We know that marketing on a tight budget is far from easy. There are many strategies you have to consider, and one misstep can have negative results for your business.
\r\nIt's important to touch base with your audience across all platforms, including your website, email, and social media if you want to increase your sales and conversions. The people who visit our websites are spread across the internet, so reaching each subset of your audience can dramatically improve your site's performance.
\r\nToday, we are going to look at several ways you can add powerful marketing strategies to your business without using all of your resources. Some of the tips we mention here today will cost you nothing, except for your time. Other suggestions have a very low cost and are great for small businesses looking to enhance brand awareness and grow their business.
\r\nCreating content for your blog is, without a doubt, the cheapest way to build your brand. Websites with blogs tend to see more engagement, organic traffic, and sales. Generally, your blog's content should either educate or entertain your audience while keeping the industry in the spotlight.
\r\nOne of the things that make blogging so effective is the freedom to use your posts to market to specific customer pain points and goals. So, if your business sells musical instruments, you could create an article on the history of guitars, how to play guitar, or the best guitar solos of all time.
\r\nAll three posts are targeting the same audience subset -- guitar players. However, each title has a unique benefit to your readers. A post on the history of guitars is meant to educate and entertain, which can improve your traffic. The article on how to play guitar is educational and great for growing sales by including links to your products. Finally, the best guitar solos post is meant to be purely informative, and could significantly boost engagement.
\r\nResearch shows that when people buy your products, at least 60% spent time reading about products on your blog before completing their order. Not having content on your website can cause you to miss out on over half of all sales.
\r\nConsumers expect websites to offer more than a standard online store in 2020. They want to visit sites that provide an experience tailored to their needs. Creating relevant, informative content is the first step to marketing your website if funds are tight.
\r\nCreating content on your website is a great start, but more work needs to be done if you want to market your site to a broad audience. Our next tip focuses on publishing content on other websites.
\r\nGuest posting is essentially when a publication allows other people to create content for their website. The posts are relevant to the industry and help the publication generate traffic while offering more exposure to the business owner or marketer writing the guest post.
\r\nIf you want to start publishing guest posts on other websites, the first step is to find relevant publications or brands in your industries. You don't have to restrict yourself to sites that only publish content. Businesses that have a blog and sell a product within your niche are also likely to accept a well-written guest post.
\r\nAfter you find a list of potential publications willing to accept a guest post, it's time to send out your pitch. Create a highly personalized message where you include the topic you would like to write about, your experience with the website, and why you believe your content will add value to their audience. If you can, make the email personal by including the editor's name and tell them about some of your favorite posts that recently published on their site.
\r\nThis form of marketing is perfect for promoting your business or introducing a new product or service.
\r\nDiversifying your content is another excellent way to step up your marketing without breaking the bank. Text is a common form of content, but videos have proven lucrative for business owners across all industries. In fact, marketers that use video claim to see an average lead increase of 66%.
\r\nThere are plenty of ways to include videos in your content marketing strategy. You can go all out and create a YouTube channel known for driving traffic and engagement to websites. Platforms like YouTube make it easy to build a vast library of helpful content and guides for your audience. Hosting them on YouTube will also decrease loading times if you decide to add videos to your site, which you should.
\r\nWhy?
\r\nFor starters, adding videos to your lead magnets can boost on-page conversions by 86%. There are a couple of reasons for this phenomenon. First, users are more likely to watch a video than read a long-form blog post. There's more to it than that, though.
\r\nVideos also encourage engagement because they keep visitors interested in your brand for an extended period of time. Consequently, if someone isn't sure if they should buy your product, the extra time on your site could help them make a concrete decision.
\r\nBuilding an email list is one of the best ways to grow your company and increase sales. Email marketing has a stunning 4,400% return on investment, making it one of the most effective marketing tools you have at your disposal.
