Making your startup known to the world takes a whole new level of ingenuity. Combining efficiency and affordability is a talent startup owners have to master. But what if you’ve already used all your available resources, but startup marketing is still a struggle?
Along with building an email list, using free software online, or taking amazing product photos, you can add the following ideas to your list. Having worked with marketers, agencies, and startups, Penji knows how essential graphic design is for startup marketing. Our unlimited graphic design service can help you create campaigns that make an impact.
Host a Virtual Event
A Bizzabo study found out that 61% of event marketers believe that events are a critical marketing channel for meeting key business objectives. And because of the current world situation, visual events are the next best thing. Of course, not disregarding the fact that it’s perfect for startups as they are cheaper.
Events are a great way to generate leads as it brings you to more customers, partners, or sponsors. You can showcase your products or services and entice people to try them out. It’s also an excellent way to educate people about your startup and show them how you can make their lives better.
Depending on the nature of your business, you can host an event such as a webinar, workshops, online learning, or trade shows. You can also find startups that complement yours and co-host with them. Not only will you be splitting the costs, but you’ll also get more people to attend and possibly convert into customers.
Sign-Up for a Design Membership
Graphic design can do wonders for startups. A FinancesOnline study shows that 60.8% of digital marketers say that visual assets are imperative to successful marketing. But graphic design can be costly for your startup marketing.
The perfect solution to this is to sign up for a design membership such as Penji. As mentioned above, Penji is an on-demand graphic design service that provides unlimited designs and revisions. It’s ideal for startups as we offer our services at flat monthly rates.
With a design membership, you won’t have to scour for reliable designers. You don’t have to pay for each project that you need. Just send your design request and wait for it to be completed. You only have to pay the fixed rate and cancel any time your workload lessens.
Click here to watch our demo video and learn more about how we can help you with your startup marketing strategies.
Give Free Trial Versions of Your Product
One of the best ways to educate people about your product or service is to give free trial versions of them. Letting people get a free or trial version of your service can make them realize how good they are. Once you get them hooked, they’ll gladly upgrade to a paid plan without you having to convince them any further.
Alternatively, offering a money-back guarantee is a good idea if giving out free stuff isn’t your cup of tea. This is an excellent way of showing customers that you keep your promises and that their satisfaction comes first. Giving a discounted price for a limited time also works and can convert skeptics into loyal fans.
Although this is the case, you also have to bear in mind that not everyone will sign up for a paid option. The trick to working around this is to avoid giving out everything. You can keep certain features or privileges to the special few who chose to upgrade. These strategies have worked for established businesses, and they’re sure to work for yours.
Build a Community Through Paid Ads
Most startup owners’ focus is geared towards their product and their companies’ growth. But did you know that building a community can significantly help widen your reach and gain new leads? Giving your customers a sense of belonging by being in a community gives you valuable information that surveys won’t.
A community in a professional platform, LinkedIn, for example, allows you to see and be seen by your exact target audience. You can learn about who they are, their pain points, and get feedback about your startup. And having this community is where you can use paid ads shown to people who matter.
Make sure to provide valuable information that will make people stay in the community. Growth entails exceptional selling skills, but customer engagement is something you should also focus on. That ad will boost your revenues, but engaging with customers can do so much for recall and loyalty along the way.
Social Media Advertising vs. Traditional Advertising
Startup marketing can be overwhelming if you think about the costs you will incur when using traditional advertising. While the two share common goals, they are as different as night and day. Firstly, you won’t have to spend as much money on your startup marketing when you use social media. A paid ad on Facebook surely won’t cost as much as a billboard on a highway.
Secondly, social media advertising has targeting capabilities that traditional ads don’t. That billboard will be seen by everyone who passes by it, whether it’s your audience or not. Social media posts go straight to your target market’s news feeds.
Lastly, social media advertising allows for engagement, which traditional advertising won’t be able to. There are many other advantages that advertising on social media has over traditional. The bottom line is, advertising on social media is more beneficial to startups.
Related Post: Online Advertising: Facebook Ad vs Google Ad
Asking for Reviews of Your Product
A survey conducted by BrightLocal shows that 91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. But there’s more to it than that. The survey also found out that most consumers rely on reviews only if they seem real.
You can try reaching out to your customers and ask them for reviews. This startup marketing idea aims to ask customers to speak on your behalf through reviews, testimonials, or case studies. Showing how you were the solution to your customers’ problems is one of the best ways to encourage potential customers to give you a try.
In addition, you may want to give away freebies in exchange for reviews. You can create a referral program as well that can help you get the reviews you need. And lastly, don’t forget to display all those reviews prominently.
Related Post: The Best Launch Party Ideas For Your Startup
How to Use Penji for Your Startup Marketing
For as low as $399 per month, you can have as many graphic designs for your startup marketing as you want. That’s the beauty of working with Penji. You can send design requests to your heart’s content and pay only a fixed rate per month. Plus, we made the design process as straightforward as it can be. These are the steps:
Create
After signing up for any of Penji’s plans, you’ll get access to our dashboard. This is where you’ll send your requests and chat with our designers. Click on New project to begin.
Give your project a suitable title and select the design category from the drop-down list. If what you need isn’t on the list, click on Create a custom project. Our team of professional designers has a wide variety of specializations that can cover all of your design needs. From social media graphics to print materials, we have experienced designers that can create them for you.
Write a thorough description of your project to let the designers know what you have in mind. The yellow box on the left side of the page will give you tips on how to write a good brief and what to include. You can also attach links, files, or any documents that our designers can use as references.
Additionally, you can choose to use royalty-free images from our collection. Just click on Select images. Click Next.
If you’re on our Team or Agency plans, you can request custom illustrations. Click on the Level of customization to select this option.
On the File deliverables section, choose which file type you want your project to be delivered in. The Associated brand field allows you to create a folder to upload all your brand assets. The next time you need them in your designs, you only have to click on your brand folder, and the designer will include them in your subsequent projects.
Click Create project.
Our system will automatically assign your project to the best designer for the job. After 24 to 48 hours, you’ll receive an initial draft that you can either revise or download.
Review and Revise
When you get your first draft, review it, and check if it needs revisions. If it does, just click on the design and direct your pointer to the area you want us to change. On the dialog box, type in your comments and click Send.
Our designers will work on your revision request within 24 hours. Throughout the design process, you’ll receive email notifications so you won’t miss anything. It also helps to check the dashboard regularly for updates.
Download
Once you’re happy with the design, you can instantly download it from the dashboard. The system will store your designs. You can come back to them anytime you need to. After downloading, you can leave feedback for your designer. This will help us improve our services.
Final Thoughts
The amount of work that goes into starting a business can be staggering. Coming up with effective startup marketing strategies is doubly hard, considering your limited budget. Make your life easier by working with Penji. Leave us in charge of your graphic design demands and focus on strategizing.
Sign up today to get the design process going towards your startup’s success.
