The 10 marketing ideas listed below are a great starting place if you're feeling stuck or not sure what to do next to grow your business.

Ready to put in some effort and see some results? Awesome. Oh by the way, results don’t necessarily equate to money. Results can also mean lessons learned, audience growth, or relationships built. Which are vital for any business at any stage!

One more thing: Trying any of these ideas could lead to other ideas. That’s the beauty of creation and work. You may be seeking specific results by trying a certain marketing strategy, but you should be open to unintended outcomes which can lead to new ideas.

And now the 10 ideas…

Marketing Idea #1 – Build a focused email list

We make 95% of our income from our email lists. We don’t use crazy growth tactics. We don't use paid ads. We don’t have a single email pop-up on our website.

What we have is a strategy for delivering consistent and useful content to our subscribers.

Pick your favorite email marketing provider

If you need me to pick an email provider for you, we recommend ConvertKit (aff link). They have a very generous free plan and the features included in their paid plans are worth the money.

Create a kick-ass lead magnet

It's not enough to have an opt-in form on your website that says, "get my email newsletter." No one signs up for those any longer.

Instead, you want to give someone a wallop of value right off the bat! That's what a great lead magnet can do. It can be a checklist, an email course, a PDF, a video series, or even some of the other marketing ideas listed below!

Just remember to clearly convey the problem the lead magnet will solve when you are writing copy around your opt-in forms.

Be consistently useful

We've been sending weekly email newsletters to subscribers for 10+ years now. The key to continuing to have a thriving email list is being consistently useful.

Pick a day and time you can commit to each week. Write and queue up your email newsletter a week in advance so you aren't up against any deadlines. Make sure the email you send is helpful to your audience and is something they look forward to reading each week.

You do NOT need to write a 2,000 word email every week. Some of my favorite emails are 500 words long. Focus on useful, consistent, helpful content and the length will fall into place.

Being consistently useful has more marketing power than you can imagine. Being authentic and consistent will always lead to positive outcomes. The trick is to believe in the process and continue to deliver on your promises.

Marketing Idea #2 – Host a free awesome local event

We live in a digital world, but we forget how impactful in-person events can be. To host an in-person event, you need to do just a few things right.

Thing #1 – Find a cool venue

If you thought “conference room at a hotel” when I said “local event” please immediately close this article and go read something else. Picking a boring venue for an event does one thing extremely well: It makes you and your business look boring.

In almost every town in the world there is a cool coffee shop, an old historic building, a mainstay restaurant that everyone knows and loves, or some outdoor space that people really enjoy.

If you don’t think you know of any cool venues, ask a friend, your kid, or people on social media in your area. If you hear the same place mentioned more than once, that’s the place where your event should be hosted.

Thing #2 – Have good food, good drinks, or good music

Hosting a local event isn’t just about having your company name pushed in people’s faces. It’s about people associating your company with things they enjoy, which in turn, means they might enjoy your company.

Again, go local here and find a hometown chef, mixologist, and/or musician. Don’t feel like you need to pay an arm-and-a-leg for these people. Ask if these folks want to partner with you and get some exposure for their business as well. You don’t get what you don’t ask for.

Thing #3 – Own the event

Spend the majority of time meeting each and every person at the event and asking them questions about what they do. Keep asking questions and listening. Don't be overly pitchy.

Whether you have a microphone or you just want to stand on a chair and holler, don’t be afraid to take credit for how awesome a time everyone is having. Don’t be a douchecanoe about it, but take a moment to share something about your company. Just keep it short and useful (don’t read your business plan or elevator pitch).

Bonus Thing #4 – Getting people to show up?

This is where you embrace the power of your existing network. Who do you know in your town? Tell them how awesome your event is going to be and build a list of word of mouth event sharers.

Use a service like Meetup, Eventbrite, or Facebook Events to have a (free) RSVP to your event. This makes your event feel bigger and more important than it probably is.