\r\nThe thing that makes email marketing special is it allows you to build rapport with each customer over a long period slowly. When you consider that 96% of people who visit your website are not ready to buy, fostering connections is a great way to convince more undecided people to switch to your brand.
\r\nYou can send various types of content to your subscribers, but most people like content and promotions. Sending out your recently published posts in a newsletter is the perfect way to keep people invested in your brand. You can also send out special offers that encourage email subscribers to come back to your website and make a purchase.
\r\nBut your emails must have great content and look nice. Visually unattractive emails have a 79% chance of getting deleted when they land in a mobile user's inbox. Focus on creating concise, helpful, mobile-friendly content for your emails. When you consider that most people check their email using a smartphone, mobile-friendly emails make perfect sense.
\r\nThe best part about this strategy is it will cost you very little to get started. Despite the low entry fee, you can dramatically grow your business by investing in email marketing.
\r\nAs you can see, there are plenty of options to consider when you want to market your business. The cost of some choices may seem daunting at first, but when you use these tactics to grow your brand, you're building a strong foundation for the future.
\r\nThe profits you gain from this foundation can help you go on to buy pricier tools that deliver even more impressive results for your business. The key is to start the process of growing your business now. You can't wait for a marketing opportunity to come to you. Instead, take the time to pursue some of these inexpensive marketing strategies to grow your brand.
\n","docType":"article","guid":"articles_8fab60c707a215d1fd1f96348ca6acb1","lastModified":"2020-08-17T12:00:00.000Z","published":"2020-08-17T12:00:00.000Z","structuredData":null,"subtitle":"Not all online marketing has to break your budget. There are several tactics you can implement when resources are tight.","template":"v1","title":"4 Low-Cost Online Marketing Strategies","type":"article","author":{"avatar":null,"bio":"I'm president and CTO of OptinMonster, a powerful lead generation tool that's installed in over 700,000 websites.","name":"Thomas Griffin","image":null,"slug":null,"social":{"facebook":"","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jthomasgriffin/","twitter":"https://twitter.com/jthomasgriffin","website":"http://optinmonster.com/"},"status":"enabled","title":null,"type":"New BDC Member","user":{"imagePath":"https://staging.business.com/images/uploads/user/profile/0105d617ee505843e2ec6db7326843b74b764.jpg","profile":{"company":"OptinMonster","jobTitle":"President and CTO","website":"http://optinmonster.com/"}}},"breadcrumbs":null,"channels":{"primary":{"name":"Marketing","slug":"marketing"},"sub":{"name":"Marketing Strategy","slug":"marketing-strategy"}},"meta":{"robots":"index, follow","description":"Here are several inexpensive online marketing tactics that can help grow your business.","title":"4 Cheap Online Marketing Strategies - business.com"},"parsedContent":{"toc":[{"id":"write-high-quality-blog-content","title":"Write high-quality blog content."},{"id":"find-guest-posting-opportunities","title":"Find guest posting opportunities."},{"id":"create-more-video-content","title":"Create more video content."},{"id":"build-your-email-list","title":"Build your email list."}],"json":[{"component":"p","children":["We know that marketing on a tight budget is far from easy. There are many strategies you have to consider, and one misstep can have negative results for your business. "]},{"component":"p","children":["It's important to touch base with your audience across all platforms, including your website, email, and social media if you want to increase your sales and conversions. The people who visit our websites are spread across the internet, so reaching each subset of your audience can dramatically improve your site's performance. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Today, we are going to look at several ways you can add powerful marketing strategies to your business without using all of your resources. Some of the tips we mention here today will cost you nothing, except for your time. Other suggestions have a very low cost and are great for small businesses looking to enhance brand awareness and grow their business. "]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"write-high-quality-blog-content"},"children":["Write high-quality blog content."]},{"component":"p","children":["Creating content for your blog is, without a doubt, the cheapest way to build your brand. Websites with blogs tend to see more engagement, organic traffic, and sales. Generally, your blog's content should either educate or entertain your audience while keeping the industry in the spotlight."]