Ten things you can do for your startup that won't cost you a penny

Ethical digital marketing agency Creative Blend share their top ten tips to give your start up a boost - with zero damage to the business account!

Running a start-up is no financial joke. The costs of setting up a business can be sky high and profits low at the beginning, but it’s not all doom and gloom! We’ve been there, done that and got the second-hand t-shirt. There are plenty of opportunities to make small waves for free. 

1. Keep an eye out for free conferences

First things first, glean as much knowledge as possible by attending free conferences. As a creative city, Brighton and Hove have plenty going on year round so keep an eye on Wired Sussex for free digital events and tickets.

2. Network your heart out

If you’re willing to be brave and get out there, it’s well worth taking part in one of the many networking clubs that run across the city. The Brighton Chamber of Commerce hold breakfast meet ups, as well as ‘spotlight’ dinners - both of which always involve a guest speaker and plenty of opportunities to meet other professionals and swap details.

3. Create your own focus group

Think you know your product or service inside out? You may be surprised at how a focus group could provide food for thought and useful insights. Gather a group of friends and family (perhaps bribed by pizza) and let them loose on your website, or perhaps pitch an idea and gather their honest feedback! It’s easy to go into things with blinkers on so taking a step back can be hugely valuable.

4. Discover your creative side

Once you’ve got your direction sussed, it’s time to put a marketing plan in place. Professional graphic designers can come at a hefty price so why not have a go at knocking up your own marketing material? It’s helpful to use any assets you already have e.g. a logo, brand colours and  fonts and then utilize free online programs such as Canva to create graphics for social media and newsletter banners. They have plenty of templates on offer, allowing you to simply drag and drop your images and logo in place and add text. Easy!

5. Social? It’s all in the set up

A little forward-thinking in terms of social set up goes a long way. Create a spreadsheet with all you logins, passwords and admins (you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t know who is in charge of their Twitter) and try to use the same branding across all channels to encourage brand continuity. If possible, use the same handle across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - this helps your audience identify you and search across different social platforms. A nifty tip is to utilise Hootsuite to manage your accounts in one place. There’s also functionality to track your client’s feeds and chosen hashtags so you can share and not miss anything important!

6. A little SEO goes a long way

Using Wordpress to host your website? The handy plugin, Yoast is a nifty little SEO tool that will help your website climb those Google rankings in no time. Using a traffic light system to guide your progress, you’ll need to think about your focus keywords for each page of the site, as well as writing a strong meta title and description to stand out in the search results. It’s well worth putting the effort into getting those green lights as your Google positions rest upon it!

7. Simplify your finances

You’ve sorted the website, the marketing plan is in place - now it’s time to work out your finances. There’s plenty of free accounting programs on the web, a great one is Wave which is free (unless you set up credit card payments). You’ll be able to create invoices, track payments and record expenses - all at the touch of a button either on your phone or computer.

8. Skill swap with those around you

In need of some help outside of your skillset? Why not tap into the minds of those around you. Skill swapping can be a fantastic way to get things done at a low cost (or free!) and it’s always nice to feel your own personal skills can help others in their work. We’ve seen digital work be exchanged for yoga lessons, logo creation and even wine! Whatever works...

9. Don’t be afraid of email newsletters

Sending out a regular newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with an engaged audience and allows for targeted sales and offers to reach specific people. Once a tricky beast to design, the free program, Mailchimp allows small business owners to create fun and functional email designs with a drag and drop format. You can send up to 500 emails per month for free so there’s no excuse not to get your message out there!

10. Keep your head in the game

Now everything is set up and (hopefully) running smoothly, there’s no time to sit back and rest - it’s important to keep learning! The digital stratosphere changes faster than a ride on the Brighton i360 so we’d suggest signing up to a few of the daily tip emails from trusted industry websites, such as Econsultancy to keep on top of new announcements and Google algorithm changes.

Brighton is a fantastic city to start a new business, and we wish you the best of luck with your startup!

Thanks to Creative Blend for writing this blog

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk