Marketing your Design Business on a Budget
We’re going to talk about how to market your design business on a budget, but remember that you don't have to follow anyone else's formula to be successful.
Marketing is an extremely important part of your design business (or any business for that matter); it’s the matter of letting people know what you do or sell. Maybe you make beautiful brands, or fantastic websites, but no one will know about it if you don’t get your name out there in the world! 😲
While some companies have massive marketing budgets, you don't have to spend a fortune on marketing your services if that's not in your budget. We get it, it’s not always feasible to spend thousands of dollars on one Instagram ad!
We’re going to talk about how to market your design business on a budget, but remember that you don't have to follow anyone else's formula to be successful. These are some tips that we use over at Function Creative Co. to market our studio - maybe you have other amazing ways to market on a budget for your business!
For now, let’s talk about what works best for us.
How we Market on a Budget at Function (our design studio)
Here are some ways we've marketed our design studio over the years without spending (much) money:
✍️ Use a blog
We love blogs! They’re educational and interesting, and we almost always find ourselves learning something new every time we read someone else’s perspective.
A blog gives you a space to create consistent content that helps your audience. What’s important to consider when you decide to have use a blog as a marketing tool is to cater the content to your audience in a way that helps nurture them. Sure, it’s fun to sprinkle in posts about things you love that may not pertain to your business directly, but don’t miss out on the opportunity to use you blog as a spot to educate your ideal clients or customers on your services or products.
Check out what others in your industry write about, but try to get creative in thinking about what your perspective is. Take a new approach in trying to bring awareness to a problem your ideal client or customer might be having.
All of this (plus SEO, hello!) is why we use blog posts to showcase our processes and work; you never know who you’re going to inspire with a new post.
💗 Post on social media, genuinely
Social media can be really hard. We totally get it… especially in this new age of online presences, algorithms and strong personalities. We try to be as genuine as possible with our posts - we want to show our work and connect with new people, and our social media showcases that.
Only do what you can manage and don’t fall into the trap of thinking social media is the only effective way to market your business. It’s not. Let social media be a fun space to connect and share, even if you aren’t reaching the masses. It only takes one view from the right person to land a new client.
👯♀️ Collaborate with others
Designing doesn’t have to be a one person production! Try reaching out to complimentary industry leaders and service providers such as photographers, developers, and copywriters to pair up and collaborate. Get on each other's radar, have monthly coffee dates, and offer up service packages together!
One of the very best ways we started to find clients in the early days of Function Creative Co., was through community memberships and collaborations with other people in similar industries. We still work with some of our best clients through these avenues.
🙋♀️ Don’t be shy - reach out first
This one can be kind of scary if you’re a little nervous making first contact, but it’s time to bust out of that shell and offer your work to others (before they contact you).
In some other world, this is called cold-pitching or cold outreach. But let’s warm that term up a bit. It can be very effective to reach out to people, businesses and potential clients who may be able to use your services - no need to wait for them to come to you! Be personal about it and maybe even offer up a few insights as to what you can provide for them, or how you can help them.
By the way, we got one of our biggest clients at Function this way.😉
📫 Just say “Hi!”
There’s nothing wrong with popping up in someone’s inbox. It gets you on their radar and top of mind if they need design work. Reach out to some of your favourite clients, friends or industry leaders. Send a real quick idea as to how you might improve their brand, website or marketing material, or remind them that you'd love to work with them if they ever need your services!
➰ Keep people in the loop
Sometimes people come across your website without any design needs at all, but they might have a need for them in the future. Start a newsletter that people can sign up for, and keep them up to date on what you're working on, or new services you’re offering. This will keep past and potential clients engaged with your company, and it’s a nice reminder to them that you’re a wonderful option for their design needs!
☁️ Share your dreams
We all have ideas that we would love to work on, but sometimes none of our clients fit with those ideas. Why not post on your social media or write in your newsletter about your dream clients, wish list, or bucket list to draw the attention of these particular clients. Maybe you really want to work on a craft brewery packaging project, or an environmental organization brand. Whatever it is, put it out into the universe and see what happens!
We’ll start: at Function, we’re currently hoping to work with a dreamy, sustainable coffee shop!☕😍
🎙️ Start a podcast
Podcasts are super convenient to listen to when you’re working or on the go. We all have our favourites these days. If you love sharing stories, tips, ideas or conversations but don’t love social media or blogging, try starting a podcast that can lead people back to your services.
👀 Look in odd places
The internet is a vast ocean, and there are lots of people using it to post about what they need. Check out unlikely spots that potential clients may be searching for your services like Reddit, Slack channels, Facebook groups.
Another just-so-you-know moment: Function also found their first, highest-paying job on Reddit. Go for it!
🌟 Make something new
You might be new to the design world - we all are at some point! If you have no previous work and are really trying to grow your portfolio, start working on projects that don't even exist (yet).
Build a whole project for your DREAM client and showcase it to show everyone what you can do. We promise, most people don’t care whether this project was real or not. They just want to see your skills and approach. Make it happen!
At Function, we put our marketing on auto-pilot by focusing on outstanding client experiences. WillowSpace makes that possible. If you haven’t tried it out yet, take a peek. It’s free to try - no strings (or credit cards) attached.
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