Small business marketing ideas

Struggling to market your small business? Here are the ideas that actually work – from building a consistent brand to showing up in the right places.

Marketing ideas for small business

When a potential client comes to me from a referral or via my website, I instantly check them out online. I check their website, which might lead me to their social media channels, their PR - you get the gist. I want to see how they present themselves to the world.

Marketing is a big topic and if you are starting out or even if you have been in business for a while, there are various ways you can tell the world about who you are and how your services or products can help them. So what marketing should a small business actually focus on? Here are my thoughts.

A note on the term "small business"

I don't love using the term small business, because any business you own big or small, freelancer or limited company - is yours. And that comes with a lot of work. You are wearing many hats, especially if you are a company of one. That is not a bad thing. It has taken me a long time to come to that conclusion myself. Saying small sounds like you are not important - we are and remember that!

Your website

Having your own website is the first thing I would say you should think about when you start to market yourself. It is your corner of the internet that you own and control, more on borrowed land in a moment.

Your branding is just as important but that can come a little later once you are more established, especially if you are still exploring what your business is. I have a few posts on brand identity that can help you when you are ready, you can find them [here].

One thing worth knowing: the more places you are quoted or featured online with links back to your site, the better. These are called backlinks and they can give your SEO a real boost.

Social media marketing

Social media is one part of your content strategy but here is the thing, you are using borrowed land. These are platforms you subscribe to. If Instagram disappears tomorrow, your audience goes with it. So use it well but do not rely on it alone.

And please, do not ask ChatGPT or any other AI tool to create all of your content. Yes, it is great for ideas and I will admit I use it to generate a starting point sometimes. But your content really does have to sound like you. Your audience follows you, not a robot version of you.

You can also create long-form content on LinkedIn as a featured article, which is a great way to build your profile and reach people in a more considered way.

A woman holding a large blue speech bubble, sitting at a desk next to a man working on computer. Image credit: nappy

Email marketing

Have a mailing list. I will say it again: have a mailing list.

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools for any business, some say even more so than social media. Even if you start with one sign-up, take that and keep promoting it. When someone gets your newsletter you are going straight to the top of their mind.

If you are on LinkedIn and you write articles, you can also repurpose those as a LinkedIn newsletter. More reach, same content. That is smart marketing on a budget right there.

There are many email marketing platforms out there, Mailchimp, Mailerlite, Flodesk and I use Kit (formerly Convertkit). Most are free to test out - see which one works for you.

Podcasting

You can either start your own or pitch as guest to be on someone else’s.

research the posdcat and of course listen to a few episodes before yuo go in cold to pitch. The podcast host will not appreciate you pitching if you have not even listed to it. I know I don’t like that approach and to be honest - I won’t ask you on.

As I wrote this post I was listening to a brilliant podcast about repurposing your content - which felt very apt. It was the Architecture Business Club hosted by Jon Clayton. Episode 121 with Annette Mashi is well worth a listen.

Speaking of podcasts, I have my own Creatives Like Us, which has become one of the most rewarding things I have created. If you have ever thought about starting one, do not dismiss it as a marketing idea. It builds community, creates content and positions you as someone worth listening to.

Repurposing your content

One of the biggest challenges I face and I hear this from so many other business owners is time. As a freelance graphic designer running my own business, I know how easy it is to get completely absorbed in client work and forget about my own marketing. But my pipeline does not look after itself. Referrals are wonderful and I have had many over the years, but what if you want to attract a new set of clients? What if those referrals slow down?

The answer is not to create more content. It is to make what you already have work harder. Write one blog post. Turn it into a newsletter. Pull out three LinkedIn posts from it. Record a short video based on it. That one piece of content has now shown up in four different places, and you have only done the thinking once.

Networking

People need people. Do not be afraid to share, to connect and to be generous with your knowledge. Your network is your net worth, I know that phrase gets used a lot but there is real truth in it. Show up, be yourself and do not underestimate the power of being in the room, whether that is a physical room or an online community.

Content Marketing books worth reading

If you want to go deeper on content marketing strategy, here are a few books I and Jon recommend:

Content 10x: More Content, Less Time, Maximum Results by Amy Woods all about making your content go further

They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

Content Fortress by Martin huntbach and Lyndsay Cambridge

Get some design help for your business

But here is a marketing tip I can give you: if time is your barrier, get help. Whether that is hiring a Design VA on a short-term or long-term basis or finding tools that do the heavy lifting, protecting your time to actually do your marketing is one of the best investments you can make in your business.

Who am I to be writing this?

I am Angela Lyons, a freelance graphic designer based in London with over 20 years of experience working with corporate marketing teams, publishers and growing businesses. I created Lyons Creative since 2012 and everything I have written here comes from real experiences.

If you want to talk about how good design can support your marketing strategy, get in touch here.

*This article may contain an affilate link. I only promote things I use and love for my business.