Many small start-up businesses have very little spare money to dedicate to their marketing efforts. Yet, without getting their products or services out there to be recognised, their business will be doomed to failure.

However, not all marketing efforts need to be expensive. In fact, there are some pretty effective marketing strategies you can take up and use to help build your brand recognition and raise awareness of what you have to offer that are actually free to use!

Here we will take a look at five very simple and effective marketing tools that won't cost you anything but your time.

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1 / Build your email list

Steadily growing your email list over time is one of the most tried and tested marketing methods. While marketing trends have changed over time, email marketing has remained strong throughout the years.

With 87% of B2B marketers and 77% of B2C marketers still using it to engage with their audience, it is worth checking out a useful free email tool such as  HYPERLINK "https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/email"HubSpot email marketing to create stunning and effective emails to communicate your content.

2 / Cross-promotion

You can try to cross-promote your products or services for free by partnering up with a related business that is happy to help market your offerings in a like-for-like exchange.

It works well if you are selling a relatable product and your partner is offering a service that either uses it or can recommend it to their customers. You, in turn, can promote your product and recommend their services through your marketing channels.

3 / Join networking groups

Good old fashioned business networking is still going strong. If you offer a locally based service or own a shop, then getting involved in your local business networking groups will help to raise awareness of your brand with other businesses and customers right on your own doorstep.

If you offer virtual services or offer countrywide delivery on your products, then joining online business networks that are in your niche marketplace can help to build your recognition to a wider audience.

4 / Get some free press

A great way to raise awareness of your business at a local level is to write press releases about your company and send them to your local news media office. Most regional newspapers and publications will be looking for local news stories to help fill space in their papers or put on their website news feed.

5 / Make good use of your social media platforms

Facebook, Twitter and the other popular social media platforms are free to use and can help potential new customers to discover your business.

Keep your followers engaged with news about your company, follow up on questions you are asked and engage with your audience. Offer live Q&A's, video demonstrations and make interacting with your audience fun by running quizzes and competitions for free products or money off your services.

These are just five free and simple marketing tools that you can use to help raise your brand awareness and build your company profile. Sometimes the best marketing strategies are not the most expensive! If you've exhausted these and need to supercharge your digital marketing our team are here to support you, just get in touch.

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Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash