Download 15 ideas in 15 minutes

15 tips for
Marketing on a
Shoestring Budget
Alicia Carter
[email protected]
Idea #1
Set aside some “thinking” time so you can
PLAN
• Plan your day
• Plan your month
• Plan your year
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #2
Make your website a workhorse
Be more than pretty - be interactive
Most important info goes at the top
When you have something cool to share, put it on your
website!
“Contact Us” should be a form they can submit
Use testimonials
Think A.I.D.A.
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #3
SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Use a meaningful title – not just “welcome” or “home”
Link important bits of text
Get other sites to link to yours
Learn what keywords customers use to “Google” you
Put those words in your text frequently
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #4
Some of the best marketing
ideas are first written on a
cocktail napkin!
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #5
All the world’s a-”twitter”
Social networks are great, but how do they fit in with your
strategy?
Are you going to have someone assigned to update the social
networking site?
How is the social networking site going to help you reach your
objectives?
Use good judgment…
Master the basics before you jump on the latest fad
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Social Media is more
than a fad
Facebook: 1 billion+ registered; 800 million active users
Twitter: 6 million registered; about 2 million active users
YouTube:
June 2007:
6 hours of video every minute
January 2009:
15 hours/minute
November 2010:
35 hours/minute
May 2011:
48 hours/minute
January 2012:
60 hours/minute
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #6
Take advantage of the freebies!
Word of Mouth
Community Calendars
Area Convention & Visitors Bureaus
Voicemail greetings
Local television and radio shows
Press Releases to local media Social Media including Blogs
Networking
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #7
Target (it’s more than just a
great store!)
Who needs to know about your product or service?
Why should they care?
Where are they?
How can you reach them directly and cost effectively?
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #8
Think ROI – it’s more important than just
looking at the cost of your marketing
Revenue – Expenses
Expenses
x
100
The goal of every organization is survival,
and survival depends on your ROI
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #9
Learn from your mistakes (and yes – there
will be mistakes!)
Remember
this
one?
And more recently
this one?
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #10
Leverage Relationships
The ultimate goal of marketing is to create
positive, long-term relationships with patrons,
employees (customers, clients, etc).
Every employee is a marketer (whether they
know it or not) and should be helping you
cultivate those relationships.
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #11
Use E-mail, but use it wisely
Free or very low cost & track-able
Can help strengthen relationships if done
well
Can do the opposite if not done well
Check, double-check, and re-check before
you hit “Send”
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Example of an E-mail OOPS!
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #12
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you
should
Exhibit A:
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #13
Put a CTA on everything
If your materials are pretty but they don’t encourage
someone to take action, what’s the point?
Make it easy to find your contact information, website
address, or a person to talk to.
What am I supposed to do with this?
Make the answer clear to the customer!!
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #14
Be a tracker
Measure what you’re doing to see what’s working
Track your campaigns to see what’s not working
If you’re not sure if it works, it probably doesn’t
Tracking is one of the most difficult tasks for
a marketer
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Idea #15
Get all your ducks in a row before you launch
a campaign!
Is everyone who might be answering questions aware that
there is a campaign going on?
Are they prepared to answer customers’ questions without
having to ask someone else?
Do you have systems in place to handle additional traffic?
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
Quick Recap
Plan – build your marketing “playbook”
Learn from your mistakes
Make your website a workhorse
Leverage Relationships
Search Engine Optimization
Utilize e-mail marketing
Use your Cocktail Napkin Ideas
Just because you can doesn’t mean you
should
Use Social Networks wisely
Include a clear CTA on everything
Take advantage of the freebies
Be a Tracker
Target your $$ to your audience
Get all your ducks in a row
Focus on ROI
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget
What are your ideas?
Alicia Carter
270-745-4720
[email protected]
15 ideas for marketing on a shoestring budget