Marketing Idea #3 – Host a virtual summit or webinar that doesn’t suck

Virtual summits and webinars get a bad rap. Why? Because crappy marketers do a horrible job and spoil things for the rest of us.

By partnering up with people who might be in your industry or doing things similar to what you do, a virtual summit or webinar can bring your combined audiences together in one place for a grand-fiesta-of-value!

Step #1 – Plan to deliver value, not sell your stuff

Too many people use virtual summits and webinars as a place just to sell. These platforms are ripe for teaching. What knowledge can you give to people? What problems can you help them solve? Who do you know that also has unique things to offer in your business space?

Marketing isn’t just about making sales. It’s about building trust and making people respect you. The sales will come if you continue to deliver value.

Step #2 – Find experienced people to partner with and make sure there’s something in it for them

This is by far the hardest part of partnering with other people. I get asked too often to do a virtual summit, webinar, etc, and there’s nothing in it for me. I’m not trying to be a selfish jerk, I just have a limited amount of time to throw around.

A couple things you could offer someone, especially if you don’t know them and want to partner with them: Your product or service at a hugely discount rate (or better yet, free) for that person’s customer base (please make sure their customers would even care). A dedicated email to your customer list promoting something from your potential partner. A very generous revenue share IF you are selling something.

Step #3 – Plan to under promise and over deliver

This is a marketing tip in itself, but with live events you definitely want to plan in some extra goodness for the audience. This could be a helpful e-book, an online course, a huge discount to something awesome, or some resource or tool that people can use for free.

Don’t talk about this thing at all until you actually deliver it during the live event. Surprising and delighting people can go a long way (and you should plan to do this often!).

Marketing Idea #4 – Create a Podcast or YouTube Channel

If you are looking to grow a non-existent audience, you should create a YouTube channel. If you have an audience and are simply looking for a new way to deeper the connection with them, create a podcast.

With either option, there are 3 things you should focus on…

Focus #1 – Be unique

There has never been more content to consume and it's important that your content stands out from everything else.

Just copying what has worked for someone else won't necessarily cut it for you. Instead, take a topic/niche and put your spin on it.

Focus #2 – Audience clarity

Don't start a podcast or YouTube channel for everyone. Instead, pick a very specific audience that you want to interact with and help. Ideally, this audience is based around the product or service you sell.

You may think you need to pick a large, general audience (ex: stay at home Moms), but you'd be better served to niche down and go with a smaller group of people with a strong interest (ex: stay at home Moms who love digital journaling).

The more clear your audience focus is, the easier a time you will have to build and attract people.

Focus #3 – Be consistent

Again, just like the email list idea above, consistency is king. And the queen of the castle? Authenticity. Don’t pretend to speak like someone else. Don’t remove all the uniqueness from the way you talk naturally. Be 100% you. Then create a production schedule and stick to it.

If you aren’t sure if you’ll like podcasting or YouTube'ing, set a 3-month plan for yourself. Commit to doing it for 3 months and then reassess at a certain date.

If you hate doing either of these things and they aren't bringing you value, stop doing them. If you enjoy it and can see an uptick with stuff related to your business, keep going!

Marketing Idea #5 – Make swag people actually want

This is a really great article about making t-shirts and giving them away. I’ll summarize it for you if you don’t want to read the whole thing (which you should though).

People will not wear crappy t-shirts. A plain white 100% cotton shirt with your company logo on them? Yeah, those will get tossed in a drawer and the next time that shirt sees the light of day is when it gets donated. Pick high-quality shirts (blends created by Next Level, American Apparel, and Canvas are great) and put something interesting on the shirt! Sorry, your logo isn’t super interesting unless you’re a band, a delicious coffee company, or a ghost with boobs.

What’s something your company stands for? What’s a phrase you use all the time that people like hearing you say? What’s a little motto or interesting design element that tells the story of your company (and that people would be proud to wear)? Put that on your t-shirts. The same advice goes for stickers, etc.

Make stuff that people would be proud to showcase, even if it doesn’t clearly say your brand name.

