5 Ways To Grow Your Small Business With Free Marketing Tools

by Mícheál Brennan, Guest Contributor

Starting, growing, and maintaining a small business is no easy task. Not only do you have to come up with an incredible product and USP to sell to your customers, but you also need to find a way to market yourself effectively on a tiny budget.

Create stunning Channel Art designs for a YouTube channel that audiences will love in Canva.

The good news is that you don't have to have thousands of dollars in advertising cash to capture the attention of your target audience. In fact, there are plenty of ways that you can enhance the reach of your company without spending a dime. All you need to do is check out some of the free marketing tools available.
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Here are five great options to get you started.

Use MailChimp for Email Marketing
Email marketing is a critical element in the advertising world for most companies. While it's always a good idea to build your brand through platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, email continues to be the most effective way to connect with and nurture your leads.

With MailChimp, you can create more intimate connections between yourself and your customers, and even customize campaigns according to different segments in your network. Plus, MailChimp is one of the easiest mailing tools to use too!

Try PikWizard for Stunning Visuals
If you want your website and the content you produce online to be appealing, then you need to make sure that you've got plenty of stunning visuals available to capture the hearts and minds of your audience. Unfortunately, the chances are that you won't have much money to spend on professional images, so you'll need to search for content elsewhere.

PikWizard allows you to choose from a range of high-quality images perfect for adding extra value to your website and content marketing. You can download as many visuals as you like, and use them however you see fit!

Access "Due" to Track your Marketing Projects
If you're not sure how to manage the invoicing, budgeting, and payment parts of your small business, then "Due" could be the perfect solution. This is a free tool for marketers that comes with a time-tracking application designed to assess how much time you spend on every project. This should help you to boost productivity and efficiency.

Besides a time-tracking tool, you'll also get a solution that allows you to calculate billing time, along with a payments and invoicing platform which is great for freelance workers online.

Spruce Up Your YouTube Page with Design Wizard
Recently, YouTube became one of the most important and valuable social media marketing strategies for small businesses. All you need is a few creative ideas, and a camera to get started and you can engage your customers on a whole new level. However, if you want to stand out among the crowds of other businesses on YouTube, then you need to create an appealing page.

Solutions like Design Wizard give you the opportunity to boost your appearance on video sharing platforms by ensuring that you can create incredible channel art, perfect for drawing the attention of your audience.

Manage Social Media with Buffer
Finally, if you plan on making social media a crucial part of your online marketing strategy, then organization will be key to your success. With Buffer, you can streamline your social efforts, and make sure that you're consistently connecting with your audience on a regular schedule. Tools like Buffer allow you to deal with multiple accounts at once, to build your brand and engage your audience.

Additionally, with this free tool, you can create drip campaigns, check out the details on your dashboard, and analyze the success of each post in depth. The Buffer free plan is particularly good for new businesses hoping to grow their social presence.
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