4 Ways to Stop Burning Money in Ads but Still Get More Customers?

The eternal trick of marketing hits especially hard for startups and small businesses. How can you promote your business effectively, despite a limited budget? If you’re not careful, embracing advertising means little more than burning through your marketing budget without having much to show for. But that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, […]

  • The eternal trick of marketing hits especially hard for startups and small businesses. How can you promote your business effectively, despite a limited budget?

  • If you’re not careful, embracing advertising means little more than burning through your marketing budget without having much to show for. But that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, here are 4 ways you can stop burning your money in ads, and still increase your customer base.

1) Embrace Content Options

First things first: rather than spend money to push your message to an audience that simply might not care, draw in the users that matter to your content. That’s the philosophy behind content marketing, a concept that has built significant momentum in the past few years.

Global internet users are tired of outdated marketing tactics. They are installing ad blockers by the hundreds of millions, actively steering around the ads they encounter everywhere online. You may pay for that ad, but it never actually makes it in front of your audience.

Content marketing avoids that problem. If you can turn your website and online presence into a valuable resource for your audience, they will actively seek you out. Blog posts, whitepapers, webinars, and other content is effective in drawing your audience towards you.



2) Find the Free Alternatives

Not every marketing initiative you engage in actually impacts your budget. In fact, if you know where to look, you can actually promote your startup effectively while relying only on free tactics. Consider as examples:


  • Search engine optimization, achieved through a strategic design of your website. Your goal is to build the structure and content of your website specifically so that it appears near the top of search results for relevant keywords and phrases for your industry.

  • Organic social media marketing. Not to be confused with paid social media ads, the organic alternative means little more than building a business presence on a network relevant for your audience. Publish enough posts relevant to your audience, and your followers (and with it, brand exposure) will follow.

  • Email marketing. At some point in the sales funnel, you should seek to gather the contact information of interested members of your target audience. Now, you can nurture them through emails via one of multiple free tools available to increase their chance of customer conversion.

3) Limit Your Audience

Depending on your industry, relying exclusively on free and content-based marketing strategies may not be enough. In that case, you can still make sure that your advertising dollars are well spend. All you have to do is make sure the people who see your ads are actually relevant to your brand.


Especially digital marketing has evolved significantly in its targeting capabilities. For instance, Facebook allows you to limit the users exposed to your ads by geography, age, gender, education level, interests, recent purchasing behavior, and much more.


Your message will be more likely to resonate with a relevant audience. By limiting that audience, you ensure that the marketing net you cast is at once smaller, and less likely to allow anyone to fall through.



4) Engage in Thorough Testing

Finally, no marketing strategy can be reliably successful and cost-effective without continuous testing and adjustments. If you never compare your ads to anything else, you may simply never know whether you’re only burning through your budget or actually attracting customers.

A simple way to accomplish that feat is through A/B testing. Each ad you run should exist in at least two variations (A and B). The variations should be identical, with a single element changed (such as the image, the call to action, the headline, or the text itself). Depending on which outperforms the other, you can gain insights into what types of ads your audience actually wants to see.

Testing, of course, is meaningless without actual lessons learned. After a given period, evaluate your ads, and place your budget in the variation that outperformed the other. Now, you can feel more comfortable in how your ad dollars are spent – or engage in another A/B test to further hone the message.

Startup marketing on a limited budget is far from impossible. However, you do have to be strategic in order to make it work. The above tips can help you stop burning through your marketing dollars, while still maximizing your ability to attract new customers. To learn more about startup marketing, and growing your small business in general, contact us .

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Inbound Marketing – Perfect For People Who Hate Selling

Many business owners and marketing professionals have a secret that they usually keep to themselves: they actually hate selling. The fact is, not that many people are naturally good at sales. For the rest of us, it’s a necessary evil, something we only do when we think it’s essential for our livelihood. The good news […]

  • Many business owners and marketing professionals have a secret that they usually keep to themselves: they actually hate selling. The fact is, not that many people are naturally good at sales. For the rest of us, it’s a necessary evil, something we only do when we think it’s essential for our livelihood.


    The good news is that the traditional approach to sales is rapidly becoming obsolete. The current generation tends to dislike the sales approach. So what’s the alternative? Inbound marketing, when done the right way, is not about selling, at least not in the way most of us think about it. It’s more about providing useful information and guiding customers to find products that actually benefit them.

