Back in the day, a business owner would have to spend a lot of money on advertising in order to get new clients. Luckily, those times have changed. With so many free avenues available to us, we no longer need huge advertising budgets to get the word out.
We have spent $0 on advertising this year, and it has been our most successful year yet.
Today, we’re going to tell you exactly what we did to get new clients, without having to spend any money.
1. Referrals
We’re honored that our clients trust us enough to recommend our services to a friend or family member. A lot of our business comes via referrals from past clients. Here’s the key to referrals:
You have to ask for them.
People are busy. The last thing they have on their mind is referring people to our company.
Every few months, we’ll send an email to our past clients. We check in to see if they need anything from us, then ask if they happen to know anyone that could use our services.
Try it out. You’ll be surprised how many people do know someone that needs exactly what you do.
2. Social Media
Second to referrals, a good portion of our clients come directly from social media. Being active, providing value and posting consistently has helped us land some of our best clients. We dedicate one day a week to schedule all of our social media posts and make sure to interact with the people that have liked and commented on our posts. We’re also active in a lot of Facebook groups, offering feedback and answering questions. This has helped us meet lots of new people in need of what we offer.
3. Networking Groups
Networking groups are another avenue that have been a huge help in getting new business. Thanks to Facebook events and Meetup, we were able to find some good, free networking groups in the area that meet regularly.
The key is finding good networking groups and continuing to show up. Not all networking groups are created equal and it took us a few months to find a few that we really like, but now that were involved, we be sure to stay active. We present at meetings, share our knowledge, and make sure everyone knows what we do.
4. Community
Another huge help for our business has been getting more involved in the design community. Since not everyone has the same skillset, building relationships with these people has allowed us (and them) to do offer more to our clients. We have strong relationships with graphic designers, SEO’s and IT professionals that have allowed us to expand our business and better serve our clients.
5. Blogging
Blogging is the biggest tool we have for getting eyes on our website. By blogging consistently, we’ve seen a huge increase in our site traffic. It also helps us generate social media content. The key is to be consistent. We try to blog once a week, on Wednesday’s. We won’t lie and say that it’s sometimes hard to do (we’ve skipped a few weeks) but scheduling out posts in WordPress has been a huge help. We try to always have posts scheduled for at least 2 weeks, that way if we get super busy, we still have content going out.
These 5 tips cost no money and can help your business grow beyond your expectations. Before you spend money on advertisements, SEO, or other forms of marketing, we encourage you to try these tips.
