How to create your content marketing strategy on a zero dollar budget

How to create your content marketing strategy on a zero dollar budget

Everyone keeps talking about the unlimited power of content and content marketing.

Well, knowledge is power, but it's not going to get your company anywhere unless you know how to utilize it. Realizing the true power of content requires a time-tested content development strategy and marketing strategy. Just like any other product, content on your website and your blog need proper thought and execution. Things become a lot harder when you are working on a tight budget.

No money? You can still have your content strategy!

Have you ever heard of content that works on a $0 budget? This may be a first time, but it is a reality. Trying to spread your content strategy across all your marketing avenues is difficult as in, but getting that to work on an extremely limited budget it more than a challenge. It is next to impossible! Or that's what most marketing experts will have you believe.
Even the small businesses and start-ups can have a shot at content marketing just like the big brands but without the budget. Of course, if you want a hot-shot marketing firm to handle your content development and marketing, you can always go for a small business loan. There are several credit unions and online lending companies that have opened up some funding options for almost all sorts of SMEs and start-ups. These lending parties offer a milieu of options including personal loans, small business loans and consolidation loans to get business finances in order. You can utilize their funds for marketing and promotions, as well as pay off your credit card bills with the money.

Getting the right motivation

Most small businesses like to take charge of their promotions and marketing. Thanks to digital platforms and marketing options, now that is a completely viable possibility. Start with curating content ideas.

  • Start with keyword research To begin with, no-expense research, start with free keyword suggestion tools. While paid tools like Ahref helps content creators across the world, tools like WordStream, Google Keyword Research Tool, Keywordtool.io and IMforSMB Bulk Keyword Generator work amazingly for teams working on a tight budget.
  • Move on to podcast research Listen to the top podcasts in your niche. Just browse the titles to find fresh content each day. Since they come with a detailed description, it is much easier to find exactly what you are looking for.
  • Check out Facebook There are Facebook groups for niche businesses that keep posting about the user's likes and dislikes. Getting ideas about fresh content is easy. Find out what people want to know about. Answering people's questions is one proven way of getting more traffic to your site organically.

Create your content

Next comes the real challenge! Creating your content (maybe for the first time) all by yourself. The best way to do this is to work with your creative team. Don’t hand over all the responsibility to one person. Divide and conquer the realm of content development for the best results.
Do not post every day, if you don't have the resources. Post about once every two days. This takes off the pressure, and research shows that posting about 16 pieces of fresh content per month is the best way to keep yourself visible. Websites that post 16+ blogs per month receive about 3.5 times more organic traffic than sites that don't.

Collect your content

It's like the concept of photo albums. It was always so much easier for moms to embarrass you in front of your friends and family when the concept of old family albums existed! The cohesive collection of all the items made the process resourceful and rewarding.
People like to see all the content in one place so that they can flip back and forth. They need to see roundup posts. Start by collecting content from your industry – maybe start with the top influencers in your line of business or the richest people in the line of business. It's much easier since you are just putting together concepts that already exist. Additionally, you will get so many rewarding backlinks, thanks to the mention of key influencers!

Prepare for promotion!

Next comes the real test of your smarts. People with money usually pay programs like BuzzStream to keep a record of the people whom they have notified about their content. Sadly, when working on a tight budget, these tools are our distant dream.

  • Use social media
  • Keep an eye on people's favorites Try out tools like BuzzSumo for finding the top-rated content in your niche. The free version will give you a look at the top 10 shared blog posts. It will show you who wrote it, how many shared it and which platform supported it the most.
  • Ask people for shares Reach out to people via customized email marketing. Ask them directly to find out if they would be interested in sharing your content on their platform or through their social media profiles. Go ahead and take your shot at Medium for promoting your content. Once you have done that, you will need a tool like Buffer to keep track of all the people who have shared your content and which piece performed the best.

Content marketing is the only way to get organic traffic to your website and your blog. A limitation of the budget should never be the reason to stay away from content marketing. Think of it as one way of using all the available media to tell your story! Finding new topics, looking for new keywords and sharing on new platforms is just a piece of cake when you standardize a strategy that truly works for your company!

Posted by Isabella Rosellini

Isabella Rosellini
Isabella Rossellini is a marketing and communication expert. She also serves as content developer with more than seven years of experience. She has previously covered an extensive range of topics in her posts, including business debt consolidation and start-ups.

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