6 Free Marketing Resources Every New Entrepreneur Needs

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from 9-5ers dreaming of ditching their corporate gig to fulfill their fantasy of building their own business, are the high start-up costs and monthly expenses to manage everything. 

While there’s rarely such a thing as starting a business without incurring *any* costs, many want-to-be entrepreneurs think they need all the shiny bells and whistles before making a single sale. 

*a handcrafted logo created by a 5-star designer* 

*the beautifully designed website that costs more than a month’s salary* 

*the fancy email software your idols are using…after being in biz for 10 years*

Here’s the truth: You don’t need *ANY* of those things to be successful. But what you do need is determination, persistence, and an “I’ll never give up” mindset. 

Andddd any free resources you can get your hands on…luckily, there’s a lot! 

If 2021 is the year you *finally* put in your two-week notice, or it’s the year you stop treating your business as a hobby, then you need to read on. I’ve compiled a list of six free marketing resources you can use to level up (and save money), so you can turn your dreams of building an online empire into reality. 

P.S. Even experienced entrepreneurs making $100k+ a year are using many, if not all, of these tools!

Graphic Design: Canva

From social media posts and newsletters to landing pages and sales proposals, Canva is my favorite resource for creating gorgeous graphics. Unlike Photoshop, Canva is intuitive and easy to use with thousands of drag-and-drop templates you can pick from. And with its library of free fonts, imagery, and illustrations, you can easily create a professional-looking brand without spending a single dollar. 

Email Service Provider: Mailchimp

While email marketing may be an essential part of your overall marketing strategy, it doesn’t mean you need to invest in pricey software right off the bat. Mailchimp is a robust email service provider you can use to move your customers through welcome sequences and sales funnels. It has many paid options, but its free plan comes with everything you need to get your business off the ground: 

• Marketing CRM
• Creative Assistant 
• Website Builder
• Mailchimp Domain
• Forms & Landing Pages

Once you grow your list past 2k subscribers, you can upgrade to a paid plan, but only choose the one you need at the moment. You can continue to upgrade as you increase your revenue. 

Search Engine Optimization: MOZ  

Many new entrepreneurs don’t bother with SEO because they don’t see it as necessary. But organic search is often the primary source of website traffic for most businesses, which means you need to be mindful of SEO best practices to get as many eyeballs on your site as possible. Luckily companies like MOZ make it easy for entrepreneurs to feel like experts with a few clicks of a button. It has a free keyword explorer tool to discover and prioritize the best keywords for your site. Whether you’re writing your services page or a blog post, MOZ will create a keyword analysis so you can easily optimize each one. 

Content Writing and Editing: Grammarly

If you’re not a writing pro, don’t sweat it. Grammarly is the perfect go-to tool for concise, mistake-free writing you can use for emails, social captions, blog posts, and everything in between. The best part about Grammarly is its Chrome extension, so you can see feedback in real-time. Say goodbye to wasting precious minutes searching for misplaced commas. 

Social Media: Buffer

If you want to build a loyal tribe on social media, you need to stay consistent with the content you post. I personally LOVE batching content so I don’t miss out on providing valuable knowledge bombs to my followers. There’s a lot of social media tools out there, but many of them are expensive and not worth the price-tag. Buffer’s free plan is limited, but it does allow you to schedule up to 10 posts a month across your social media platforms. And if you want to upgrade, its paid plan is $15/month, which is one of the cheapest monthly social media management subscriptions (but worth it!).

Stock Photography: Pexels or PixaBay

Finding professional-grade stock photography for free is a time-killer, but high-quality images can set your brand apart from the competition. Pexels and Pixabay are two go-to photography sites where you can find royalty-free images you can use anywhere, from your website to social media graphics. 

There you have it—six free resources you can use to get your business off the ground or level up the one you’re currently building! This list proves you don’t need expensive tools or software to create a stunning (and profitable) brand that looks like it’s been around for years. 

But I have one more free resource I can’t leave without sharing with you: my Six-Figure Marketing Strategy guide. Whether you’re brand new to entrepreneurship or have been in business for a while, I’ll show you step-by-step how to create a digital marketing plan that works for you!