Who doesn’t love free stuff?
When marketing your small business, every penny counts. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our top free resources for digital marketing.
Every item on this list is something that the Sigl team actually uses to create content and grow our skills. We can vouch for them.
Ready to add some new resources to your marketing toolkit without spending money?
1. Google
This may seem like an obvious answer, but Google is one of the most helpful resources you can use in marketing.
Not sure how to format a post in Facebook?
Need to triple-check the difference between “complimentary” and “complementary”?
Having trouble converting Coordinated Universal Time to your main audience’s time zone?
Google can help.
When you don’t know how to do something, or you’re not completely sure of an answer, don’t be afraid to ask Google. Chances are someone else has asked the same question before.
But pay attention to your sources. If you’re looking for factual information and statistics, prioritize .gov, .edu, and .org sites over .com and .net.
2. Google Docs
Google Docs is one of the easiest platforms for creating and revising copy, especially if you’re part of a team. As long as your whole team uses Google, it’s simple to share your documents with each other, make suggestions and comments, or edit the document as needed.
It’s extra useful because you can control how much editing power someone else has in your document. If you want someone to offer suggestions without making permanent changes, you can make them a “commenter” instead of an “editor.”
The only downside to using Google Docs over most other word processors is that you need an internet connection to access and edit the documents.
3. Google Alerts
Ever wished you could know every time someone writes about your business on the internet?
That’s what Google Alerts are for!
Just create an alert for your business’s name, and Google will email you whenever it finds a new article that includes that name.
It’s not a perfect system, though. You’ll probably get some false alarms from articles that use similar names or words in the wrong order. However, it’s pretty easy to sift through which alerts are worth following up on, and which ones aren’t. Plus, it’s easy to adjust or turn off your alerts as needed.
4. Google Fonts
This is our last Google-related resource, we promise!
Google Fonts are free fonts you can use for almost anything in your marketing: logos, websites, apps, ebooks, print materials, and more. They have fonts for other languages, too, in case you need to market to an international audience.
(Curious about the nitty gritty of usage rights? Read up on that here.)
Have fun incorporating these free fonts into your designs!
5. Notepad
The Notepad app is a free app that you may already have on your computer. It’s a simple text editor that only works in plain text. While some folks use it for—as the name suggests—note taking, there are other uses.
At Sigl, we often use Notepad to strip text of formatting. We do most of our copywriting in Google Docs, and when we move that copy to a design program, we don’t want it to retain the font and spacing it had in the Google Doc.
Copy the text from your word processor, paste it into Notepad, copy it again, and paste it into your design program.
6. Reddit and Quora
If you have a question about technology, business, or marketing, it’s very likely someone else has asked it already.
Sites like Reddit and Quora are full of past inquiries, troubleshooting, and advice that you can use to solve problems while marketing.
And if someone hasn’t asked your question yet, you can ask it yourself. Find a forum dedicated to your field, and there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of readers who can help you.
7. YouTube
When you find yourself struggling with a particular design program, editing tool, or website development resource, YouTube can be a lifesaver.
Written how-tos are useful, but sometimes it helps to see a program in action. There’s much less risk of misunderstanding when you can see for yourself exactly which buttons to click or commands to enter.
You can find tons of walkthrough videos for free on YouTube—just search “How to [task] in [program]” and see what comes up.
8. The Later Blog
Later, the social media platform for scheduling and analyzing your posts, runs a fantastic blog. They cover all kinds of social media topics, including TikTok trends, how-tos, upcoming changes to major social media sites, and analytics based on top performers.
If you’re doing any kind of social media marketing on Instagram or TikTok, this blog is a must-read. Later dives deep into the details of social media, and they’ll save you a lot of trouble when you can’t decide what time to post your next Instagram story, or what to include in your next reel.
9. HubSpot Blog
HubSpot’s marketing blog covers a massive range of topics: coding, customer journeys, team leadership, social media, AI tools, email marketing, and more. If it’s related to marketing, HubSpot probably has some blog posts about it.
You’ll often see the HubSpot blog referenced in Sigl’s blog posts, and that’s because HubSpot has some really impressive data about marketing. With their wide pool of marketers answering surveys, HubSpot has some of the best marketing statistics out there.
Do yourself a favor and browse the HubSpot blog. You’ll probably learn something new, and you might find answers to questions you didn’t know you had.
10. Thesaurus.com
Don’t you just hate when you can’t think of the right word?
Maybe you’re writing copy for an email, and you want to say “boost your vocabulary.” Except—you used the word “boost” just one sentence ago.
You could bang your head against the keyboard until you come up with an alternative, or you could use Thesaurus.com.
In just a few seconds, you’ll have plenty of possible synonyms at your fingertips, like “advance,” “develop,” and “expand.”
One particularly handy feature of Thesaurus.com is the ability to move between different definitions and parts of speech. That makes it much easier to find a synonym that works in your context.
(For example, “increment,” “assistance,” and “jump” are also synonyms for “boost,” but they don’t make sense in this situation.)
11. Inflact Instagram Video Downloader
When you need to take video from Instagram—maybe to turn a video post into a series of still images, or to find the perfect screenshot from the video, or because you need this video saved on another device—use Instagram Video Downloader.
All you need to do is paste a link to the video into the downloader and tap “download.” It’s that simple!
If the video doesn’t belong to you, be sure to credit the original source before you post it or stills from the video.
12. GifRun
Spice up your social media, email, and SMS with some custom GIFs!
You don’t have to be a video editor to create GIFs, and you don’t need fancy software, either. Gif Run is a free tool that allows you to create GIFs from sites like YouTube.
Create GIFs from your business’s YouTube channel to show your products in action, hype up new releases and sales, and demonstrate common troubleshooting tips.
These 12 free tools are incredibly useful for digital marketing—but sometimes, free tools and programs aren’t enough. If you need an extra hand to guide you in the world of digital marketing, schedule a call. Our team of marketing experts would love to help you tell your story and grow your business.