The lack of a large marketing budget is no excuse not to be successful. In this day and age of increased technology there are dozens of ways to market yourself and your business without breaking the bank. Huge highway billboards and full page newspaper ads are nice but they may not always be very realistic. By being creative and utilizing the assets you have available you can have just as much marketing success. In fact it is often best to use several inexpensive marketing options rather than put all of your eggs in one basket. Your business success often hinges on how well you can generate leads and promote your services. Here are five marketing options you can use regardless of your budget.
- Bandit Signs. When you are on a limited budget you need to think of marketing options that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Bandit signs fit this description perfectly. With bandit signs you can often find deals that will allow you to buy several hundred signs for a reduced cost. Your signs should give a brief idea of who you are and how you can be reached. Sometimes the less information you have on them the more effective they are. These signs can be placed in strategic locations around your investing area. If you have any current rental properties or rehabs you can start by placing your signs in the front yard. You can also look for busy intersections and areas of high traffic. The only drawback with bandit signs is that some towns are restrictive as to where you can place them. It is a good idea to call first to get an idea of what you can and cannot do. Saturating a busy area with bandit signs can be a great way to jumpstart your marketing.
- Social Media. It is no secret that social media is heavily influencing the way business is done and in a large degree how we live. This is a trend that does not seem to be going away any time soon. There are several different ways to take advantage of social media. The first is to price out how much advertising costs on your favorite site. If you are on a limited budget you probably won’t be able to tackle all of them but one may not be out of the question. The second, and more realistic, way to utilize social media is by growing your following every day. You should join as many real estate groups and clubs as you can find in your area. You should also follow, like and friend as many people in the business as possible. From there you should stay active with your posts on a daily basis. The more people see your posts the higher chance that someone will share something and the more exposure you will have. There are several businesses who have grown their marketing strictly on the strength of social media.
- Content. Another inexpensive way to capitalize on the strength of the internet and social media is by creating valuable content. People want to work with people they feel comfortable with. One of the ways to develop that level of comfort is by having them read or see as much of you as possible. You don’t have to be an expert writer to contribute to blog. In most cases you can contribute to a real estate blog simply by submitting a post of 300-500 words. The more you contribute the more people will begin to recognize your name. Another way of adding content is through videos. Video blogs have slowly grown in popularity in recent years. With a video post people can actually see and hear who they may be working with. By utilizing your posts on all of your social media platforms more people will know who you are in a much shorter amount of time.
- E-Book. One of the ways to improve your marketing is by offering something of benefit. Since you are on a budget you may not have the means to buy hundreds of pens, magnets or notepads. An alternative to that is developing something they can use that also has your name and business attached. An EBook about something pertinent in the real estate business can be just the thing. Your EBook can be about short sales, foreclosed properties, finding hard money or anything else that you think your market can find useful. You can promote your EBook through an email campaign and send to anyone who wants it. Your book should hopefully lead to a meeting which you can use to further promote yourself and your business. All you want with any marketing is an “in”. What you do with that is entirely up to you.
- Local Ads. There is plenty of inexpensive marketing that can be done on the local level. Items like church bulletins, restaurant placemats and even team sponsorships can provide a good return on your investment. You may only see a handful of direct calls from these items but they often lay the foundation for the next time they hear your business. Most real estate investing is done at the local level. You never know what real estate agent or hard money lender will stumble across your marketing. The more oars you have in the water the better chance you have of hitting something.
Inexpensive marketing can often produce the best results. Never let the lack of a budget prevent you from marketing your business.
