Marketing on a Budget: The Top Free Marketing Tools for Startups

Introduction

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of any business. Whether you're a startup or an established brand, it's crucial to get your name out there and push your product with the right marketing tools for your startup.

But how do you do that without spending a ton of money? All of the tools and platforms that are available to you seem to cost more than what you have in your bank account. But, with a little know-how, you can get started without breaking the bank -- and without having to hire a full-time social media manager or invest in expensive software.

In this post, I'll show you some of my favorite cheap or free marketing tools for startups looking to market their products on a budget.

HubSpot Marketing Hub

HubSpot is a marketing automation platform that helps you to automate your marketing.

You can use it to create landing pages, email campaigns, and more. It’s particularly useful for startups because it makes it easy to build a robust website with minimal technical knowledge and time needed.

HubSpot is also great for tracking analytics and measuring the effectiveness of your content.

Once you have installed HubSpot, you will be able to see which keywords visitors are using when they arrive at your site—so that you can optimize future content accordingly.

Finally, HubSpot has a built-in CRM system that allows you to keep track of contacts who want more information about your company or products/services—meaning that if someone fills out a form on your website, their details will automatically be added to the CRM system so that you know who sent them there in the first place (and can follow up accordingly).

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a content discovery tool that allows you to see which articles are the most popular on social media. This means you can use BuzzSumo to find out what is currently popular in your industry and identify influencers and competitors in your field.

To get started with BuzzSumo:

• Go to the website (https://buzzsumo.com/)
• Click "Sign Up" at the top right of the screen (you will need an email address)
• Create a username, then click "Continue"
• Enter your password twice, then choose whether or not you'd like them to send you weekly updates via email. You can always unsubscribe later if you decide these emails aren't valuable for you. Click "Next."

MailChimp

MailChimp is a popular email marketing service that’s easy to use and affordable. It has a free plan for small businesses, which you can sign up for here.

When you sign up, MailChimp will walk you through setting up your first campaign. The process is fast and simple:

just enter your company name, pick a template or create your own custom design (you can start with one of their templates), then write out the content of your email. You can send your first campaign in minutes!

If you want people on your list but don’t want them filling out forms or buying anything yet—that is okay!

MailChimp lets anyone add their name and email address to an opt-in list using what they call “the double opt-in." This means every time someone signs up for something from this particular team member's website/blog/etc., MailChimp will send them an email asking them if they really did want this information...and then again once more once they have confirmed their interest!

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that gives you insight into your website’s performance. The software can track visitors, understand their behavior, and help optimize your site to increase conversions.

Google Analytics is one of the most widely used analytics tools out there and it’s free! You can set up Google Analytics on almost any website with just a few clicks in WordPress. For example, we use it on our blog here at Shopify to track traffic sources and visitor demographics (like country or device type). If you have a Shopify store then all you need do is install the plugin from App Market and then connect it with Google Analytics.

SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is an analytics tool that gives you information about the number of visitors, traffic sources, and more. It's free to use, and it's a great tool for beginners. You can use SimilarWeb to track your competitors' websites in order to see how they're doing and what they're doing differently from you.

Buffer

Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that allows you to schedule posts across multiple platforms. You can choose which days of the week and times you want your post to go live, so it's easy to be consistent with your posting schedule.

You can also create a library of prewritten content using templates or by importing images from Google Drive into the app. This makes it easy to plan out what types of content you'll be posting each week if you don't have time to write every single one yourself.

The analytics feature gives you data on how well your posts are performing, including likes and shares as well as how many people are engaging with them (i.e., commenting). All this information will help inform future decisions about what kinds of posts work best for your audience, allowing them to become more engaged over time rather than becoming bored with identical content.

Later.com

Later is a free social media scheduling tool that allows you to plan, schedule, and publish posts to multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The service has a Chrome extension as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. You can also schedule posts in bulk by uploading your photos and then adding them to your queue through the Later app.

Canva

Canva is a free online graphic design tool that allows you to create beautiful images for social media, blogs, and presentations. You can also use Canva to create infographics and other marketing materials like business cards, posters, and flyers. It’s an excellent tool for startups because it offers a simple drag-and-drop interface that allows you to quickly create high-quality designs without having to pay for expensive software or hire someone else to do it for you.

Quuu for Social Media Promotion

Quuu is a social media promotion tool that helps you get more followers and likes on social media. It's available as a web-based platform, an iOS app, and an Android app, so you can use it wherever you are. Their free trial lets you connect with 500 people per month on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (or all three).

Hootsuite for Social Media Management

Hootsuite is a social media management tool that helps you schedule posts, measure the results, and monitor your social media channels. It's free if you manage up to three profiles or accounts—a perfect tool for new startups that want to get started with their marketing strategy.

Conclusion

The best marketing tools for startups aren’t the most expensive. While premium services can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars a month, the best marketing tools come in all price ranges.

If you’re looking for a way to market your startup without breaking the bank, these tools will help you do just that. They offer an array of features that can help you generate buzz around your brand, build relationships with potential clients and customers, and even track what people are saying about you online.