{"id":5989,"date":"2014-01-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=4463"},"modified":"2020-04-03T18:01:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T22:01:23","slug":"much-spend-marketing-15-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/much-spend-marketing-15-tips","title":{"rendered":"15 best ways to market your business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our friends at the\u00a0YEC<\/a>\u00a0asked 15 entrepreneurs to share how\u00a0bootstrappers should\u00a0allocate resources for marketing and advertising.\u00a0Here\u2019s what they found:<\/p>\n

Channel Your Inner Seth Godin<\/h3>\n

When I was starting TalentEgg, I read a lot of Seth Godin, and one point stood out to me in particular. Seth often writes that advertising is the cost of having an unremarkable product. What’s the solution? Build something remarkable that people want to talk about, and then enable and encourage their conversations. This has been, and continues to be, our main strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lauren Friese of\u00a0TalentEgg\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Devote Resources Toward Customer Development<\/h3>\n

Bootstrapping is the act of scaling a product based on its merit. If you want to bootstrap, build a great product that people want; interfacing with your customers\/users and making improvements on your product so they’ll tell other people to use your product is the core function of bootstrapping. Don’t spend on marketing; spend your time and resources on creating ecstatic customers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Derek Shanahan of\u00a0Playerize \/ SuperRewards<\/em><\/p>\n

Invest in Your Brand<\/h3>\n

Budget reflects priority! As the head of a CEO brand implementation firm, I can tell you that your brand should be your biggest priority. Focus on strong business cards, great clothes, an immaculate website and networking events that your potential clients attend. If you focus on these items and you have competency in your craft, you will always do well.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Raoul Davis of\u00a0Ascendant Group<\/em><\/p>\n

Focus on Early Adopters<\/h3>\n

Give your early adopters a product they want, and give them the tools to easily spread the word about your product. If you can please a group of people, there are enough people like that group who will also gravitate to your product.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brett Farmiloe of\u00a0Internet Marketing Company<\/em><\/p>\n

Try Everything<\/h3>\n

Think of everything as a hypothesis test. Try a little bit of anything that seems plausible and track the results. Do more of what works. Quit what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Brent Beshore of\u00a0adventur.es<\/em><\/p>\n

Start With Guerrilla Marketing<\/h3>\n

In the early stages, when you\u2019re looking to keep costs down, you shouldn\u2019t spend any money on marketing or traditional advertising. Instead, you should initially rely on guerrilla marketing and sales activities. Spread the word about your company via your personal business development efforts, word-of-mouth marketing and social media.<\/p>\n

\u2014 David Ehrenberg of\u00a0Early Growth Financial Services<\/em><\/p>\n

Create a High ROI<\/h3>\n

A marketing budget should always be tied to sales. Come up with a break-even number for your business \u2014 a basement figure of revenue you need to bring in so your lights stay on and the doors stay open. Find marketing funnels where you put in $1 and get back $2. You can tweak from there, scale quickly and understand what\u2019s really bringing in customers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brian Moran of\u00a0Get 10,000 Fans<\/em><\/p>\n

Be a Scientist<\/h3>\n

Bootstrappers can\u2019t afford to \u201cgo with their gut\u201d and make a mistake. Instead, take a scientific approach. Track referral sources. When we started, we had no budget. We used guerrilla marketing tactics and then asked clients how they’d heard of us. As we grew, we continued to invest in techniques that gave a return and forgot those that didn\u2019t. It\u2019s simple and clinical, but it’s effective.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nick Friedman of\u00a0College Hunks Hauling Junk<\/em><\/p>\n

You Have Friends, Right?<\/h3>\n

Too many startups spend way too much on marketing even when they are still trying to figure out their message. Tap into your network of friends and get them involved. Make some t-shirts and stickers, let them be walking billboards for your company and hand out stickers while they’re out and about too. You don’t have to create an elaborate campaign to make people take notice of your business.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ashley Bodi of\u00a0Business Beware<\/em><\/p>\n

Work With What You Have<\/h3>\n

When I started, I did not have a marketing budget. So I spent time writing articles and pitching guest posts on popular blogs. In addition, I religiously read HARO emails and responded immediately to any press opportunities that were a good fit. It didn’t take long before I was writing two columns for popular blogs and getting regular, national press and plenty of clients.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rachel Rodgers of Rachel Rodgers Law Office<\/em><\/p>\n

Give Your Service Away for Free<\/h3>\n

This depends on whether you’re retail or enterprise. With retail, you are likely forced to advertise in some way. However, if you are focused on enterprise, offer your service free to clients for a certain amount of time. Then, after the allotted time, try to sign them on at a discounted price. Although this is not traditional “marketing,” it will put you in the best position for a future sale.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Stillman of\u00a0Ditto Holdings<\/em><\/p>\n

Go Rogue<\/h3>\n

If you don\u2019t have money, go rogue. Get creative. Track the creative effort until you find results. Bootstrapping is never easy, so you have no choice but to be creative.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ziver Birg of Zivelo<\/em><\/p>\n

Understand the Time Commitment<\/h3>\n

Many bootstrappers love to use social media and online marketing because of the low cost of entry, which is a great idea! Ask yourself, “How many people can work on it, and how much time do I have?” My rule of thumb is that it takes about 15 hours a week to maintain one social media feed or online initiative properly, so don’t underestimate what you’ll need for success.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Caitlin Mccabe of\u00a0Real Bullets Branding<\/em><\/p>\n

Use PPC Advertising<\/h3>\n

With PPC advertising on Google or Facebook, you can get several hundred clicks for $100 or less. This should convert at least one or two sales or generate at least 20-30 leads (email addresses). If you don’t get those results, your marketing needs to be tweaked or overhauled. Always split test different offers and copy, and look for the winners.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Joe Barton of\u00a0Barton Publishing<\/em><\/p>\n

Seek “Ripple-Effect Referrals”<\/h3>\n

Invest in referral-based initiatives. Whatever industries you are targeting, chances are they have contacts that possess similar needs. Work at developing great relationships with your existing clients, and offer an enticing incentive if they refer an affiliate to your company.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alex Lorton of Cater2.me<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)<\/a>\u00a0is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched\u00a0StartupCollective<\/a>, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our friends at the\u00a0YEC\u00a0asked 15 entrepreneurs to share how\u00a0bootstrappers should\u00a0allocate resources for marketing and advertising.\u00a0Here\u2019s what they found: Channel Your Inner Seth Godin When I was starting TalentEgg, I read a lot of Seth Godin, and one point stood out to me in particular. Seth often writes that advertising is the cost of having an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":884,"featured_media":34273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n15 best ways to market your business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our friends at the\u00a0YEC\u00a0asked 15 entrepreneurs to share how\u00a0bootstrappers should\u00a0allocate resources for marketing and \u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/much-spend-marketing-15-tips\" 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