},{"component":"p","children":["One of the things that make blogging so effective is the freedom to use your posts to market to specific customer pain points and goals. So, if your business sells musical instruments, you could create an article on the history of guitars, how to play guitar, or the best guitar solos of all time. "]},{"component":"p","children":["All three posts are targeting the same audience subset -- guitar players. However, each title has a unique benefit to your readers. A post on the history of guitars is meant to educate and entertain, which can improve your traffic. The article on how to play guitar is educational and great for growing sales by including links to your products. Finally, the best guitar solos post is meant to be purely informative, and could significantly boost engagement. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Research shows that when people buy your products, at least ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.blogtyrant.com/new-blogging-statistics/#engagement-stats","target":"_blank","rel":"external nofollow noopener"},"children":["60% spent time reading about products"]}," on your blog before completing their order. Not having content on your website can cause you to miss out on over half of all sales. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Consumers expect websites to offer more than a standard online store in 2020. They want to visit sites that provide an experience tailored to their needs. Creating relevant, informative content is the first step to marketing your website if funds are tight. "]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"find-guest-posting-opportunities"},"children":["Find guest posting opportunities."]},{"component":"p","children":["Creating content on your website is a great start, but more work needs to be done if you want to market your site to a broad audience. Our next tip focuses on publishing content on other websites. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Guest posting is essentially when a publication allows other people to create content for their website. The posts are relevant to the industry and help the publication generate traffic while offering more exposure to the business owner or marketer writing the guest post. "]},{"component":"p","children":["If you want to ",{"component":"Link","props":{"href":"https://www.business.com/articles/guest-post-strategy/"},"children":["start publishing guest posts"]}," on other websites, the first step is to find relevant publications or brands in your industries. You don't have to restrict yourself to sites that only publish content. Businesses that have a blog and sell a product within your niche are also likely to accept a well-written guest post. "]},{"component":"p","children":["After you find a list of potential publications willing to accept a guest post, it's time to send out your pitch. Create a highly personalized message where you include the topic you would like to write about, your experience with the website, and why you believe your content will add value to their audience. If you can, make the email personal by including the editor's name and tell them about some of your favorite posts that recently published on their site. "]},{"component":"p","children":["This form of marketing is perfect for promoting your business or introducing a new product or service. "]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"create-more-video-content"},"children":["Create more video content."]},{"component":"p","children":["Diversifying your content is another excellent way to step up your marketing without breaking the bank. Text is a common form of content, but videos have proven lucrative for business owners across all industries. In fact, marketers that use video claim to see ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://optinmonster.com/content-marketing-statistics/#video","target":"_blank","rel":"external nofollow noopener"},"children":["an average lead increase of 66%"]},". "]},{"component":"p","children":["There are plenty of ways to include videos in your content marketing strategy. You can go all out and create a YouTube channel known for driving traffic and engagement to websites. Platforms like YouTube make it easy to build a vast library of helpful content and guides for your audience. Hosting them on YouTube will also decrease loading times if you decide to add videos to your site, which you should. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Why? "]},{"component":"p","children":["For starters, adding videos to your lead magnets can ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.monsterinsights.com/conversion-rate-optimization-stats-show-what-youve-been-missing/","rel":"external nofollow"},"children":["boost on-page conversions by 86%"]},". There are a couple of reasons for this phenomenon. First, users are more likely to watch a video than read a long-form blog post. There's more to it than that, though. "]},{"component":"p","children":["Videos also encourage engagement because they keep visitors interested in your brand for an extended period of time. Consequently, if someone isn't sure if they should buy your product, the extra time on your site could help them make a concrete decision. "]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"build-your-email-list"},"children":["Build your email list."]