I have to admit, that’s a bit of a gimmick headline. Because if you want to grow your business, you must spend time and/or money doing marketing.
When I used to work as a software engineer we had this running joke with management whenever they asked way too much of us. We used to tell them,
You can have the project on budget, on time, and with no bugs. Pick two!
We were only half joking. But the point is, you can’t have it all. You must make some sacrifices.
There’s a cost to everything.
If money is tight, here are some low cost ways you can market your business:
- Join a business networking group. Share links and referrals.
- Host seminars and webinars.
- Go out into the community and deliver your message personally. (Excellent for dental practices, real estate agents, or any business that relies on a local market.)
- Write articles for relevant blogs.
- Get active on social media.
- Start a podcast or YouTUBE channel.
- Ask your current clients to share their experience working with you–assuming they’re happy and satisfied. 🙂
These are just a few examples. But, as you can see, all of the above will cost you very little (or zero) money. The cost comes in the form of your time. However, even though they’re free, they are still very powerful marketing tools that can help you find new clients.
Show me the money!
Now, if you have the budget but not the time nor inclination to execute a good marketing campaign, you’re in a fortunate position. Because there are thousands of businesses out there you can pay to do the work for you.
But there’s still a small time cost on your part–being patient in finding a reputable company with a good track record.
No gimmicks!
If you insist that you don’t have both the time and money to do marketing, then I say one of two things is probably going on:
1. You don’t want to grow your business.
2. You’re afraid your investment won’t pay out.
There’s not much to do about 1. I’m guessing if this is the case you probably stopped reading long ago.
But if you suffer from number two, I’ll just remind you that marketing is an investment. Done right, it will make you more money than you put into it. It’ll be like trading nickels for dimes.
And I’ll take that deal all day long.
