Get Brutally Clear on Who You’re Talking To

You can’t afford to be vague. On a tight budget, every click matters, and you don’t have room to target ‘millennials who like healthy snacks’ or ‘working professionals who like nice shoes’. You need to know their age, what apps they check before getting out of bed, what frustrates them, and their favorite way to spend a Saturday. Dive into the ‘unsexy’ work: Reddit threads, Amazon reviews, Facebook groups. Your goal isn’t just to find your audience—it’s to understand how they think so you can speak directly to them without wasting a cent.

Own Your Real Estate on Google

Before you worry about ads or analytics, make sure you’ve claimed the digital sidewalk outside your door. Setting up a free Google Business Profile puts your company on the map—literally—and ensures that when someone searches your name, they don’t get a blank page or worse, your competitor. It only takes a few minutes, but the impact is lasting: reviews, directions, and quick contact all in one neat little box. Just don’t forget to fill in the essentials—your phone number, address, website, and business hours—so no one’s left guessing how or when to reach you.

Turn Content Into Your Loudest Employee

Maybe you can’t hire a whole sales team, but you can make content work harder for you. That means blog posts that actually help, videos that solve real problems, and emails that feel like a friend checking in, not a robot screaming “BUY NOW!” Consistency beats polish, especially early on. You don’t need a ring light and a production crew; you need honesty, authenticity, value, and a little humor. One well-crafted post, video, or newsletter that gets shared in the right group chat can do more for you than a week of paid traffic.

Leverage Platforms That Favor Effort Over Spend

Algorithms can be cruel, but some still reward hustle. LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok—these platforms offer rare windows where creative effort can outperform cash. If your content resonates, you can see incredible organic reach without spending a dime. That means testing formats, jumping on trends (when they make sense), and engaging with other creators like an actual person, not a walking billboard. You’re building presence, not perfection—and that’s a much cheaper game.

Collaborate Like Your Life Depends on It

You may not have a massive budget, but you do have value—and you can trade that. Partner with someone in a complementary niche. Maybe you write a killer newsletter and they have a decent Instagram following. Maybe you host a webinar and they co-promote it. Reach out, be human, be helpful. The right collaboration can double your exposure without costing a cent, and if it’s done right, everyone walks away feeling like they got the better end of the deal.

Measure What Matters, Ignore What Doesn’t

It’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics—likes, impressions, reach. But when you’ve got limited cash, you can’t afford to chase shadows. Define what success looks like to you. Maybe it’s email signups. Maybe it’s sales. Maybe it’s getting someone to book a call. Set that target early, build your efforts around it, and track only what directly ties into it. Everything else is just noise.

Use Paid Ads, But Only When You’ve Earned It

Don’t burn budget trying to ‘test’ ads before you even know what message works. That’s like lighting money on fire just to see how the flames look. Instead, use organic content to find out what resonates. Which posts got people to reply? Which headline made your friend pause mid-scroll and actually read? Once you’ve found what’s working, then put $50 behind it. Paid media should be fuel, not guesswork.

Adopt the Mindset of a Local Hustler, Not a Global Brand

Big brands market to the masses. You’re just trying to connect with a few people who care about what you have to say. That means thinking like a local musician selling tickets to a basement show, not like a stadium tour. Get in people’s inboxes. Reply to every comment. Show up in unexpected places—local podcasts, niche subreddits, Slack communities. You’re not building a funnel. You’re starting conversations. On a budget, that approach stretches further than you’d believe.

If you’re building something meaningful with less money than most folks spend on lunch meetings, congratulations—you’re in the good fight. You’ll figure out what actually works, you’ll build real relationships, and you’ll get a front-row seat to your own growth. Sure, the path’s harder. But it’s also clearer. Because when you don’t have money to hide behind, you can only rely on what’s real: your voice, your value, and the people you’re building for. And those, thankfully, cost nothing.

Content provided by Julie Morris