When it comes to marketing your business online, content creation is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle. But how do you create awesome content to market without spending a ridiculous amount of money?
In today’s digital world, there are actually several ways you can create great content and promote it without having a huge budget – so let’s get to it!
The All Powerful Blog Post
It’s no secret that blog posts are one of the best ways to publish content that you can market to your followers and potential customers. The best way to utilize this amazing marketing platform while on a budget is to focus more on the subject matter of the blog posts themselves instead of focusing on how many posts you want to post per day/week.
Trust me, nobody likes reading a one-paragraph blog post that was posted just for the sake of volume and getting some content on the site. This kind of posting is completely pointless and in no way helps you to build credibility with your reader base. You are much better off publishing less frequently if you can produce content that is truly useful to your readers.
[pullquote]To save money, start by using your own thoughts and experiences to create content that speaks to your key audience. If you are a decent enough writer, write the content yourself (nothing beats free!).[/pullquote]
If you aren’t comfortable writing something yourself, leverage the skills of one your team members or even outsource your content writing to a reputable content creation service.
The point is that you can use many of your own thoughts, experiences, and resources to write blog posts that don’t just shamelessly promote your company, but instead give users information that can better their lives and that can answer their questions without having to spend a ton of money.
Blog Commenting
Leaving insightful comments on blogs related to your website or key audience is a great way to build off-site content that promotes your on-site content. I like how fellow SEJ author Neil Patel put it when he said:
“If people feel that your comments are detailed and insightful, not only will they keep reading your comments, they’ll also head over to your website.”
In this same post, Neil also shares the success story of Mashable by describing how the founder, Pete Cashmore, made the blog popular by commenting on competing blogs such as TechCrunch. Pete left hundreds of comments on competing blogs and now he has one of the most visited websites on the internet – so blog commenting the right way can definitely work!
Instructional Videos
How-to and tutorial videos are high value content. Plus, YouTube makes it easier than ever to post timely and informational content without spending a dime.
It is more than possible to create awesome video content yourself with equipment you most likely already have lying around. Don’t believe me? Here is a great tutorial on how to use your iPhone to create professional looking videos on Wistia.
Consistently producing great video content is a fantastic way to build up your company’s YouTube profile which in turn can increase website traffic.
DIY Infographic
Infographics are one of the easiest ways to interpret and digest information with their visually stunning artwork and short and concise text pieces.
Hiring a design firm to create a new infographic can quickly max out your marketing budget; however, if you consider yourself a little tech savvy and don’t shy away from a challenge, there are some ways to make a great looking infographic for little to no money at all.
The first is to use free PowerPoint templates from WordStream that you can easily edit and customize to meet your needs.
The next way is to use a myriad of free vector kits, which give you all of the elements you need to create an infographic in a vector based program such as Adobe Illustrator. With a little elbow grease, you can create something that is both stunning and polished relatively quickly.
Case Studies
If you are currently in business, then you already have customers who believe in the value proposition your company offers. Why not ask them how your product or service has helped them, how they utilize it, and the positive results they have achieved?
Use this information to create a case study based on the positive experiences of your clients is one of the best ways to build credibility in order to secure new customers.
The best part is that you typically don’t have to pay your customers to create one, and often times they will help with the promotion of the case study as it can be used as a promotional piece for them as well.
Presentation Sharing
Almost every business has made a PowerPoint presentation at some point to explain a process, a new product, or a new policy. These old presentations can often be turned into a gold mine through the marketing platform SlideShare.
SlideShare is another great place to build followers based around informational type content that is both visually stunning and easy to digest.
There are a few tips and tricks to getting your slide decks viewed and shared by SlideShare followers, so make sure to apply these simple optimization techniques.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that you can create great content without going broke.
“Marketing doesn’t have to cost money. It just requires creativity.” – Neil Patel
While I have compiled a list of some of my favorite ways to create great content without spending a lot of money, I know there are many others and would love to hear your thoughts.
What are some of your favorite ways to build awesome content on a small marketing budget? Let me know in the comments below.
Image Credits
Featured Image: pedrosek/Shutterstock.com
Image #1: Yeko Photo Studio/Shutterstock.com
Image #2: BrAt82/Shutterstock.com
Image #3: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock.com
Image #4: Tarapong Siri/Shutterstock.com
Image #5: racorn/Shutterstock.com
Screenshot via Greg Secrist. Taken July 2015.
