The 10 best cheap advertising methods for a new business

When it comes to advertising, you want to be as cost-effective as possible. We’ve decided to save you time and effort by picking out ten of the best cheap advertising options for new businesses. 

Have a look at:

• Google My Business
• Facebook and LinkedIn groups
• Social media ads
• Email newsletters
• Flyers and posters
• SEO
• Blogging
• Hold a contest or giveaway
• Participate in local events
• Pay-per-click advertising

Want more info? Read on to learn which methods are best for your business. 

Ever googled a business and seen an entire profile come up? That’s Google My Business. It gives people who search terms related to your business a direct link to you, and can turn them into paying customers. 

It’s a great idea for every business to set up their Google My Business account, no matter what industry you’re in. It makes it much easier for customers to find and interact with you.

The best part about Google My Business? It’s completely free. You don’t have to pay a penny, just set it up, add the essential info, and you’re good to go. 

Another way to advertise your business without spending anything? Interact with Facebook and LinkedIn groups. 

With so many different groups on both platforms, you’re bound to find one that suits your needs. Simply use the search bar at the top of the webpage, and insert your terms. 

Certain groups may have limits about what can be posted, for example only one ad per day. As long as you follow their rules and guidelines, you should be golden. 

Cost? Free.

The next step from posting in Facebook groups is purchasing social media ads. These ads have a large amount of customisation, so you can carefully select your target audience. 

Ads are great for new businesses, because they increase your exposure. By showing off your business to people, you can start building interest in it. 

Simply list the amount you’re willing to pay, and the ad campaign will adjust accordingly.

How can you keep existing customers hooked? By sending out email newsletters and updates. Keeping customers apprised of updates, sales, or new information is a great way to get people back to your business.

If your mailing list is small, you can manage this on your own for free. As you grow though, you might need to use something like Hubspot’s email marketing tool. 

If your business operates locally, you may not have too much interest in promoting yourself online. A great alternative is investing in flyers and posters. Services like Vistaprint offer fantastic printing services, and can create high-quality professional flyers and posters. 

Of course, you also need a way to distribute them. You can try door-to-door, or you may want to team up with other local businesses and see if they can promote your business. 

Cost of printing can vary. Higher orders mean lower cost per unit. Vistaprint’s offers start at around £15 for 1000 flyers. 

Hailed by companies big and small, what is SEO? Search Engine Optimisation is essentially creating content with all the bits that search engines love. The payoff? You start to rank higher on those search pages. 

If you’re not seeing the benefits, ask yourself “how many times do you visit the second page of Google”. Websites and pages that rank higher will be seen by more people and bring in more money. 

The cost can vary. You can try SEO yourself, and there’s plenty of free online resources you can look at. Alternatively, you can hire an agency to do the hard work for you — but this can be an expensive choice. 

Hand in hand with SEO is blogging. Posting regular content is one way to get recognised by search engines. Likewise, if you don’t post for a while your ranking can slip. 

Actually blogging won’t cost you anything; it’s owning the website domain. Some sites like WordPress let you blog for free, but if you want to use your own domain, then you start having to worry about costs. 

Want to get a large amount of attention quite quickly? Host a contest or giveaway. 

People love a chance to win something, and by interacting with you they can develop an interest in your business. 

This is a great method for spreading quick awareness about your business, but watch that you don’t rely on it too often. You may get people signing up just for the prize. 

Costs depend on the prizes you want to offer. Although, more expensive prizes attract more attention. 

Does your business operate locally? Then get involved in local events. It doesn’t matter what they are, you want people to be talking about you. 

Communities love to gossip, so let them gossip about the things your business is doing. Getting involved in local events can really show your support for the community, and in return, the community can support you. 

Become a pillar of the community, and people will gladly spread word about your business. Plus, you never know what connections someone might have.

You may need to donate to certain causes, or your only cost may be time and energy. 

With pay-per-click advertising, you only pay for the users that click through to your page. Since you’re only paying for each click, it can be a very cost-effective method of advertising. 

Of course, to make the most of your advertising, you should only pay for relevant keywords. This will help you reach interested customers and improve your return on investment.

Whatever path you choose, it’s important to make the most of your advertising. Check out our top tips on how to successfully advertise below. 

There’s no point in advertising if it’s not related to your business. It sounds obvious, but not all press is good press. 

While attention-grabbing ads can be good, if they’re not relevant then you’ll just leave your customers confused. 

If you try to reach everyone, you’re not going to reach anyone. 

Figure out who your target audience is. This is your ideal customer, and make it specific. Then keep that person in mind when you’re advertising your business. 

For more information, see our article: How to create an ideal customer profile

If you try to do all these methods at once, you’re not going to do any of them effectively. Instead, pick two or three and focus on that. 

It’s better for your business and your bank account to do a few methods really well, rather than overstretch yourself. 

Once those methods are secure, then you can think about growing your advertising. 

While these methods can be quite cheap, you still need to budget. If managing your money isn’t your forte, then choose accounting software — not an accountant. 

The Countingup app is a great option, combining a business current account and accounting software to give you crystal clear control over your finances. 

Budgeting can be hard when you’re trying to run a business. Remove the headache and rely on Countingup instead. This app lets you manage all your business finances straight from your phone. 

With a complete view of your income, expenses, cash flow, tax, and much more, you’ll know exactly how much money you have at any one time. This makes it easy to budget for advertising!
Download Countingup for free today.