such on the major street lights and BRT buses in metropolitan cities.

So much exposure for a reasonable amount of money. That is exactly what you need to push your marketing goals.

6) USE FLYERS TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

Designing and sending out flyers. You can distribute your flyers on the street or place them on cars can have a very positive impact on your business as a whole.

Most times, this is the most lucrative and cost effective way of registering your business in the mind of your prospective clients. Especially if you need to fire your marketing strategy on all cylinder.

Once you can overcome the urge of posting indiscriminately, then you stand a better chance of getting your desired results in the shortest time possible.

This method has been tried and proved to be effective over the years and there is no sign of retrogressing any time soon.

7) PLACE A SIGN AT THE FRONT OF YOUR STORE

Most of the stores and organizations I know make use of this method of marketing by default.

That is, it is a generally believed concept that you should have something that will tell your client the name of your store or company, contact number, and a brief description of what it is you do here.

So many big corporations know the importance of the marketing strategy and are collaborating with stores and small business owners to erect a visible sign or poster at the front of their store.

Such example is common with the telecommunication giants in Nigeria, who spend big to ensure that every store or shop is painted in their company color. The same principle is applied in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India and the United Arab Emirates.

8) EMAIL MARKETING

Building an email list can be very critical to the growth of your brand. You as an entrepreneur should understand this than any other person in the business world.

So many organizations and company are making huge sales from their email list.

Email marketing is a strategic way of sending relevant and periodic messages to your clients or prospective clients that will either inform them about the features and benefits of a new product or the quality of the existing ones.

Firstly, you need to attract them to sign up for your email list (newsletter). There are so many ways to get this done.

9) YOUTUBE

Upload videos on YouTube that have to do with how your business can adequately help your existing clients, prospective clients, and perhaps the general public.

Having this at the back of your mind while creating the videos will invariably go a long way in registering your brand in the minds of YouTube users.

Create a video that shows how your products work, its features, its advantages over others, its shortcoming and how to overcome them, and the pricing policy will make customers who need the product queue for it.

Send your video link to your friends and encourage sharing. Did I remember to tell you that having a YouTube channel is free? Yes, it is very free and you can reach billions of users internationally.

10) NETWORK

No single company has all the resources to pull up the goals and objectives of its marketing and sales team. Hence, the purpose of networking.

There are so many organizations that are in your industry, you can leverage on them for more clients and recommendations.

Network with others who are doing the same type of work you are. They can serve as a good source for referrals.

One thing about referrals is the ability to remain loyal to your business and also act as your unofficial spokespersons to other prospective clients.

11) FREE SIGNUPS

Loyalty is earned and most times you have to earn it by being generous to the people that you see as potential clients. You can improve your list of prospective customers through the use of free product giveaway in exchange of their email address mobile contact.

Give out free samples of your products to as many hands as possible so as to intently increase your chances of getting more loyal clients in the long run.

Free sign up strategy is not a waste of resources, it is a strategic way of winning prospective customers heart and at the same time gaining the avenue to have access to follow them up for ease of communication.

12) USE YOUR CAR TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

Branding is everywhere and anywhere you can ever think of. You will agree with me that vehicle branding is a great source of marketing your business brand to your prospects.

There are so many individuals who are attracted to your business just because they came in contact with one of your branded vehicle.

There are so many stories of the impact of this method in the business world. Statistically, everything we remember is 80% of what you see and 11% of what you hear. That is a very big factor to consider when branding your car.

If you use a car or truck in your business, have your business name and contact information professionally painted on the side of the vehicle.

13) LOCAL MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS

There is a fuss around now that the print media is not bringing the results it used to bring in the time past when used for marketing your products or services.

But, you will agree with me that if you want to have a successful business, you have to understand what the aging baby boomers are used to.

So many of the renowned baby boomers are aging and right from time they are all use to the print media, therefore using the method effectively would bring desired results.

If your business is in the fashion world, you just have to use this trend effective for marketing your products.

Publish an ad in a popular magazine: For example, in a journal related to the theme of your product or service.

14) ONLINE ADS

Rent ad space on websites that provide opportunities to place your ads on them in exchange for a periodic payment.

There are so many of such website where you can get to advertise on their platform and reach out to so many of their users.

The concept of this method of marketing is to understand your niche very well and find an online platform that is aligned with your niche.

This is very important as you will be promoting your business to people who are interested in your niche and might be interested in getting your products from there.

15) MARKET YOUR BUSINESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

If all you can gain from this piece is the fact that social media marketing is taking center stage when it comes to effective digital marketing, then I will be satisfied.

There are so many social media platform and billions of prospective customers to reach out to.

Spend as little as 1$ advertising on social media. This can be achieved via paid or organic marketing.

Set up your business profile or page on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter. Be sure your business profile includes a good description, keywords and a link to your website.

Then use the available channels to advertise your products.

If you’re in the clothing, fashion, beauty, entertainment, design, photography, food, jewelry, or a similar lifestyle-niche business, you’re a natural fit for image sharing on Instagram, which can generate great exposure with high-quality photos of your products.

Facebook Video Ads are the go to option for your facebook marketing if you hope to grab consumers attention in the shortest possible time.

