Budget Online Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

For many first time online business owners getting sales through the door, or onto their website, seems almost an impossible mission. That is unless you have unlimited financial resources, which is often not the case. There are however a few budget tips which with time will help the business grow sales, making funds available for other more expensive marketing activities. Here are couple of budget online marketing tips I’d recommended any business owner to try.

Start blogging – There are many reasons to start blogging, but focusing on those relevant for online businesses, I’d say it’s a means to ensure more of your target market finds you and it will help make your online site into an authority voice in the industry.
Cost: From £0

Share resources with a similar business – The idea behind sharing resource or joint promotion isn’t new, but in today’s business climate it might just become more main stream. Join promotion will give you the option to communicate your marketing messages to the customer base of a similar site and vise versa. The key for success is to find another site which is similar to yours in terms of target market and very importantly similar in size.
Cost: From £0

Send newsletters regularly – There are a number of email marketing services such as Mail Chimp which offers a complete newsletter solution from designing to sending and of course tracking. Many such services offer a free plan for up to a certain subscribers which is perfect for new and small businesses. Regular newsletters will help grow your sales from existing customers and possible new customers.
Cost: From £0

Use local PR – There are a number of press release services which are perfect for small businesses. Some, such as prlog will even offer helpful advice on how to write your first press release. Make sure the PR is newsworthy so it has potential to be picked up for your local news sites.
Cost: From £0

Establish your identity online – This process won’t happen over night however, there are couple of quick wins which will help people find your details quickly. Start by adding your details to Google local business which takes just couple of minutes. When a potential customer searches for your details, you can almost guarantee that your details will appear and not your competitor. You can also create a facebook page and twitter profile which will allow you to add information and very importantly for customers to contact you.
Cost: From £0

Guest post written by Michelle Strassburg, co-founder of flooring retailer, Wood and Beyond.