Starting a business is a thrilling journey, but let's be real—it’s also a bit terrifying, especially when it comes to marketing on a shoestring budget. I've been there. I’ve worked with startups and scale-ups at different stages, running low-budget or even no-budget marketing campaigns, and I’ve seen firsthand how companies grow, scale, and how marketing costs—and results—can shift dramatically.
Marketing is becoming more expensive every day, but that doesn't mean opportunities for startups with limited funds have dried up. In fact, there are still plenty of ways to make a significant impact without a deep pocket. The key? You have to do it right and fast. Every penny counts, so prioritization is crucial.
Here’s how to prioritize your marketing efforts in three key areas:
When you’re a small business or a startup, you don’t need the best copywriter, the best video editor, or the best SEO expert. What you need is someone who can do it all—a generalist.
Look for someone who can:
Why? Because at this stage, speed and versatility trump perfection. You need someone who can test ideas, pivot quickly, and learn on the fly.
Now, I’m not saying specialists aren’t important or that quality doesn’t matter. I know, when starting a new venture, it's tempting to hire specialists for every marketing task. However, in the early stages, you simply can’t afford to hire a specialist for every role. Trust me, I've seen startups waste precious time searching for the "perfect" specialist when what they really needed was someone who could just get stuff done.
Prioritize getting things done over perfection. Once your business grows, this jack-of-all-trades will be your secret weapon. They'll have battled in every marketing arena and will know exactly what kind of specialists you'll need when the time (and budget) is right.
We all know the importance of content marketing, and it’s tempting to craft every piece to perfection, especially when you’re passionate about your brand.
But here’s the deal: in the early stages, it’s not about creating perfect content; it’s about testing as much content as possible to see what resonates with your audience.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to:
And let me tell you, what often goes viral isn’t the meticulously polished content, but rather the raw, flawed yet authentic pieces that are packed with genuine emotion. If you’re a perfectionist, don’t worry—you can always go back, polish your content, and reuse it when you have a larger audience. Right now, your focus should be on learning what works and adapting quickly.
Unlike with content, where you want to try different formats and styles, your approach to channels needs to be more focused.
Sure, it’s tempting to cover as many channels as possible, but with a limited budget, spreading yourself too thin won’t get you the results you need. Instead, find the most convertible channels for your business and double down on them.
When selecting channels, consider the following factors:
For example, if you’re in e-commerce, don’t bother with LinkedIn ads—put your budget into shopping listings and ads where your customers actually are. If you’re a B2B SaaS company, forget Facebook and Instagram; a review site or industry forum will be far more effective.
And don’t forget to leverage any free channels you can access, like your website, social accounts, and email list. Sometimes, free is just what you need—remember, “🎵The best things in life are free.”
At this stage, treat company money like it's coming out of your own pocket (because, let's face it, it probably is). Your top investment should be in talent – a savvy marketer is worth their weight in gold (or Bitcoin, if that's more your style).
A good marketer can drive business growth in ways you might not even expect. They’ll create effective (if not perfect) content, find the most cost-efficient channels, and get you to market faster than you can say "ROI." Once you’ve got your team and channels in place, then—and only then—consider investing any remaining budget into paid channels.
Remember, startup marketing isn't about having the biggest budget; it's about having the biggest brain and the most hustle. So go forth, be scrappy, and show those big-budget companies that creativity and agility beat deep pockets any day of the week!