Affordable Tools Every Small Business Owner Needs for DIY Marketing

Small business owners are often faced with the challenge of managing marketing efforts on tight budgets. Fortunately, a variety of affordable and effective tools are available to help even the most budget-conscious entrepreneurs create, manage, and optimize their marketing strategies. These tools range from graphic design to social media management, email marketing, and website analytics, allowing small business owners to handle their marketing needs in-house, saving time and money.

Why DIY Marketing is Important for Small Businesses

DIY marketing allows small business owners who are bootstrapping their way through the early growth stages of their business to start building a brand despite lacking a marketing budget.

However, DIY marketing is not without its challenges. Time management, limited knowledge of marketing trends, and the need for professional-looking content are hurdles many small business owners face. The good news is that affordable tools can bridge the gap between professional quality and limited resources.

Essential Affordable Physical Tools for DIY Marketing

You know all those memes about small business owners having to also become social media influencers in order to succeed nowadays? Yeah… welcome to the club! As a fellow reluctant face on social media, I feel your pain. BUT, we gotta do what we gotta do, right?! Here are some tools I recommend to make the journey a little easier.

Note: We’re always trying to find ways to keep our products and services affordable here at Calathea Creative, and finding alternative sources of income allows us to keep our prices down. The links to some of the Amazon products below may be linked to our account to earn commission on sales from this article. However, we’ll never make fake recommendations! Thanks for supporting our mission!

Tripod with Smartphone Attachment

A tripod is a must so that you can set up quickly, get good angles, and in some cases built in lighting. I’ve gone through more than one tripod now, so I can tell you from experience they are not all built to last. But here are a few that I have tried and enjoyed:

• Sturdy & Portable: Tripod Stand, EUCOS 62" Phone Tripod & Selfie Stick

  • Emphasis on sturdy and it folds up so compact I can stick it in my backpack.

• Built-In Lighting: 21inch Ring Light with Tripod and Phone Holder

  • Note: This one is BIG. Just be aware.

Microphone for High Quality Audio

For polished and professional-looking content, you need high-quality audio. So you’ll need at least one of the following:

• Desktop Condenser Mic: USB Microphone, MAONO 192KHZ/24Bit Plug & Play

  • This mic has lasted me years and people always compliment my audio when I use it!

• Clip-On Mics: 2-Pack Wireless Lavalier Microphone for iPhone iPad Android

  • They are a little clunky but have lasted a hot minute and sound great. And you can hold them like a tiny microphone, as is trendy right now!

Lighting: Clip-On’s and Tripods

Please DO NOT neglect your lighting situation during content recording, video conferences, and virtual networking! It completely changes the way people see you, and it makes you look infinitely more professional!

• Cheap But Does the Job: Video Light for Zoom Meeting with Sturdy Clip

  • I used this for a long time before upgrading recently. Please get AT LEAST THIS LIGHT to get started. I repeat: Lighting is crucial!!

• Top of Your Monitor: HumanCentric Video Conference Lighting

  • If you’re going to splurge a little, get the 2 pack and have one on each side of your monitor. It makes a difference.

• Tripod Lights: 2-Pack LED Video Light Kit

  • As a not-photographer, I don’t have a studio or anything where I have a permanent recording setup. That’s why I prefer these flat-profile LED lights. They are more easily stored away.

Webcam

I’m pretty sure this is the best webcam ever made. I’ve had mine for many years and it’s still going. I’ve even randomly met other people who use it, and they all love it too.

• The Webcam That Rules Them All: Logitech C920x HD Pro Webcam

Do You Need to Buy a Fancy Camera?

Smartphones have crazy good cameras. You don’t NEED a fancy camera to get high-quality photos and videos anymore. So… save your dollars if you’ve got a tight budget!

Essential Affordable Digital Tools for DIY Marketing

1. Canva: Affordable Graphic Design for Everyone

I LOVE Canva. It’s one of the most innovative web-based programs I have ever seen. And the user experience is straight-up TOP NOTCH. I cannot stop gushing about the fact that they made digital design accessible to ALL, after Adobe had priced most people out for so many years. But I digress…

One of the first steps to successful marketing is ensuring your visual content is professional and engaging. Canva is a highly popular tool that makes graphic design accessible to everyone, even those with no prior experience.

Key Features:

• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Easy to use for creating logos, social media posts, brochures, and more.