The Problems With Selling and Outbound Marketing

Selling has long been an essential business skill. It’s also the approach that’s closely associated with traditional outbound marketing strategies such as direct mail (better known as junk mail) TV, radio and print advertising. Certain online marketing tactics are also outbound. Banner ads, telemarketing, and unsolicited emails (aka spam) fall into this category. All of these marketing tactics involve an aggressive, heavy-handed approach. Younger people, in particular, dislike this type of advertising. One study found that 84 percent of millennials distrust traditional advertising. This is a wakeup call to everyone in the business world.

Some of the characteristics of traditional selling and outbound marketing include:


  • Broad, untargeted approach. The typical TV commercial, spam email or print ad is designed to reach a broad audience. There’s little or no customization, targeting, or segmenting.

  • One-way communication. Selling is mostly about the salesperson or ad telling the customer why he or she needs the product. Sophisticated sales people are trained to respond to common questions and objections but the focus is on persuasion rather than genuine two-way communication.

  • Costly and resource-intensive. Because of the broad approach, outbound marketing tactics require a large budget and lots of time. If you’re going to send out unsolicited direct mail or emails, you’ll have to send out a very large number of them. Traditional print and TV ads are very expensive.

  • Low response rate. Outbound marketing has always suffered from low response rates. This is only getting worse as younger audiences have less and less patience for this type of marketing. This makes the process even more costly and time-consuming.

Inbound Marketing: an Alternative to Traditional Selling

For business owners and marketing professionals who don’t like selling, inbound marketing is a viable alternative. Happily, this is also the approach that your customers increasingly prefer. Inbound marketing reverses the typical qualities of selling.


  • Highly targeted. With inbound marketing, you tailor your message to a laser-targeted audience. Ideally, you segment your audience into as many groups as possible by criteria such as gender, age, geography, interests, and buying history. The point is that you’re not trying to reach everyone; only people who can truly benefit from your product or service.

  • An educational approach. Rather than simply listing the features and benefits of your product, you strive to educate your audience. That’s why content marketing, whether with articles, blog posts, videos, or other content, is such a strong component of inbound. The best content isn’t directly selling but rather informing.

  • Interactive. Whereas traditional selling is mostly about telling people why your product is so great, the inbound approach invites communication. You interact with customers via email, social media, webinars, your blog, and other platforms.

  • Economical. An added benefit of inbound marketing tactics is that they’re cheaper to implement than outbound methods. Since you’re targeting your message more precisely, you don’t have to broadcast it as widely. This approach also tends to give you a better ROI, further reducing your marketing costs.

With inbound marketing, you can put aside many of the qualities normally associated with selling. You can forget about cold-calling, spamming, and writing cheesy copy full of hype. With this more educational, targeted, and toned-down approach, you connect with your customers in a more straightforward manner. This is better for both you and your customers.

To find out how we can convert your business ideas into money-making machines, contact us.

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The 5 Sins of Marketing You Should Avoid at All Costs

How do you get your new business from 0 to 100? The key to success is startup marketing. At the same time, too many businesses think that simply throwing money at the problem helps to raise brand exposure, and inevitably gets the right clients in the door. That’s far from the case. Marketing is an […]

  • How do you get your new business from 0 to 100? The key to success is startup marketing. At the same time, too many businesses think that simply throwing money at the problem helps to raise brand exposure, and inevitably gets the right clients in the door.

  • That’s far from the case. Marketing is an art, and one that needs to be planned as well as any other aspect of your business. Are you looking to avoid the mistakes that some of your startup competitors are making as we speak? If so, stay clear of these 5 mortal sins of marketing.

1) Marketing Without a Strategy

We’ve all been guilty of it: in the momentum of promoting a new business, it’s easy to jump right into developing ads and placing them on relevant channels. But in reality, marketing needs to be strategic in order to proceed.

Start with your business goals: what are you trying to achieve? Then, build measurable marketing metrics that your individual ads and content can accomplish, from website visits to lead conversions.

Consider your audience, and choose your channels strategically. Only then should you actually develop the content that will drive your marketing implementation.


2) Trying to Blanket the Market

The idea is tempting: for a new business, more coverage equals more awareness. But in reality, you probably don’t have the budget to take an approach similar to some of the largest brands in your industry.

Instead, startup marketing needs to be targeted in order to succeed. Analyze your audience, and place targeted ads in the channels they are most likely to frequent.

The same concept also applies to your content marketing efforts. Rather than looking to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, develop niche content designed to get to the audience segment most likely to become your customers.


3) Pushing Too Much Promotional Content

Too many marketing novices, old school thinking still prevails: marketing needs to be promotional. But increasingly, that is no longer the case.

