StoryPath Communications

Marketing with a Small Budget

Small business owners, especially those just starting their business, frequently have to juggle competing priorities within a relatively small budget. And all too often, marketing doesn’t get classified as a high priority in that budget. Yet marketing is an important piece of the puzzle for small businesses. When marketing is neglected, it’s difficult for a business to grow.

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about marketing with a small budget.

The cost of doing it yourself

When it comes to saving money on marketing, many small businesses choose to do it themselves. But think about two things: your skills and your time. Do you have the skills and background to write content for your blog, update social media, develop print materials, or send a newsletter? And do you have enough time in your day to keep up with it?

We’ve seen lots of small business owners take a DIY approach to marketing. Many get frustrated because marketing isn’t really their thing, and then those feelings of frustration can spill over into the rest of their business. Some businesses may start out strong, but as other things require their attention, things get neglected.

Track the amount of time you’re spending on handling your own marketing. Does it make sense to be spending that much time on it? Or would your time be better spent on other activities to grow your business and take care of clients? Thinking about it this way may make outsourcing look like a better idea for you and your business.

Benefits of outsourcing

When you decide to outsource some of your marketing efforts, it’s an investment in the future of your business. It’s an investment in yourself as well, because it’s freeing up both your time and your mental energy to focus on what you do best.

As with any partner for your business, it’s important to find the right fit. You want a marketing partner who will take the time to understand your business and answer all of your questions. The person doing your marketing should feel like an extension of your team. If needed, talk to a few companies in order to find the right fit.

Return on investment

Which approach to marketing is going to give you the best return? If you’re investing hours of your time each week to manage social media and still feeling frustrated, that’s not a great return. But if you love writing and social media and have some experience with marketing a small business, you may get a better return on doing it yourself initially and then outsource it as you grow.

Ultimately, you want to be sure you’re reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time. If you’re able to do that effectively yourself, you might not need a lot of budget for marketing at first. But if you’re struggling to keep up, it’s worth exploring options to invest in outside help for a better return on your marketing efforts.

If you do find yourself wanting to outsource some marketing, reach out to us today to talk about how we can help.

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