How to market a new business on a limited budget?

Marketing a new venture doesn’t require a huge budget. With some creativity and effort, you can effectively promote your business while keeping costs low​. Here are low-budget marketing strategies to consider:

• Build a basic online presence: Start with a simple website (even a single page with your business info and contact details) – this helps customers find you through search engines. Make sure to register your business on Google My Business for local search visibility. A web presence lends credibility and can be created inexpensively.
• Be social media savvy: Create profiles on platforms that your target audience uses (e.g. LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram/Facebook for B2C). Post valuable content regularly – such as how-to tips, behind-the-scenes stories, or customer testimonials – to engage followers. Social media is essentially free marketing and helps build a community around your brand​.
• Content marketing and SEO: Start a blog or write guest posts in your industry niche. By publishing helpful articles or videos related to your business, you can attract organic traffic. Optimize your content with keywords that your customers search for (for example, a bakery might blog about “easy birthday cake ideas” to rank for that query). Over time, this improves your search engine ranking and draws in potential customers searching for those topics.
• Utilize email marketing: Collect emails from interested visitors or customers (offer a small freebie or newsletter sign-up on your website). Sending a periodic email newsletter is a virtually no-cost way to nurture leads. Share useful content or exclusive promotions to encourage repeat visits and sales.
• Network and cross-promote: Leverage your personal and professional network. Attend free networking events or join online communities (like a Facebook group for entrepreneurs or a subreddit for your industry). Introduce your business subtly and offer help/insights – this can generate referrals. You can also partner with complementary small businesses to cross-promote each other (for instance, a web designer teaming up with a copywriter to refer clients to each other).
• Offer promotions or contests: Encourage word-of-mouth by offering referral incentives, first-time customer discounts, or a social media contest (e.g. people share your post for a chance to win a free product). These tactics can create buzz without much expense.

By combining these approaches, you can get your first customers through the door without expensive advertising. The keys are consistency and tracking what works. As your revenue grows, you can scale up successful tactics.