Creating a Marketing Budget: $0 Is Not an Option

Marketing is often treated like the awkward cousin at a family reunion—always there but never really getting the attention it deserves. If you’re running a startup, small business, or managing a fresh marketing team, here’s the truth you need to hear loud and clear: $0 is NOT a marketing budget.

It’s time to stop treating marketing like a money-sucking black hole. Instead, start seeing it for what it really is–an investment in your business’s growth, success, and future. Because guess what? That “build it and they will come” strategy? Yeah, it doesn’t work in real life.

What is a Marketing Budget?

A marketing budget is exactly what it sounds like—a dedicated financial plan for making your business visible, desirable, and unforgettable. This money fuels your weaponry for success—social media, advertising, branding, website design, content creation, events, and more.

It’s your war chest for not only keeping up with competitors but outrunning them. This is where you decide, “How loud do I want to be? And how much firepower am I going to back it up with?”

Marketing is an Investment—Not an Expense

Repeat after me: Marketing is NOT an expense. It’s an investment in your business’s long-term success. Treating marketing as an optional spend when there’s leftover cash in the drawer is like saying, “I’ll only water my plants if I feel like it.” (Spoiler alert: Dead plants. Dead business.)

Smart companies use marketing budgets to open doors. They know for every dollar spent on Google Ads, for example, there’s a tangible ROI staring them in the face—leads, website traffic, brand recognition, you name it.

Don’t make the rookie mistake of thinking, “I can’t afford to market right now.” The reality is, you can’t afford not to.

$0 is NOT an Option

If you’re thinking, “I’ll just grow my business with word of mouth until I can afford marketing,” I’m here to shake you awake gently but firmly.

Here’s the deal—when you choose NOT to invest in marketing, you’re handing your competitors every opportunity to grab your audience’s attention while you sit on the sidelines. Without a marketing budget, you’re essentially whispering into a metaphorical canyon, hoping your customers might hear you. Newsflash—they won’t.

You can’t approach marketing like it’s the leftovers of your budget. It’s like going to a buffet with no plate—how are you supposed to get anything on your table? Devote a chunk of your budget to marketing. Decide it up front. Own it. Stick to it.

Basic Formulas for Creating a Marketing Budget

Okay, now you’ve got the pep talk. But how do you actually build a marketing budget? Here’s the not-so-secret formula most successful businesses follow:

• If you’re a startup, allocate 12%–20% of your gross revenue to marketing. You need visibility, fast.
• For more established businesses, typically 6%–12% of gross revenue is recommended to maintain and grow market share.
• Not quite sure how much is “enough”? Calculate what marketing efforts will cost for the year and work backward from there. Factor in ad spend, social media, SEO, content creation, emails, events, and even tools/software.

Even if just starting out with a smaller budget, decide on something concrete—$500 a month, $1,000, whatever you can—but stick to it. Commit.

Pro tip: If you are using a DIY marketing approach, keep track of how much time and effort you spend on marketing tasks. This will help you in the future to determine what your marketing budget will be when you have more money to outsource. Also, don’t forget to TRACK your marketing results.

Having a Budget is Actually Freeing

Here’s the funny thing about budgeting for marketing—it actually gives you freedom.

• Freedom to say YES to opportunities that grow your business.
• Freedom to experiment with new channels or expand your efforts.
• Freedom from scrambling to “come up with funds” when that great partnership or last-minute sponsored post opportunity comes knocking.

When you have a plan, you stop sweating every dollar spent. A great marketing budget gives you the breathing room to plan, not just react.

Adjusting Your Budget as Needed

Here’s another piece of gold for you—marketing budgets aren’t set in stone. They’re living, breathing documents, and you can adjust them based on what’s working (or not).

For example:

• Instagram ads crushing it? Up that spend by 30%.
• Print ads totally dead? Ditch ’em and divert those dollars into SEO or email marketing.
• Sales skyrocket from your Google PPC campaign? Fantastic—double down for even more growth.

Smart businesses are those that stay agile with their budgets. Monitor your analytics and don’t be afraid to tweak as needed.

A Budget Lets You Say, “That’s Not in My Budget”

One of the beautiful things about having a solid budget is that it lets you prioritize. Want to sponsor every local event your inbox gets hit up for? Sorry, you’ve got benchmarks to hit. Marketing budgets give you a backbone and the ability to say, “Sorry, that’s not in my budget right now,” without guilt.

Every dollar in your budget exists where it’s needed most, so say goodbye to shiny distractions trying to derail you.

Invest in Marketing, Invest in Growth

You’ve got this! It’s time to trade in “We can’t afford it” for “Let’s see what our marketing budget can do!”

Need more advice? Want real-world examples to help apply these tips to your own business?

Don’t miss our upcoming Marketing Summit—an exclusive event packed with strategies, resources, and actionable plans to take your marketing (and budget) to the next level. LEARN MORE

Register today and give your business the spotlight it deserves.

Remember: To grow your business, marketing must have a seat at the table. And $0 isn’t an option. Make the choice to INVEST, because the ROI will always make it worth it.