You haven't got £2,000 a month for marketing. You've got £200. Maybe £300 on a good month. You've read every "marketing on a budget" post and they all recommend something that costs £500.
Here's the actual plan, written by people who've worked with businesses at every budget from zero to quite a lot.
Rule 1: The sins of spreading too thin
The biggest marketing mistake small businesses make isn't lack of budget. It's trying to do everything with the budget they have. A bit of social. A bit of email. A bit of ads. A bit of SEO. All half-done, all failing, all blamed on "marketing not working."
£200 spent on one channel beats £200 scattered across five. Focus isn't a luxury. It's survival.
The five tactics that genuinely work on a shoestring
1. Google Business Profile (£0)
Free. Drives local search. Single biggest lever for local businesses. If your profile is incomplete, that's your first week — not your paid ads.
Cost: £0. Time: 2 hours setup, 1 hour/week ongoing. ROI: absurd.
2. Email marketing (£0–£20)
Brevo is free up to 300 emails/day. Write the emails yourself. One weekly send. That's the entire plan.
Cost: £0 until you outgrow the free tier. ROI: 4,200% industry average.
3. Content + SEO (£0 if you write, £100–£200 if you don't)
Two blog posts a month, targeting local keywords. "Best [your service] in Newcastle." "How much does [your service] cost in Gosforth?" "Signs you need [your service]."
Boring to start, compounds over 6 months, then quietly earns you customers for years.
4. Referrals (£0)
Every customer gets asked for a referral. Incentivise it — give them £50 off or a free extra or a bottle of wine. Track who refers. Thank them personally.
Your best customers are salespeople you're not paying. Fix that.
5. LinkedIn for B2B (£0)
Post twice a week. Share insights. Engage with other people's content. Message one warm connection a day.
No ad spend. Just time. And patience.
Budget breakdowns, by actual number
The under-£200 plan
- Google Business Profile: £0
- Email (Brevo free): £0
- LinkedIn posting: £0
- Canva Pro: £10/mo
- Tiny paid ad test: £150/mo
The £300–£500 plan
- Everything above: £160
- Outsourced blog writing (2 posts): £200
- Maybe email upgrade: £20
The £500–£1,000 plan
- Content marketing (outsourced): £400
- Paid ads: £300–£400
- Tools and analytics: £50
- Email: £30
What to stop doing immediately
Boosting posts on Facebook. The worst use of money in marketing. The algorithm is designed to burn your budget without converting.
Paying for followers. Empty metric. Nothing converts.
Directory listings that cost money. The free ones drive 95% of the value. Paid ones rarely add much.
SEO tools on the first month. Wait until you have actual rankings to monitor.
Running on fumes?
Our Plus One package is £165/month — genuinely affordable, genuinely useful, no contracts. Start small, grow when you\'re ready.
Check the plansThe one thing to remember
A business with £200/mo and complete focus will outperform a business with £2,000/mo spread across ten channels. Every single time.
Pick two things. Do them for six months. Then talk to us about scaling.