In reality, your audience is likely tired of banner and pop up ads. More than 60 percent of mobile devices in India now use ad blockers, a clear indication of their thought toward more traditional, promotional marketing efforts.

Instead, try a value adding approach. Develop ads and content that, once seen buy your audience, actually answer a question and solve a pain point. A value focused marketing approach will be much more likely to succeed in today’s digital environment.


4) Failure to Connect the Dots

Random acts of content creation are a surefire killer of any type of marketing momentum. An ad, blog post, or social media video that doesn’t fit into the rest of your brand presence will alienate, rather than attract your audience to your brand.

Instead, your entire marketing strategy needs to be consistent and build on each other. When an ad links to your website, the visual and textual message should remain the same for one, simple, successful message.

In other words, every one of your marketing efforts needs to play its part in connecting the goals to a larger, strategic framework.


5) No Adjustments Over Time

Finally, try to avoid falling into the set it and forget it mindset at all costs. To be successful, your marketing tactics need to be evaluated and adjusted regularly.

Audience preferences change on a dime. An ad that was successful last week may have overplayed its welcome, requiring a creative refresh.

To accomplish consistent marketing success, plan to regularly evaluate every message you put out on a regular basis, and according to the metrics established in the first step above. Then, make adjustments as needed to make sure your outreach remains as effective during the seventh month as it was during day one.

Succeeding in the art of marketing your business requires careful planning, strategic execution, and continuous evaluation. Avoid the 5 mortal marketing sins mentioned above, and you will be well on your way to growing your business and becoming a force to be reckoned with.



Over to you: have you been guilty of any of the above sins? How do you plan on stepping into the same pitfalls as countless other new businesses before you? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or contact us for more strategic advice on building a sustainable marketing strategy.

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4 Reasons why your Marketing efforts are not paying off or converting?

Marketing looks simple from the outside, but it’s never as simple as it seems. After all, what do you need besides a great product or service, a catchy slogan, and a good deal? Well, sometimes that’s all you need… other times you need a bunch of other factors on your side. So if you, like […]

Marketing looks simple from the outside, but it’s never as simple as it seems. After all, what do you need besides a great product or service, a catchy slogan, and a good deal? Well, sometimes that’s all you need… other times you need a bunch of other factors on your side. So if you, like me, were wondering why your marketing efforts weren’t getting you slew of sales and new customers, these might be some of the reasons.

  • 1. You Don’t Know Who You’re Aiming At : If you run a business, you want to keep it as open to the public as possible. Anyone, young or old, men and women, from all walks of life, are potential clients. But when you’re marketing yourself and your business, you need to know who you’re aiming at. Because if you’re crafting a message, you have to ask who’s going to hear it. Are you aiming at older homeowners who need help around the house? Does your product appeal to teens who want to be in on the latest trend? Or are you talking to young, single professionals?

    What you say is important. Who you’re saying it to can make the difference when it comes to customer conversion.


  • 2. No One Is Listening : If a tree falls in a forest, and no one’s around to see it or hear it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t still lying on the forest floor. What it does mean is that, for all intents and purposes, the tree may as well not exist.

    The same is true of your marketing, if no one is actually seeing it.

    You can create the most perfect video ad, but if it’s going to have an effect, people have to watch it. Flyers need to be seen, blogs need to be read, etc., etc. That’s why it isn’t enough to come up with a great marketing idea; you need to make sure you get it in front of potential clients’ eyes. That means promotion, and the search to figure out which venues net you the best results.


  • 3. You Have Competition : Every business has to deal with competition. Whether it’s that chain restaurant on the other side of town, the big box bargain store, or the corporate heavyweight, there’s always someone trying to do the same thing you’re doing. Your job, in this instance, is to do something your competition doesn’t do.

    That extends to your advertising, as well.

    Whether it’s offering a deal for new customers, pushing the fact that you’re a local business instead of a chain store, or making your service seem more personable and professional, your marketing has to make you seem different. And you need to deliver on the promises you make.


  • 4. You Need A Better Call to Action : A call to action is when you tell your audience what you want them to do. Whether it’s following your Facebook page, calling to make an appointment, or coming into the store to shop, you need to be clear with what you want your audience to do. Pick a single call to action, or two at the most, and put your emphasis on that. Because once you have your audience’s attention, you need to direct it to a specific end. Otherwise they’ll wriggle away, and continue on with whatever they were doing.
These are just a few of the reasons your marketing might not be getting you the results you expected. If you’re looking for more advice on how you can correct your course, and start getting the attention and conversions you’re looking for, simply contact us today!

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