How To Get Big Business Results on a Small Marketing Budget

Marketing can feel like a catch-22: You need more customers to grow, but marketing takes time and money—two resources small businesses never seem to have enough of. Thankfully, you don’t have to outspend the competition to win.

Competing isn’t always about spending more

On average, big businesses spend 10.1% of their revenue on marketing. If you're wondering how your small company can scrape together that kind of cash to be competitive, you don’t have to. You can make a small budget go a long way with the right strategy.

That is by taking a page from big brands and bringing in freelance marketing specialists. Freelancers are how businesses (including global giants) get top-tier expertise, right when they need them, and within budget.

Working with freelance professionals can inject your business with:

• Big-brand expertise. Work with the same high-caliber professionals that major companies hire.
• Cost flexibility. Pay only for what you need, when you need it.
• A global talent pool. Find the perfect fit faster—no need to limit yourself to local candidates.
• Fresh ideas. Get new perspectives that help your brand stand out.

How much of a difference can a freelancer make?

When nonprofit Southside Blooms contracted independent professionals, sales grew 16 times. The upturn started when they hired a freelance publicist who turned a tiny $150 ad budget into $50 million in media coverage. Read their full story.

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What freelancers can do for you

No company—big or small—can do everything in-house. In fact, 51% of executives admit they couldn’t run their business without freelancers, according to Upwork research.

Employees agree. Instead of being threatened by outside help, they see these flexible, independent professionals as valuable resources that they can tap to level up their capabilities and amplify their productivity. This might be contracting a writer to craft blog posts, an animation specialist to create a series of how-to videos, and a data analyst to gather and clean data from various sources.

Here are a few ways independent sales and marketing professionals can help:

• Brand strategist. Helps define your brand’s voice, look, and message to attract the right audience.  
• Search engine marketer. Tweaks keywords, runs paid ads, and optimizes websites to get your business noticed online.  
• Lead generator. Finds and qualifies potential customers to keep your sales pipeline healthy.  
• Video editor. Turns raw footage into eye-catching, professional videos that keep your audience watching.  
• Social media marketer. Builds buzz, engagement, and loyalty with shareable content.  
• Copywriter. Writes articles, web pages, and emails that grab attention and drive action.  
• Influencer marketer. Identifies creators to promote your brand and reach new audiences authentically.

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Where to find the right freelancer

Freelancers are everywhere—and their influence is growing. Trends suggest that over 50% of the American workforce will freelance by 2027. Perhaps not surprisingly, many Gen Z workers are already bypassing traditional jobs to become career freelancers. 

Thanks to technology, finding the right freelancer doesn’t have to feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Here are some of the top places to look:

LinkedIn‍

Great for finding experienced professionals with a solid work history.

• Pros. Easy to verify credentials, strong professional network, built-in recommendations
• Cons. Can be expensive, slower hiring process, people mainly interested in full-time work

Business network‍

Tap into trusted referrals from colleagues, clients, or past hires.

• Pros. Pre-vetted talent, higher trust, often faster to onboard
• Cons. Limited pool of candidates, may not find specialized skills, awkward if it doesn’t work out

Social media‍

Post on your social platforms to let people know what skill you’re looking for.

• Pros. Access to creative talent, good for trend-based or visual work, direct communication
• Cons. Harder to vet experience, more informal than other options, higher risk of unreliable workers

Freelance platforms‍

Choose from platforms that offer a wide range of skills like Upwork, specialize in a specific type of worker like The Mom Project, or focus on specific skills like Toptal.

• Pros. Large talent pool, built-in reviews and ratings, less admin—platform handles contracts and payments
• Cons. Platform fees, competition for top talent, usually works remotely

If you’re new to working with freelancers, hiring one is like hiring an employee—but with less risk and more flexibility. You still vet talent to ensure a good match, but if one doesn’t work out, you can quickly find another. 

Get tips for hiring, working with, and building freelance teams in this online guide: Hiring and Working with Independent Talent.

No time to look for help?

Upwork is purposefully designed to make quick work of finding the best match for a project, so you can get projects started as soon as possible. 

Start by using the Job Post Generator (powered by Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI) to draft a job description in seconds. Tell it what you need in a sentence or two, and it’ll take care of the rest.

You can edit the draft in a few clicks. Once it’s perfect, hit post. Now your job is live for freelancers to see.

Upwork also provides several features to help you compare and shortlist freelancers with confidence:

• Quick invites. Instantly get the top eight potential freelancer matches for a job. In one click, invite as many as you want to submit a proposal.
• Talent profiles. Go beyond the resume as you see the types of projects they’ve worked on, plus ratings and reviews from past clients.
• Talent badges. Badges come in four levels, so you can filter searches based on the level of experience required.
• Consultations. Not sure if the person’s a good fit? If they offer consultations, you can book a quick chat straight from their profile.

See: How to hire the right freelancer in 5 steps 

Punch above your weight with Upwork

Big results don’t require big budgets—just the right strategy. Whether you need someone to knock out a one-time project or a team for longer-term support, freelancers can help you grow without the pricey overhead.

That’s one reason why Kim Darling, CEO of Emerald Tiger, doesn’t hire anyone without checking Upwork first.

“Upwork is great because it offers the whole machine around finding and working with independent talent at the speed we need,” she said. “I can access high-caliber talent with the same level of creativity, experience, and professionalism as the specialists I worked with when I was a VP at a large tech company. It’s amazing.”

See who’s available to start leveling up your marketing today. Find top marketing professionals.

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‍Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.