• Pre-Designed Templates: Thousands of customizable templates for all types of marketing materials.

• Affordable Pricing: Free plan available, with Pro plans starting at $12.99 per month.

Canva is perfect for small business owners who need to design marketing materials quickly and efficiently without the cost of hiring a graphic designer.

2. Squarespace: All-in-One Website & Email Marketing

When it comes to creating a professional online presence, Squarespace is an all-in-one platform that combines website building and email marketing. This versatile tool allows small business owners to design beautiful websites, manage content, and engage with their audience through integrated email marketing campaigns—all from a single platform. I’ve seen a lot of clients have great success using Squarespace to promote their business.

Key Features:

• Drag-and-Drop Website Builder: Design stunning, mobile-friendly websites with ease, no coding required. Customize templates to fit your brand’s identity and needs.

• Sell Your Products: While Shopify is still probably the best platform for a purely retail-based company (in my opinion), Squarespace offers great store features that are more than enough for many situations.

• Paid Scheduling: Squarespace is fully integrated with Acuity scheduling, including the option to accept payments for appointments.

• Built-In Email Marketing: Launch email marketing campaigns directly from your Squarespace account, keeping your branding consistent across your website and email.

• Automation: Set up automated emails to welcome new subscribers, send out promotions, and more, all seamlessly integrated with your website’s data.

3. Trello: Project Management Made Simple

Organization is key to successful marketing campaigns. Trello is a visual project management tool that allows small business owners to organize tasks, campaigns, and deadlines in a streamlined and easy-to-follow manner.

Key Features:

• Customizable Boards: Create boards, lists, and cards to organize tasks and projects visually.

• Collaborative: Invite team members or collaborators to manage and contribute to projects.

• Integrations: Connect with tools like Google Drive, Slack, and others to enhance functionality.

• Free Plan: Perfect for individual users or small teams, with paid options starting at $5 per user per month.

Trello simplifies project management, making it easier for small business owners to track their marketing campaigns, from concept to completion.

4. Google Analytics: The Go-To for Website Analytics

Knowing how your website is performing is crucial for refining your marketing strategy. Google Analytics provides in-depth insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversions—all for free.

Key Features:

• Traffic Insights: Understand where your visitors are coming from and what pages they interact with most.

• Goal Tracking: Set up goals to track conversions such as purchases, sign-ups, or downloads.

• Audience Reports: Get detailed reports on your audience’s demographics, interests, and behavior.

Google Analytics helps small business owners make data-driven decisions to improve their marketing efforts.

5. Google Ads Keyword Planner: Essential for Keyword Research

One of the foundational steps for effective digital marketing is identifying the right keywords to target. Google Ads Keyword Planner is a powerful, free tool that helps small business owners discover relevant keywords for their campaigns, optimize their content for SEO, and identify new opportunities to reach potential customers. I used it to help me determine keywords for all my clients.

Key Features:

• Keyword Discovery: Find keywords related to your business, products, or services. It provides search volume data and trends to help you choose the most effective terms for your campaigns.

• Competitor Insights: Analyze how your competitors rank for specific keywords, giving you the ability to adjust your strategy and gain a competitive edge.

• Cost Estimation: Get estimates for bid costs and competition levels for each keyword, helping you budget for Google Ads campaigns effectively.

• Campaign Planning: Integrate your keyword research directly into Google Ads, allowing you to seamlessly plan and launch PPC campaigns with optimized targeting.

• Free Tool: While integrated with Google Ads, the Keyword Planner itself is free to use, making it a cost-effective solution for small businesses.

Google Ads Keyword Planner is an invaluable resource for small business owners looking to enhance their SEO and PPC strategies, giving them data-driven insights to create more targeted, effective marketing campaigns.

6. Grammarly: Perfect Your Writing

Whether it's a blog post, an email, or a social media update, good writing matters. Grammarly catches grammar mistakes better than the best human editor! I use it all the time because I am quite type-o prone!

Key Features:

• Grammar and Spell Check: Catches mistakes in real-time as you write.

• Clarity Enhancements: Offers suggestions for more concise and clear communication.

• Tone Detection: Helps ensure that your writing matches your desired tone.

• Affordable Plans: Free version available, with premium plans starting at $12 per month.

Grammarly ensures that your marketing copy is polished and professional, helping you communicate effectively with your audience.