How to Market a Startup with 0 Budget

(Yes, it’s possible! Here’s how to actually do it.)

You’ve built something exciting, and you’ve poured your heart and soul into making it happen. A product or a service that has a market, a purpose, something that offers real value to real people. For months or even years, you’ve been proving to yourself that it really is possible as you’ve designed and prototyped and tested. Now it’s time to bring your baby to the world.

The problem? Your marketing budget is roughly the cost of a cup of coffee. And you probably already drank the coffee.

Grab my free $1k Startup Marketing Budget Template - all I ask is to know who's reading!

That’s okay. Every startup hits this stage. The good news? You don’t need a massive budget to build real traction. You just need a solid strategy and a little creativity. Let’s talk about how to market your startup with no budget, step by step, from someone who’s been there.

Ok, but how would you know?

What's up, I'm Halden.

I started doing content marketing in 2016 and haven’t stopped since. My clients have all been small, B2B SaaS startups. I helped household names like Airtable and Ashby get their starts, and now I’m bringing those skills to you.

Here's me several tattoos ago. I look cooler now.

Even better, I spent time in-house at both On Deck and Indie Hackers - two places that were all about teaching, training, and connecting new startup founders to one another. I didn’t just pick up on what was in the air there, I had to learn it inside and out.

Why? Because I think it’s silly to keep all this knowledge out of the hands of the clever people who want to create the tools that will change the world.

So how do you market your startup with zero budget?

Here’s the process:

1. Figure out your target audience

2. Start simple, start free

3. Focus on value, not selling

4. Leverage other audiences

5. Track absolutely everything

Let’s jump in.

Figure out your target audience

It may not feel like it, but you already know the answer to the first question in marketing: Who is this for?

You didn’t design your product just because it sounded cool to you. You made it for someone, real people who have a need your business can meet. 

Before you post, pitch, or promote anything, get specific about who you’re trying to reach.

Ask yourself:

• Who needs what I’m building?

• What problem am I solving for them?

• How can 

• Where do they spend time online?

If you’re diving into any type of startup marketing for the first time, this clarity is your biggest advantage. You don’t have a lot of time and energy available to waste, so focus on finding the people who will actually care.

💡 Pro tip: Write a one-paragraph “customer profile.” Include who they are, what they struggle with, and how your startup helps. Everything else flows from that.

Once you know who needs what you provide, you’ll be able to reverse-engineer most other aspects of marketing.

Start simple, start free

You may have a few dollars to throw around, but I’m going to assume you’ve got a zero or nearly-zero budget.

When you don’t have money, you need to focus on free channels that you own: your website, your email list, and organic social media. These channels are places where you can control the message and frequency, and you’ll be able to use them to start finding that audience you identified in the last step.

Website

I’m working under the assumption that you already have a website, but if not, know that most website hosting is going to cost you a little bit if you want to be taken seriously.  I’d highly recommend you use a host that allows you to have your own URL. ie “Service.com” rather than “Services.webhost.com” or similar.

Why? Trust: if someone who has never heard of you finds your website, you want them to have faith that your business is legitimate. One way people determine that is by looking at how professional the site appears to be. Is the address straightforward? Is the layout modern and professional? Is the information I need clearly available?

When your site looks official, more people click on it, share it, and link to it, all of which help it show up higher in search results. A clean domain also gives you full control over your website and lets you keep building on the same address as your business grows, instead of starting over later. (We’ll talk more about SEO in a moment.)

You have a lot of inexpensive options for hosting. I’m using Wix here, and that’s an extremely newbie-friendly place to start. You can also use WordPress, SquareSpace, or even Notion to host a free or low-cost site.

Your website should address:

• What you do

• Who it’s for

• Why it matters

• How to contact you or sign up

Building it doesn’t make them come, however. For that, you need to show up in search, so you’ll want to be search engine optimized.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most powerful no budget marketing strategies out there, and it compounds over time. Once you have a website, you’ll want to create pages on that website designed to help the right people find you when they use search engines. The very easiest way to get free traffic is to start a blog.

Start by creating content that answers the exact questions your audience is Googling. For instance, if your product helps freelancers stay organized, you should create content that answers specific questions they’ll have, like, “Best free tools for freelancers” or “How to manage multiple clients without burning out.”

This post is designed for people Googling “How to Market a Startup with No Budget” and here you are!

Use your own insights. Google rewards helpful, original, expert-based content, which is usually exactly what founders had to have to get started in the first place.

Start small: your goal is to publish one valuable, keyword-focused blog post each month. You’re building visibility that works for you 24/7. Watch your web analytics to see the results.

Email list

Using your website or a free or cheap email newsletter tool, start collecting emails early. Even a tiny list is valuable! This lets you know who is interested in your product. Many people won’t be ready to buy this red-hot minute, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be great customers later on.

Once you have your sign-up form, put it everywhere. On your website, in your social media bio, in your email signature, on the local water tower... ok maybe not that last one, but everywhere else.

Your form should answer one clear question: Why should someone sign up?

Offer something of value. That could be:

• Updates on your product journey

• Practical insights or tips related to your niche

• A free resource or checklist

People are much more likely to join when they know they’ll get something other than ads. 

Here's my contact form, if you're wondering how simple this can be.

The biggest mistake founders make? Waiting until they have a “big announcement” to email their list. For the love of God, don’t do that! Talk to your audience frequently and casually, like you’d message a friend.

💡 Pro Tip: Don’t stress about unsubscribes! They’re just making room for people who do want to hear from you. Focus on serving the subscribers who stay.

Once you have a growing email list, you can judiciously send advertising and product-related emails. (Roadmap updates, special offers,etc.) Follow the “80/20 rule of marketing” - 20% advertising, 80% genuine content your audience wants to see.

