How does a lone entrepreneur create a brand image and message and keeping costs low? While this really depends on how lean your start-up will be, there are a number of tools which one can pick and mix to launch a brand, a report said.

The fundamental strategy when branding on a budget is to eliminate the need for an agency and self manage the whole process yourself, added the report “Branding on a Budget” published by The Bureau Dubai, a social workspace that provides investment, trade licenses, sponsorship, and office support to help start up business ideas and SMEs grow in Dubai, UAE.

Although this will save you tremendous costs it will also be very time consuming. The first task is to build your team of professionals and the most cost effective way to do this is to outsource it to quality designers, developers and experts in countries where it is more affordable. There are a whole host of freelancers available who provide hourly or project based rates for specialised skills. Go through the website and look for logo designers (and always thoroughly check their portfolio and recommendations by previous clients) who will design your logo and usually a set of printed stationery such as business cards, letterheads etc.

The great thing about people per hour is that it only releases the money once the whole job is complete and you are happy with the work and until then they hold the amount in escrow.

Next find a web developer who can set up WordPress themes. In addition to these you should also look for freelancers who specialize in SEO/ PPC marketing and writers who can write press releases. Depending on your product or service you can also find a whole host of other freelancers from animation specialists to make commercial ads to Photoshop specialists to retouch photos.

Use templates personalized for you

Now this is a top tip which many designers and creative people will debate over but whatever the argument may be the cost you will save using templates will be huge. A template is creative material (from a business card to website to brochure to animated video) that has been designed by professional designers and developers and is then sold to multiple companies who can then in turn personalize the template to their own needs and publish it in their own name.

Go social

One of the most cost effective and fastest ways to get your brand out to your target market is through Social Media. This is a great way to create a brand without having to spend too much money and is the foundation for all to get your brand message out there today. It’s important for all companies to have a social media presence however the response will differ depending on each industry. It’s important to remember social media is great for brand awareness but not necessarily to generate high quality leads.

Whatever marketing and branding you do try and capture data at every avenue. Add newsletter signup forms on your websites, have registrations at any events you do or create an excel sheet with the email address of everyone you meet, friend or foe. It is important to keep in contact with everyone that is aware of your company and the best method to do this is through email marketing. You can do something as regular as a monthly newsletter to one off promotions offering a discount – this really depends on the nature of your business.

Chances are if someone has shown interest in you but it doesn’t translate in to a sale or business relationship they will more likely come back to you when the time is right provided you keep reminding them you are still there. – TradeArabia News Service