Small Budget, Big Dreams: How To Grow Your Biz For FREE

Remember when you could post a blog and cool people would just FIND it?!

No marketing needed?!? Or when Facebook Pages were still a novelty and you didn’t have to pay Zuck a DIME to get your posts in front of followers? You just showed up, posted cool stuff, and the likes were flowing like wiiiiiine? #memories

One of the biggest complaints I hear from small business owners today is how online marketing has turned into a “pay to play” world. What happened to good ol’ fashioned FREE marketing??? Where’s my organic traffic at, Zucky?

To be fair, we can’t blame it all on the Zuck. There are 1+ billion Facebook users today. 65 million+ Facebook Pages and counting. And, as of a few years ago, the average Facebook user liked 70+ Pages. And that’s just Facebook.

Did you know that more than 200,000 new websites launch EVERY. SINGLE. DAY?! And there are 1+ billion websites online right now. Even the best SEO company in the world can’t argue with those numbers. It’s hard to get noticed online these days. Even harder if you have a small budget.

But that’s why you’re on the RKA train. Because I’m bringing you the BEST tips for getting and staying visible in a noisy (and expensive) digital world.

In this vid, I break down 5 FREE (ish) ways to grow your business WITHOUT dropping big bucks. Spoilers ahead!

1. Get yourself some free PR (without wasting your time sending press releases and media kits).

2. Harness HARO to land media mentions and rock the “As Seen In” section of your website.

3. Attend live conferences and networking events where you are the ONLY one in the room who does what you do. Conferences with your colleagues are great for swapping industry secrets BUT if you’re looking for clients, you’re not going to do it surrounded by others in your industry. Find a conference or meet up where you can be the belle of the ball. Shout out to Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media Studios, who I was stealthily spying on as he chatted with folks at this year’s WordCamp Chicago when he dropped this bit of wisdom. I learned everything I know about rocking conferences from finance blogger Amanda Abella. She is the QUEEN of working a room.

4. Warm up your audience AT LEAST 90 days before a launch. All too often, I see small businesses invest time and money in a big launch, whether it’s a website, a program, a course, a book, and FORGET to do any sort of pre-launch promotion. I am referring EVERY SINGLE ONE of my clients to Amy Porterfield’s recent podcast episode on creating a 90 Day Pre-Launch Blueprint using Facebook Live, Facebook groups, and a free 21-Day Challenge, among other things. Seriously, if you do NOTHING ELSE ON THIS LIST, you ABSOLUTELY MUST listen to this episode (linked below) on how to prep for a launch at least 90 days in advance.

5. Involve your core group of fans and followers and spell out EXACTLY how they can best support you. Don’t expect your network to intuitively know the best ways to help support your launch. Take the guess work out of it, write out the instructions, create tweetables they can send out, Facebook posts they can copy and paste, graphics they can share, and most importantly, ASK for their help. (And don’t forget to remind them.) This can be especially effective for authors wanting to build buzz around a book launch. Jennie Mustafa-Julock is the poster child for this. When she was launching Hilda – the book by Coach Jennie, she created a special Facebook group JUST for her biggest supporters to help her get the word out. (And she game-ified it, too!) She is a walking, talking, Facebook Live-ing example of how to promote your indie book WITHOUT being icky about it.


Links & Resources I Mention In This Episode

Rachael Kay Albers

Rachael Kay Albers is a creative director, business comedian, and brand strategist gone wild. She writes and performs about branding, pop culture, tech, and identity. When she’s not muckraking about marketing, Rachael runs RKA ink, a reinvention studio and branding agency for businesses that burn the rulebook. She's also on Instagram a lot.