Social channels

Pick one or two platforms and show up consistently with useful, authentic posts. Your audience is much more likely to engage with your social media when you’re offering them something that either makes them laugh or makes them think. Aim for whichever option is better for your brand.

Go where your audience already is. B2B businesses should probably be focusing on LinkedIn. Businesses in tech or directed at Founders should be on X. Lifestyle brands and those selling products directly to consumers will get much more out of TikTok or Instagram. Use your common sense rather than rushing to the latest app because it’s where the young people are.

Also, mobile-first. Trust.

And, please, I promise, you can stop worrying about Googling what time of day you need to post. It doesn’t matter in most business contexts. Consistency is more important than engineering the perfect 10-minute window.

You’ll want to post once or twice a week while you get started. Then you may want to ramp up depending on your platforms. TikTok loves a daily post, but LinkedIn doesn’t usually need that much attention.

💡Pro Tip: What if you do have a little money? Start with the free methods anyway. Pay focused attention to them for three months. When you start to see what moves the needle, you can look into leveling up your marketing by spending on what’s already working.

Focus on value, not selling

When you can’t buy attention, you have to earn it. You can do that by being helpful.

I read a book years ago that’s informed much of how I market: Nobody Wants to Ready Your Shit by Steven Pressfield. Nobody wants to read your content just because it’s there. We live in an over-saturated world. Why should someone want to pay attention to you and your brand?

Talk about yourself and your business, talk about your product, but always keep the audience front and center.

“Thought leadership” is a popular idea, and so many founders wants to share their journey, but that’s not necessarily the best fit. What you’re learning as a founder might be relevant if your audience is other founders! If it’s busy moms on the go, not so much.

Some of the value you can give in your website, emails, and social media includes:

• Tips or frameworks your target audience can use

• Behind-the-scenes progress and roadmap updates

• Insights from your audience’s field

• Interviews with relevant experts

• Commentary on relevant news

Always add something to the conversation. Don’t just report on the facts, offer a ”call to action” - the next step your audience should take. Maybe that’s buying your product, maybe that’s leaving a comment.

When you focus on sharing value, your audience grows naturally because people start associating your name with credibility, not sales pitches. They say, “Wow! This business really GETS me!” And that’s more valuable than a whole stack of paid ads.

Leverage other audiences

You might not have reach yet, but other people do. And you’d be surprised how many are open to collaboration with people who respect what they have to offer.

Partner with complementary startups. Swap guest posts, offer to interview experts for your blog, share each other’s products in newsletters, or co-host a live chat. Reach out to relevant podcasts and email newsletter hosts, go for ones you already like and pitch them on why you’d be a good fit.

If you collaborate with micro-influencers, you should offer your product for honest feedback, not just promotion.

Engage in online communities. Join conversations on Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, or Reddit. Be helpful, not spammy, remembering that 80/20 rule I mentioned before.

These partnerships can bring early exposure and credibility and they often cost a whopping $0.

💡Pro Tip: What if they won’t work with you for free? Don’t be shocked. Be respectful. That’s some else’s time, brand, and work. If you’re rude, you risk developing a reputation for being unpleasant to work with. If they’re outside your budget, politely ask to collaborate later on when it’s a better fit and move on.

Track absolutely everything

Of all my tips and startup marketing advice, this is the boring one. The one people are going to skip. The one that doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal. Until you skip it for too long and realize you have wandered deep into a forest and now have no clue which path is going to get you home!

Tracking your marketing might not sound exciting, but it’s how you figure out what’s actually working. When you’re running a startup, you can’t waste your time on guesses. Keeping an eye on what posts, emails, or ads bring in real results helps you double down on what works and stop blowing effort on what doesn’t.

It also makes your decisions much easier. When you can see where your traffic comes from, what people click on, and what actually drives sales, you can rely on proof instead of hunches. You don’t need fancy tools, either. A simple spreadsheet or free analytics setup is enough to spot patterns and keep improving as you go. Pick one or two things you can actually track, like how many people visit your site or how many sign up for your emails. Use free tools like Google Analytics or built-in social media insights to see where your traffic comes from and what people do once they find you. Then, jot those numbers down each week.

Seriously, that’s it, you can do it over coffee while listening to a podcast. Over time, you’ll start spotting what’s catching people’s attention and what’s not, and that’s when you can start tweaking your marketing with confidence instead of guesswork.

When you’re bootstrapping your marketing, it’s normal for progress to feel slow. The key is to notice and celebrate small wins:

• Your first organic website visitor

• A kind comment from a follower

• A newsletter reply

• A beta user who found you from your blog

I did once work somewhere where they kept Moët in the office fridge next to all the Soylent and Huel. The jokes write themselves.

Each one is proof that your free marketing efforts are working and will pay off.

Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Big Budget to Market your Startup

The best startup marketing doesn’t come from early ad spend. It comes from founders who listen, share, and show up consistently.

Marketing your startup is exactly like starting it in the first place. Start small. Build trust. Keep testing what works.

Before long, that “no budget marketing” phase will become the foundation of your startup’s brand story. It's proof that you can grow through anything and produce something amazing at the end.

That's a lot of words... too bad I'm not reading them.

I summarized this for you myself so you don't need ChatGPT to do it.

Marketing a startup with no budget is absolutely possible. Instead of paying for ads, you can build traction by showing up where those people already are and offering genuine value through helpful content.

Top 4 Takeaways:

1. Know your audience. Be clear about who your product is for, what problem you’re solving, and where those people spend time online.

2. Start simple and free. Focus on channels you control like your website, email list, and organic social media, and use SEO to help people find you.

3. Offer value, not just sales. Share tips, stories, and insights that help your audience; people trust and follow brands that make their lives better.

4. Track everything. Even basic data helps you see what works, make smarter decisions, and grow your marketing over time.