Add These Free Marketing Tools to Your Toolbelt tips and tricks

The thought of starting your own business might be overwhelming — and for good reason. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, only about 50% of startups survive the first five years in business. 

We know that may seem daunting, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the risk. According to Guidant Financial, over 65% of all small businesses were found to be profitable in 2022. With the right business concept, resources and tools — and a bit of good, ol’ fashioned gumption, you could watch your business grow and scale significantly over the next few years. 

Don’t let the idea that getting your business off the ground is going to be an expensive endeavor stop you. There is a treasure trove (also known as the internet) of free tools and resources out there, waiting to be tapped into. It’s all about discovering the ones that align with your business’s specific needs and goals. 

To make your just a little life easier, we’ve curated a list of some of our favorite free resources and tools that can kickstart your business. So, if you’re eager to embark on this adventure without breaking the bank, let’s dive into it. 

AddEvent Event Management Platform

Hi, it’s nice to meet you — AddEvent here! We’re an effective event calendar management platform that enables you to organize and market your events — both virtual and in-person — with attendees from all over the world. We’ve got an intuitive dashboard that allows you to generate events and share them in real-time, with tons of other fun features along the way. 

Things like:

• Add to calendar buttons & links for your website, landing pages, & emails
• Calendar, event & RSVP landing pages
• Embeddable RSVP forms, event lists, and embedded calendars for your website
• RSVP buttons & links to collect attendee data
• Subscription calendars
• And so much more!

Plus, AddEvent’s platform plays nice with so many other tools:

• ActiveCampaign
• Slack
• HubSpot
• Google Calendar
• MailChimp
• Discord
• Gmail
• Twitter
• Salesforce
• Facebook Pages

Did we mention there’s literally thousands more?

Plus, AddEvent’s embeddable calendars integrate quickly and seamlessly with website builders like Squarespace, Webflow, Unbounce, Wix, Drupal, WordPress, Leadpages, Jimdo, and Weebly — just to mention a few. 

→ Fun Fact: AddEvent is the #1 “add to calendar” service on the internet, trusted by more than 242,000 companies of all shapes and sizes — and that number grows every single day!

Best of all, you can try AddEvent’s platform for free. Sign up for a Hobby account and take it for a spin — we know you’re going to have a great time exploring the app & finding new potential to promote your business in no time!

Canva

Thanks to how quickly our brains are changing and adapting, adding a visual component to any marketing efforts is essential. 

According to a recent Venngage study, 28% of marketers spend anywhere from two to five hours every week creating visual content. And this is time well spent, since research has shown that visuals with color will increase a person’s  willingness to read a piece of content by 80%. But if only it was as easy to create attractive infographics and visual designs as it is to appreciate them. 

Allow us to introduce you to Canva, the perfect solution if you’re starting a business but not able to allocate your budget to hiring a graphic designer, you’re not alone. This free-to-use online graphic design tool gives you access to thousands of templates for social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos, and so much more. And you can easily access Canva on the go with your smartphone!

Try it for free when you set up your very own Canva account.  

→ Bonus Tip: Check out Unsplash or Pexels to find a robust database of royalty-free, high-resolution stock images to add to your creative designs. 

Mailchimp

Every business needs to think about how they’re going to approach their marketing strategy. After all, how is anyone going to know about their business without it? And once they know about it, how do you, as the business, keep them engaged?There are a few marketing, automation and email marketing platforms that you could use — but today we’re talking about Mailchimp. 

This all-in-one marketing platform is easy to set up:

1. Sign up for a Mailchimp account by entering your name and email address. 
2. Once you’re in your Mailchimp account, it’s time to set up your audience a.k.a. the contacts you’re going to be communicating with via the platform.
3. You can automatically generate a signup form that can be posted on your website or social media account to encourage people to sign up for your newsletter or email communications.
4. Then it’s time to craft your first campaign! 
5. Once you’ve sent an email campaign, you can review your campaign reports to see how well it did. This will show you who opened, clicked, and unsubscribed from the email. 

There are a plethora of other things you can do with the Mailchimp platform: automation, ads, build landing pages, postcards, etc. And you can try it all for free — sign up for your free account and try it for yourself. 

→ AddEvent Pro Tip: You can use the AddEvent calendar links app in Mailchimp to easily insert an RSVP button into your email campaigns. Check out this tutorial on our YouTube for a more in-depth look at getting things started. 

Zapier

No coding skills? No problem! Zapier is a zero-code tool that sends data from one service to another, automatically (well, once you set things up that is). 

Here’s How It Works

First, you’re going to choose a trigger — “When this happens…”

Then, you need to select an action — “automatically do this!”

Once you’ve chosen these options, you’re going to select “Connect My Apps”.

One of our more popular Zaps we’ve found actually eliminates the need for adding event attendees to Mailchimp by hand. Instead, this Zap will add every new RSVP Attendee from your AddEvent event into your Mailchimp account by adding or updating the subscriber in the system. 

Zapier enables you to connect your AddEvent calendars and events with thousands of other apps, so you can automate your workflows, all without needing a developer’s help. 

HubSpot

You’ve most likely heard of HubSpot even if you haven’t used it personally just yet. HubSpot is known for their incredible free resources around marketing, sales, and business operations — so be sure to check those out!

But did you know that HubSpot is actually a CRM (customer relationship management) platform with a ton of software integrations and resources that can help you to grow your business with focus?

HubSpot has a ton of applications in their app marketplace that you can connect to your HubSpot account — tools like Gmail, WordPress, Zoom, and Facebook Ads!

For example, if you’re starting a new email campaign in HubSpot such as a newsletter, you can insert your AddEvent add-to-calendar links into these templates easily. Literally — it’s as simple as copying and pasting the links into the content editor — with no coding experience required. It makes it super simple for your customers to add your upcoming events to their calendars (which means they’re much more likely to actually show up the day of!). 

We like to think of HubSpot as your entire front office — your marketing, sales, service, content management, operations, and commerce departments — all in one place. Best of all? You can get started for free! 

FlexClip

In today’s digital age, video content has become increasingly essential for businesses looking to engage their audience effectively. However, creating professional-looking videos can be challenging and often requires expensive software or hiring a video production team. That’s where FlexClip comes in.

FlexClip is a user-friendly online video editor that empowers users to create stunning videos with ease, regardless of their skill level. Whether you’re promoting your business, showcasing a product, or sharing testimonials, FlexClip offers a wide range of features to bring your vision to life.

Here’s why FlexClip should be your go-to video creation platform:

• Simple and Intuitive Interface: FlexClip boasts a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to learn and navigate for beginners. You won’t need any technical expertise to get started.
• Rich Library of Templates and Resources: Get inspired and save time with FlexClip’s extensive collection of professionally designed video templates. From product demos and explainer videos to social media ads and slideshows, there’s a template for every need. Plus, you’ll have access to a vast library of stock footage, royalty-free music, and animated elements to elevate your video productions.
• AI-Powered Features: FlexClip incorporates artificial intelligence to streamline the editing process. Turn text into captivating videos with the AI Text to Video feature, or let AI Auto Subtitles generate subtitles for your videos, making them more accessible to a wider audience.

Get started for free!

Feeling inspired to hit the ground running? We’re always here to help.

Follow us on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with the latest tips & tricks for optimizing your business resources and tools.