If it’s interesting and people get asked about it, then they have the ability to tell your story to someone else. Creating an opportunity for word of mouth marketing is very powerful marketing.

Marketing Idea #6 – Create a scavenger hunt

Who doesn’t love scavenger hunts?? This could be virtual or in-person. In-person would be really fun, but that favors businesses that have some type of local appeal.

Scavenger hunts are really not that hard if you just take a moment to plan out each step and make it a fun thing for people to spend time doing.

Virtual or in-person, here are some steps to consider in the hunting process:

Step #1 – Good design goes a long way

Remember how excited you got as a kid whenever you thought of (or created) a treasure map? Hire a designer to create a treasure map!

Whether your scavenger hunt is online or not, a physical map that someone can hold in their hands creates a visceral response. Yes, it will take planning and money to come up with a map that leads people on their hunt, but with effort comes results.

If your scavenger hunt experience is in-person, don’t just shove an item on the hunt in a bush or under a mailbox. Create an experience for the person when they find it. You can do the same thing if you do a scavenger hunt online. Add good copy and design at every turn.

Step #2 – Offer up cool stuff!

Have you EVER in your life gotten excited about a lanyard or 5% discount? Don’t make those things the rewards for people’s effort.

You don’t have to offer up a gold bar, either. I mean, that would be epic, but if you know what your customers like, then invest in some stuff they would actually enjoy.

Step #3 – Don’t make it too easy or too difficult

People’s attention spans are crap these days. I’m shocked you’ve read this far in this article. It’s just the nature of the time we live in. Know this and make sure you aren’t creating a scavenger hunt that takes two lifetimes to accomplish.

A great way to test this is have different people of different ages go through your scavenger hunt. See how long it takes them and listen to any feedback they offer.

Marketing Idea #7 – Tap into childhood memories

Ask your existing customer what their favorite childhood memories are, then make those childhood memories show up on their doorstep.

Whether by email, survey, social media, or carrier pigeon, ask your existing customers what their favorite memories are from childhood. If you want to get specific, ask what their favorite cereals, candies, snacks, movies, songs, etc, are.

Then, buy those things for your customers and mail them those memories! Do you know how excited I would be if someone mailed me a package with a small box of Honeycomb cereal, Skittles, and a Super Contra Nintendo cartridge? Holy crap, I’d Instagram/Facebook/Twitter the hell out of that photo.

Maybe there’d also be a note from that person with their company’s cool sticker or t-shirt that doesn’t suck in the box too? That’d be great marketing.

Tip for sending memories: Don’t do something like this just because you think it’s a good marketing tactic. Do this if you actually care about your existing customers and if value customer retention over customer acquisition.

Marketing Idea #8 – Do a 24-hour live challenge

There’s something really interesting about seeing the behind the scenes and live-action of a project. I used to do this daily with a live video show I hosted on Ustream. There were many times when I kept the live video going for hours after the show time because people wanted to watch. Those bonus-hour-watchers ended up being my biggest fans (and sometimes best customers).

Step #1 – Pick the right platform for you

You don’t have to host a live video show. You could create a blog post and update it hour by hour. You could do this via social media and keep people up-to-date via a hashtag. You could even use audio (creating a 24-hour podcast with hourly updates) and share small updates.

Find a platform that provides little barrier to entry for you, but is also easy for a potential viewer/listener/reader to enjoy.

Step #2 – Share your processes

People love learning processes. Some of my biggest successes in business have come through sharing my entire process (SponsorMyBook and BuyMyFuture specifically).

If you’re going to do something for 24-hours, whatever unique processes you use to accomplish that thing should be shared and explained to other people.

Step #3 – The outcome (kind of) doesn’t matter

It’s 24 hours. You aren’t going to build a viral sensation. Pick something reasonable like a e-book, course, website, fundraiser, website-in-a-day, gluten-free bake sale, whatever interesting thing you can create.

It really doesn’t matter how good the thing turns out, you just want people to join you on the journey and feel like they were a part of something.

Step #4 – Include people!

