We all know marketing is essential for all businesses, but it’s even more important for startups. Unless people know about your startup and what it offers, they probably won’t buy your products or services.

At Kobe Digital, we come across all types of businesses. Most all of them are concerned with growth, but none are more hungry for growth than startups. Whether it’s the next big SaaS company or a new chain of Thai ice cream shops, startups are a completely different animal when it comes to marketing.

Since marketing for startups is such a unique case, this guide should give founders a good place to start. As your business grows and expands its presence, it may attract customers through word of mouth. Until that happens, though, you should prioritize the following marketing strategies to spread the word about your startup.

1. Send Emails

Email marketing is an essential strategy for attracting customers to your startup for little or no cost. Once you have a prospect or customer’s email address, you can send him or her emails to promote your startup.

To take advantage of this marketing strategy, you must first collect prospects’ email addresses. If you have a website for your startup, consider placing a newsletter signup form on it. Alternatively, you can ask customers directly for their email addresses. The key thing to remember is that you must diversify your emails with non-commercial content like guides, how-to articles, videos and infographics. If you only send advertorial emails, subscribers will probably opt out of receiving your newsletter.