Marketing doesn’t always have to cost an arm and a leg. There are ways that you can market your business for only a fingertip or even a tooth.

So, here are a few more tips to help get your marketing off the ground when you can’t throw a lot of money at it.

Go to conventions

As of the writing of this blog, conventions seem like a thing of the past. After all, even when there isn’t a global pandemic, cons always seem like a good place to get sick. But don’t let that scare you off. Conventions and tradeshows are great ways to gain new customers and connections.

If you’ve never been to one before, they’re pretty simple. As a vendor you can rent a table at the convention, there you can sell your stuff. That’s basically it. Every convention has a specific theme, so you can find one that fits your brand and will bring in your target audience. A lot of people learn about new businesses (or businesses that are new to them) through cons and tradeshows. Plus, at these events you can meet some of your colleagues. You can make new connections and learn about what new and exciting developments are happening in your field.

This is not always the most low budget option though. There are some tradeshows that are very expensive. So, you may want to shop around. You may even have to start with a really small one. That’s okay, it’s a good way to get your feet wet and learn about what other tradeshows are coming up.

Share the love

Have you ever thought about partnering up with another company? They don’t even have to be something that is super relevant to your work. Just make sure that it is a company that your target audience would be interested in patronizing.

These partnerships can be something as simple as mentioning each other in your social media posts. Or you can work with them to create some sort of discount for shopping at both places. For example, if you run a bakery near a cute bookstore, work with them to offer your customers half-off a cupcake and a particular cookbook. This could bring in readers that have never been to your bakery and baked-goods-lovers who have never been in that bookstore.

There are a lot of ways you could go about it. So, find someone you like and reach out to them. Odds are, they’ll be up for it.

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle

No, I don’t mean recycle used paper and plastic products (though you should be doing that anyway). I’m referring to templates. If you have something that you’ve used in the past, like a particular image in an ad, and it worked well, reuse it (if you have the rights to do that, of course). This could save you time and money because you won’t have to make a new image or find one in a stock photo gallery. Just remember that if you use the same images too many times, people might notice. Be sure to include new material every now and then.

This could also apply to templates. If you’re trying to design a new website, don’t be afraid to reuse templates that you’ve used and liked before. Just be sure to freshen it up a bit. Change a few things here and there.

Are you out of ideas for your social media? Do a few throwbacks. Dig down deep into the bowels of your social media, pull out the first handful of posts, and repost them with #throwback. Everyone likes a good blast from the past.

You can also reuse old content. If the content you have is still relevant, re-spin it. Reword the sentences and change the order of a few paragraphs (as long as it makes sense). Just know that this is really only something to do if you are running out of ideas for your new content. Fresh content is always preferred.

Hopefully, this has given you some ideas for what to do when you have to market on a shoestring budget. But if you are ready to take your marketing to the next level, feel free to contact us, the digital marketing experts at Avant8. After all, helping out small businesses is our thing.