Growth Hacking on a Budget: 5 Growth Strategies for Early-Stage Businesses

Hacking growth when you have just gotten started may be a bit more challenging, as you have to make do with limited funds and your resources are finite.

So, coming up with stellar strategies that may help you generate more traction and engage the intended audience may be easier said than done.

However, you don't need to replicate the tactics embraced by the industry giants to keep the needle moving.

There's a wide range of strategies to consider that may help you grow even when you've just gotten started and help you connect with a relevant audience.

Here are a few marketing strategies you may want to consider to grow your business at the early stages:

1. Promoting Relevant Content

Content is the key when it comes to generating traction online and attracting a relevant audience on autopilot in the long run.

Publishing useful content not only helps you build more authority in your respective industry but also fuels your SEO, making it possible for you to acknowledge a higher online presence.

For this, it's essential that you create relevant content and promote it through platforms that align with your niche.

You should start things off by getting acquainted with the needs and preferences of your target audience. This helps you find relevant keywords that resonate with the search queries used by the intended audience to look for useful information or viable solutions.

Once you have identified the right keywords, create content around high-traffic-yielding topics and promote them using the platforms where your audience is most active.

Since social media has over 4.74 billion users worldwide, using relevant social media platforms to promote your content may be useful in improving your reach. Furthermore, you can also consider promoting your content through online communities preferred by your audience.

2. Collaborating With Influencers

Influencer marketing is often seen as a marketing strategy preferred by industry giants. This is due to the fact that 42% of influencers prefer to be paid for their collaborations with brands.

Since most businesses generate minimal revenue at the start, owners often think that it's a waste of time considering influencer collaborations. However, one thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to collaborate with mega influencers for your marketing strategy to work.

The goal here is to create a buzz around your brand and boost your reach through different channels. So, partnering with nano or micro-influencers may also be a fruitful marketing strategy.

Around 49% of people trust online reviews as if they were recommendations from their friends or family. So, it goes without saying that influencer endorsements may work wonders for you because people often consider them role models and take their recommendations to heart.

3. Sending Emails

Email marketing is one of the most efficient and cost-effective marketing strategies to grow your business.

The success of email marketing is neither dictated by your resources nor your budget. You just need to segment your audience correctly and send personalized messages that foster engagement.

A well-thought-out email campaign has the potential to get you a return on investment of up to 4400%, making email marketing one of the most viable growth strategies for businesses that have just gotten started.

Email marketing makes it easier for you to reach out to the masses without having to break the bank and generate quality leads for the sales funnel.

For this, all you have to do is grow your email list by collecting contact information from people visiting your website. You can easily do it by leveraging lead magnets, opt-in forms, and exit-intent messages.

Your visitors are less likely to consider the solutions you offer the first time they're visiting your site. So, collecting their contact information may help you stay in touch with them down the road and keep them engaged through your emails.

4. Link Building

Having a strong backlink profile plays a huge role when it comes to growing your business and getting more eyeballs.

Scoring more backlinks from high-authority platforms helps you foster trust and boost your brand's credibility.

When third-party platforms mention you as the source of information published, it sends positive signals to search engines. As a result, it becomes easier for you to climb the SERPs and stand out from other players in your respective industry.

The best way to strengthen your backlink profile is by creating high-quality and link-worthy content, which is one of the top 3 ranking factors in 2024.

Furthermore, you can also build more backlinks for your brand through guest posting or participating in online communities that resonate with your niche.

5. Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to attract a relevant audience and grow your business online.

It reported that 68% of online experiences start with a search engine. People are less likely to look for particular brands when exploring viable solutions to their problems. They leverage a search engine for research and make informed decisions accordingly based on the information gathered.

So, it's best that you optimize your content as per the search engine guidelines and offer a seamless experience to your visitors through your site.

Search engines, especially market giants like Google, favor user-friendly and responsive websites that facilitate access to relevant information. So, sticking to its guidelines may help you score higher rankings and outperform your competition.

You can also consider improving local SEO, which is often neglected by many small business owners.

Local SEO helps you attract people who want to support businesses in their vicinity. By improving it, you get to target search queries with a local intent and successfully generate traction from respective regions.

You can improve your local SEO by leveraging Google My Business Listing, ensuring NAP (name, address, and phone number) accuracy across all online platforms, and creating localized content.

The aforementioned tactics will help grow your search engine visibility and showcase your solutions to attract the right people.

Final Words

There you have it: the five growth strategies for early-stage businesses that don't require a huge marketing budget. If you own a small business and are striving to scale it, the recommendations in this article may come in handy and help you drive more traction.