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"Link","props":{"href":"https://www.business.com/articles/how-to-build-email-list/"},"children":["Building an email list"]}," is one of the best ways to grow your company and increase sales. Email marketing has a stunning 4,400% return on investment, making it one of the most effective marketing tools you have at your disposal. "]},{"component":"p","children":["The thing that makes email marketing special is it allows you to build rapport with each customer over a long period slowly. When you consider that ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://wpforms.com/email-marketing-statistics/","target":"_blank","rel":"external nofollow noopener"},"children":["96% of people"]}," who visit your website are not ready to buy, fostering connections is a great way to convince more undecided people to switch to your brand. "]},{"component":"p","children":["You can send various types of content to your subscribers, but most people like content and promotions. Sending out your recently published posts in a newsletter is the perfect way to keep people invested in your brand. You can also send out special offers that encourage email subscribers to come back to your website and make a purchase. "]},{"component":"p","children":["But your emails must have great content and look nice. Visually unattractive emails have a ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.seedprod.com/verified-digital-marketing-statistics-and-trends/#Content-Marketing-Statistics","target":"_blank","rel":"external nofollow noopener"},"children":["79% chance of getting deleted"]}," when they land in a mobile user's inbox. Focus on creating concise, helpful, mobile-friendly content for your emails. When you consider that most people check their email using a smartphone, mobile-friendly emails make perfect sense. "]},{"component":"p","children":["The best part about this strategy is it will cost you very little to get started. Despite the low entry fee, you can dramatically grow your business by investing in email marketing. "]},{"component":"p","children":["As you can see, there are plenty of options to consider when you want to market your business. The cost of some choices may seem daunting at first, but when you use these tactics to grow your brand, you're building a strong foundation for the future. "]},{"component":"p","children":["The profits you gain from this foundation can help you go on to buy pricier tools that deliver even more impressive results for your business. The key is to start the process of growing your business now. You can't wait for a marketing opportunity to come to you. Instead, take the time to pursue some of these inexpensive marketing strategies to grow your brand."]}]},"resource":null,"sponsorship":{"sponsorType":"no-sponsor","name":null,"thumbnail":null,"bio":null,"slug":null,"status":null,"social":{"website":null,"linkedin":null,"twitter":null,"facebook":null}},"thumbnail":{"path":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/5f3/8724f9c658a73478b4567/1500-0-","caption":"Zephyr18/Getty Images","isBlurred":false},"bestPicks":null},"related":{"relatedArticles":[{"title":"5 Ways to Leverage a Facebook Messenger Bot for Lead Generation","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/leverage-facebook-messenger-bot-for-lead-generation/","slug":"leverage-facebook-messenger-bot-for-lead-generation","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5e5/851e89c658aa9758b4577/1500-0-","dek":"If you haven't checked into a bot for your business, now is the ideal time. The competition is low, and the returns could be sky-high.","lastModified":"2020-02-27T23:31:00Z","published":"2020-02-27T23:31:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template/","slug":"sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f3/3e1765a215eb62d8b4567/1500-0-","dek":"Follow these templates and guidelines to get started on creating your business's marketing plan.","lastModified":"2020-08-12T12:28:00Z","published":"2018-03-02T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Marketing Strategies and Technologies that You Should be Using for Your Business","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/marketing-strategies-and-technologies-that-you-should-be-using-for-your-business/","slug":"marketing-strategies-and-technologies-that-you-should-be-using-for-your-business","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5d1/130655a215ee06f8b4585/1500-0-","dek":"It doesn’t come off as a surprise that marketers find themselves overwhelmed because there are about a thousand companies that are trying to sell one type of marketing technology or another in about 40 categories.","lastModified":"2016-07-22T21:00:00Z","published":"2016-07-22T21:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"4 Growth Tactics for B2B Businesses","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/growth-tactics-for-b2b-businesses/","slug":"growth-tactics-for-b2b-businesses","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5da/f7c1a9c658a15248b4577/1500-0-","dek":"Here are four proven marketing strategies that can help your B2B company grow.","lastModified":"2019-10-23T15:00:00Z","published":"2019-10-23T15:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Market