Starting a small business can feel like navigating through a maze blindfolded, especially when you're unsure where your next client is coming from and lack the budget for advertising. It's a familiar scenario for many entrepreneurs, us included. I remember the mix of excitement and uncertainty as we embarked on our journey coupled with the fear of not finding clients or having enough to pay our bills. 

But here's the thing: Growing your business without pouring money into advertising is not only possible but also an opportunity to build genuine connections and find sustainable growth. Here are 4 simple and effective strategies for growing your business without advertising

1. Networking Is Your Friend

Networking isn't just about collecting business cards; it's about building relationships. Relationships start by having the courage to start conversations. While there may be that person who comes up to you to start a conversation, it will do a lot for your confidence in networking to get past the fear of meeting people and starting conversations. One of the best things about YOU starting the conversation is you get to choose the topic. It could be something like movies, work, music, “how did you hear about this event,” etc. Just get the conversation started.

Once you’ve got the conversation started, it may quickly switch to “What do you do for work?” Have a 30 second to 1 minute overview of what your business does and how it helps clients. This doesn’t need to be a long-winded story. It should be enough to peak their interest, but not so long they lose interest in the conversation. Do your best to keep this story to about a minute. 

Finally, as you’re going around starting conversations and telling your story, don’t forget to get those business cards. You may have heard the saying that “the money is in the follow up.” How true this is. While you may have had a memorable conversation with someone at an event, if you don’t follow up…. There’s no chance that great conversation leads to anything more. You have to follow up. Take those business cards and the contact information and enter them into a CRM or database for follow up. Then, keep the conversation going and really build that relationship.

2. Email Marketing Works

Conveniently, the first step of networking and getting the contacts into a database or CRM leads right into step 2, which is email marketing. Email marketing, despite the rise of social media platforms, still remains one of the top three revenue generating practices for businesses. The reason: EVERYONE has an email address.

Email marketing doesn’t have to be complicated or annoy your database enough to make them unsubscribe. Figure out the balance of communication for your business. Maybe it’s a once a month newsletter and a mid-month promo. Maybe it’s a welcome series when someone is added to your database. Whatever the cadence, it’s important to be consistent in your communication with your audience.

When building email communication to your audience, it’s important to connect with them and build trust for your brand. Email communications should be high quality content and not something you throw together. Remember, this communication represents your company, so do your best to make it the best quality you can and choose a system that helps you design things, especially if this is new for you. If it’s in the budget, be willing to hire someone to design these around the content you create. This way, it’s still your messaging, voice, and brand identity. 

As far as the content of the communications, focus on what your database cares about. What is it like to work with you? What are some of your client successes? Do you REALLY understand the work you’re doing and how it affects clients? These communications to your database shoul build trust with your contacts and help them see the value you bring to the table. 

One of the biggest mistakes we see in email communications is not having a clear call to action in your email communications. It’s great to tell the stories of what it’s like to work with you or share the results of work you’ve done for clients, but if you’re not giving the reader directions about what to do with that information, you’re missing out on a very important step. The whole goal of communicating with your contact list is to create trust and expand your client list. Imagine, someone in your database reads a newsletter from you talking about exceptional results working with a client in the same field as the success story. If there’s not a clear call to action saying “results like this can be yours, just click the button below to get started,” they are less likely to take action and connect with you. Without the call to action, it’s very possible the reader simply acknowledges the results and will not necessarily connect that the same thing is possible for them. 

3. Stay Active On Social Media

Social media platforms offer a treasure trove of opportunities to connect with potential clients and showcase your brand's personality, products, and services. It’s also a great way to share insights about what it's like to work with you, giving followers a glimpse behind the scenes. Also, much like email, it’s a way to share client wins, company milestones, and reinforce your expertise in solving their problems. Consistency is key, so make sure to maintain an active presence and engage with your audience regularly. If keeping good quality content on social media is the goal and you can only do that posting 2 days a week, then only post 2 days a week. A content calendar is a great way to get ahead on social media posts, and we use one with all of our clients. If you need help getting your social media organized, send us an email at hello@goldbear.media and we’ll get connected with you to help you get started.

4. Find Referral Partners

Building a network of referral partners can significantly boost your business's growth without the need for expensive advertising. Look for businesses or individuals whose products or services complement yours, and explore opportunities for collaboration. Whether it's cross-promotions, joint ventures, or affiliate partnerships, finding the right referral partners can open doors to new clients and opportunities. This starts with a mindset of collaboration and teamwork. 

The biggest piece of building a referral partner network is staying connected with them. Use social media and email marketing to keep showcasing your work, and then make sure to meet with them regularly to see how you can continue to benefit each other and talk about how you’re both helping your clients. I recommend at least once per quarter and more often if it makes sense. The goal of these calls is to learn from others and find ways to partner to support each other. Running your own business can often feel like being on an island, and these connections can help make the journey a little easier.

To wrap this up, these 4 steps can work for ANY business. Networking is important for any business, along with email marketing, social media, and referral partnerships. While each of these items can stand alone, they multiply your network building when used together. 

At GoldBear Media, we employ these same strategies to help our clients get the most out of their marketing, often returning 20-30 hours a month back to business leaders so they can focus on growing their business. If you’d like to see how GoldBear Media can help you business, send us an email at hello@goldbear.media and we’ll contact you within 24 hours to start a conversation.