Ask people to DM you, email you, comment, leave audio recordings, etc. Then, showcase their words during your 24-hour event. People love seeing their name and words online. Embrace people’s vanity!

Including people also helps you build a stronger bond with your customers and fans. Having raving customers and fans is possible for any company in any industry. If you don’t believe that, I have no idea why you’re reading this article.

Marketing Idea #9 – Secret deliveries

This idea came to me while writing this article. Here’s how it works:

Step #1 – Find something awesome in your local area or that you can order online in bulk that’s easy to deliver

Let’s say, for example, there’s an amazing donut shoppe in your town (and you know it’s amazing because they spell shop “shoppe”). Go talk to the donut kingpin who owns the shoppe and order up a whole slew of circular deliciousnesses.

While the donuts are baking, buy a domain like ihopeyoulikedthedonuts.com. Have a designer whip up a very simple website with a fun message on it (use Squarespace if you want to save money and do it yourself). The message could say something like:

“We hope you enjoyed the donuts! Wait, who are ‘we?’ Well, we’re <insert really cool one-liner about your awesome business>. We just wanted to deliver a little deliciousness to your doorstep today. If you’re ever in need of <insert short line about the services your business offers>, feel free to shoot us an email or give us a call”– Tom Selleck, CEO, Mustaches-R-Us, 1-800-MUSTACHE / tom@stachaholics.com

Step #2 – Get a little note printed for the packages

You don’t need your corporate logo on any packaging. You don’t want your name plastered all over the delivery. Create a little mystery!

Leave a note in the box (example donuts) that says nothing more than “Enjoy the delicious pastries? Visit ihopeyoulikethedonuts.com” That’s it! Don’t muddy up the note with all your business objectives, logos, letterhead, CEO’s dog’s name, etc. You want people to be interested in taking the next step to find out more info.

Step #3 – Make a potential (and existing) customer list

I’d recommend a healthy dose of existing customers and potential new customers. Gather up all their addresses and plan out your delivery route.

Don’t want to deliver the items yourself? That’s cool. Most cities have courier services or you can post on Craigslist and find people willing to do deliveries for cheap.

Step #4 – Word travels quickly, get your deliveries done quickly

An idea like this doesn’t have a long shelf-life (much like a yummy donut). Organize a handful of delivery people to drop off the goodies at the same time to all the businesses on your list. If I was doing this marketing idea, I’d make sure as many deliveries got delivered first thing in the morning and within the smallest time window possible.

Step #5 – Forget about this idea after you do it

Wait, what? I’m serious. Ideas like this aren’t meant to be measured and analyzed. It’s a fun marketing thing to do, not a long-term strategy.

Don’t obsess over how many people call, email, or even visit the website. Understand that you made an impression on a potential customer and move on to your next idea.

Marketing Idea #10 – Surprise and delight

Reach out to your existing customers and ask what you can do for them. Then do those things.

Best form of marketing ever? Word of mouth. Who has mouths? Your existing (and hopefully) happy customers.

Send an email to your customer list and ask one question: “What’s something we can help you do, within reason, right now?”

Then wait for the responses.

Does someone’s family member need prayers because they are in the hospital? Send them a bouquet of flowers.

Does someone need help getting customers for their own business? Offer to jump on a video call with them and share everything that’s worked in your business to get customers.

Does someone want tickets to a New York Knicks game? Go on Stubhub and buy them two tickets to a game in the future at whatever price you can afford.

Yes, these things will cost you money. No, you are not required to do any of them. But if you are going to take on this marketing idea, I suggest you set a budget and do your best to accommodate every single person who replies.

This takes effort and money, but those two things can yield incredibly returns if invested in the right places.

It’s important to remember that EVERY marketing idea has unintended outcomes.

These ideas might not work. They make work incredibly well. Either way, doing anything will bring about learning moments to advance your business forward.

Even if you don’t use one of these ideas, my hope is that reading this article might spark some sort of idea for you. Remember that ideas are great, but execution is the true secret to any success. Now get out there and do something interesting.