16) SHARE INFORMATION

Write an article that demonstrates your expertise in your field. Author and publish guest posts on high profile or well-trafficked sites in your niche. It’s a great way to promote both your brand and your expertise.

Author and publish guest posts on high profile or well-trafficked sites in your niche.

It’s a great way to promote both your brand and your expertise. Free blogging communities, like TrustOrRun, are a good starting point.

Send it to websites in your field that accept submissions from experts. Be sure your name, business name, phone number, and a reference to your product or service are included at the end of the article.

Be sure your name, business name, phone number, and a reference to your product or service are included at the end of the article.

This is a guaranteed way of establishing yourself as an influencer in your industry and it is a sure way to attract so many people to you and your business without spending a penny on marketing.

17) LEVERAGE CONTENT MARKETING

Marketing gurus and influencers such as Neil Patel are of the opinion that “content is king” in every marketing strategy.

This is the more reason why it is very possible for a startup and small business to usurp the big guns in the industry if its content marketing is effective utilized.

It is one of the most cost-effective means of getting free traffic from search engine. And traffic makes it very easier for you to gain more people that are interested in what you do.

Create a variety of content types such as articles, blog posts, infographics, or images and distribute them on several channels.

The quality of these contents must be detailed and express in such a way that it adds enormous values to your readers who happens to be your prospects.

To get the most out of your blog, you will need to set aside some time every week to write quality content.

The more quality post you deliver to your audience on a weekly basis, the more they want to be part of your growing business. It can be a great tool for your marketing goals.

The benefits of a blog increase manifold as you increase your publishing frequency.

18) RUN A PROMO OR CONTEST

Offer deals and coupons and make sure you publicize it.

Everybody loves to have that feeling of being a genius and win an attractive prize for it. So many organizations are making use of this marketing strategy to drive more customers to their business and retain the existing ones.

You can also run competitions but make the prize something desirable and related to your business — it could be a free gift basket of your products, for instance, or free services.

There are so many periods to do this, such as festive periods, global events (world cups), holidays, and lots more. This period give people the freedom to engage your business effectively.

19) LIST YOUR BUSINESS ON DIRECTORIES

Have you ever being in a situation where you need to confirm a particular business contact address and you decided to check the local directories and online search engines for answers?

If you went through all of these and you couldn’t find the organization on the list, would you still do business with such organization? The answer is NO!

This same awkward feeling you would have toward that unlisted business you were looking for is the same feelings your prospective clients will have on your business if they can’t find you on relevant business listing platforms.

And you stand a chance of losing 85% of your prospective clients to a similar business outlet.

Set up a listing for your business in search engines & local directories.

TrustOrRun, Yellowpages, Manta, Heyplaces, etc are popular business directories to list your business.

Doing this should be a top priority for on marketing goals as a business outlet.

20) REVIEW YOUR PRODUCTS

There are many bloggers and copy writers who are willing and ready to help you come up with the right product review that will put your organization on the limelight.

The best business don’t joke with their products review because they know how much of an effect it can have on their marketing strategy.

Find bloggers to review your products. A good review will help generate leads for your business. You can submit your product review here.

It is no longer news that content is king, hence, you need to be intentional about your products and services reviews.

21) PARTICIPATE ON Q&A WEBSITES

Answering questions is a great way to build relationships and your expertise while helping others unselfishly market your brand.

You can also take it a step further by asking a question that is yet to be seen as a general problem in your industry but will soon be due to trends that are yet to unfold.

This is a great way for people to see you as a very analytical person. Your company will benefit from it massively.

You can do this on social sites like Quora, Webmasters and any question and answer site that is related to your niche. You have nothing to lose by trying this out.

22) JOIN FORUMS TO MMARKET YOUR BUSINESS

Join forums that are relevant to your companies niche, join in the conversation and offer insightful and helpful answers to questions.

So many customers will flock to your doors if you are intention about helping them find solutions to pressing issues in your industry.

This is very awesome for you and your business as prospects imprints it in their subconscious mind that you are so confident and knowledgeable about what you what you bring to the table.

Hence, this feeling is passed to your product and service and tons of clients will be willing to do business with you.

You can also create topics that are relevant to your business. Position yourself as an expert in your field and improve your industry expertise and customer baseline.

23) GET OUT MORE

Successful business owners and entrepreneurs make it a point of duty to improve on their public speaking and engagement skills.

This is because it is believed that the more you engage with individuals, the more you stand a chance to boost your business profitability.

Speak at local Meet-up events. Attend networking events. Generate exposure for your company and services.

Every business needs a face, being the face of your company will make you generate more exposure and definitely more customers who can trust your business enough because they trust your personality.

People skills and speaking skills is vital for effective utilization of this marketing strategy.

24) START AN AFFILIATE NETWORK

So many companies like ClickBanks are generating enormous customers on a daily basis through the apt use of the affiliate network.

Let others join in marketing your business on your behalf. Affiliate marketing entails paying someone for referring others to your business. You don’t have to pay referrals when there is no conversion.

It is a sure way to gain more customers through the efforts and tactics of individuals who are getting commissions for every conversion that you make. The commission would definitely not affect the profitability of your business.

This is one of the most effective ways of marketing your business in this global generation.

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