Your Website on a Shoestring Budget","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/market-your-website-on-a-shoestring-budget/","slug":"market-your-website-on-a-shoestring-budget","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5eb/5817b7b4374047b8b457a/1500-0-","dek":"Marketing on a shoestring budget doesn't have to be as hard as it sounds. Here are several excellent ways you can grow your business without breaking the bank.","lastModified":"2020-05-08T19:45:00Z","published":"2020-05-08T19:45:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Back to Basics: 9 Offline Marketing Tactics That Still Work Today's Digital World","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/articles/9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world/","slug":"9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/578/521073187b18f15bbc70b/1500-0-","dek":"The explosion of digital marketing has opened up opportunities in offline channels that can mean major returns for your business.","lastModified":"2017-02-22T23:57:21Z","published":"2016-07-13T18:00:00Z","sponsored":null},{"title":"Back to Basics: 9 Offline Marketing Tactics That Still Work Today's Digital World","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world/","slug":"9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/channel/marketing.jpg","dek":"The explosion of digital marketing has opened up opportunities in offline channels that can mean major returns for your business.","lastModified":"2016-07-13T18:00:00Z","published":"2016-07-13T18:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Use Your Blog for Explosive Lead Generation","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/blog-for-lead-generation/","slug":"blog-for-lead-generation","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f1/3b6ab7b4374d3038b4567/1500-0-","dek":"Your blog is capable of generating a ton of leads for your small business. If you're just writing content and hitting the publish button, you're missing out on plenty of opportunities. Let's look at some other ways to use your blog for explosive lead generation.","lastModified":"2020-07-20T13:00:00Z","published":"2020-07-20T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Grow Your Small Business With Content Upgrades","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/how-to-grow-your-small-business-with-content-upgrades/","slug":"how-to-grow-your-small-business-with-content-upgrades","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5ef/ce5cd9c658a2c738b4568/1500-0-","dek":"Content upgrades are a great way to grow your small business. Learn the difference between content upgrades and lead magnets, and how to start implementing a strategy.","lastModified":"2020-07-01T20:00:00Z","published":"2020-07-01T20:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"5 Ways to Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/improve-mobile-marketing-strategy/","slug":"improve-mobile-marketing-strategy","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f3/8a2f59c658ac6268b4567/1500-0-","dek":"As a business owner, you have to think about how you’re going to reach smartphone users and build an excellent experience that keeps them coming back for more.","lastModified":"2020-08-17T13:00:00Z","published":"2020-08-17T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"4 Tips for Improving CRO with Content Marketing","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/improve-cro-with-content-marketing/","slug":"improve-cro-with-content-marketing","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f2/d79905a215e5e448b4567/1500-0-","dek":"Conversion rate optimization, or CRO, is vital for growing your business. Learn how to use your content marketing strategy to improve your conversions.","lastModified":"2020-08-07T15:56:00Z","published":"2020-08-07T15:56:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Dramatically Improve Your SEO Ranking","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/improve-your-seo-ranking/","slug":"improve-your-seo-ranking","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f0/c57877b43743e588b456b/1500-0-","dek":"Your search engine results page ranking is one of the most important aspects of your online business. Check out these helpful tips to improve your SEO strategy.","lastModified":"2020-07-13T17:20:00Z","published":"2020-07-13T17:20:00Z","sponsored":false}],"relatedReviews":[{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5b99633151ee47a8528b4582/Call_center_bbernard.jpg","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/call-center-services/","title":"The Best Call Center Services for 2021","dek":"Our team has compared the best call center services for 2021. See up-to-date reviews for the top-rated answering services.","slug":"call-center-services","lastModified":"2021-02-26T14:22:00Z"},{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5df7b1b69c658a61728b4567/Answering_Service_scyther5_Getty.jpg","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/best-answering-services/","title":"The Best Answering Services of 2021","dek":"Our teams have compared the best answering services for 2020. 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