There’s a common misconception that one can make money online for free. This is possible but very difficult to pull off. Things cost money and you must cut costs in your online marketing business.

In order to have control over your online business, you’ll need your own domain, hosting, autoresponder and so on. Leveraging other people’s web properties for free will mean giving up control of your content and so on.

Building your house on a rented property is NEVER a good idea.

So it goes without saying that you’ll be spending money to build a successful online business. That said, it’s nowhere as expensive as a brick and mortar business.

In fact, with around $200-$500, you’ll be able to build your very own online business from scratch and bootstrap it up to a 5 or even 6 figure business.

Below you’ll find 7 tips to help you reduce your costs so that if you’re on a tight budget, starting an online business will not seem so burdensome.

1 – Begin Small

This is the most important rule of the lot. When buying a domain name, use an affordable service like Namecheap or Name Silo. Choose a 1-year plan rather than choosing 5 years just because you get a discount.

When choosing hosting providers, go with a starter plan and pay monthly rather than paying yearly because you want a cheaper price.

This is what starting small is all about. When your business is doing well, you can opt for the annual payments to enjoy cost savings – but not when you’re a beginner who’s scraping by.

2 – Following the Herd Is not a Good Idea

The online marketing space is filled with sheep who will jump on every bandwagon that comes their way. You need to be more astute and alert.

When you’re first starting off, you may need a page builder for your sales pages. Software like OptimizePress or Thrive Themes are one-off payments that are much more affordable than Clickfunnels or Leadpages.

Yet, you’ll see marketers praising the latter 2 all the time. The question now is, “Are you ready for these expensive options if you’re a beginner?”

The answer is probably no. So choose the cheaper options that work for you and reduce your recurring bills as much as you can.

3 – Keep Track of Your Expenses

If you’re paying by PayPal, most of your recurring bills will be automated and it’s easy to lose track of your pre-approved payments.

Make a list of all the monthly expenses in your online business. You may be shocked to find that you’re paying for services you no longer use. For example, you may have a Canva subscription, but you’re hiring graphic designers from Fiverr.

So you’re wasting money here. By tracking your expenses, you’ll eliminate wasteful spending.

4 – Leverage No Cost Trials to Cut Costs in Your Online Marketing Business

A lot of software, tools, etc. come with free 7-day, 14-day or even 30-day trials. Make sure you use these free trials to save money – but before you sign up, ensure that you’re ready first or you’ll be wasting the trial.

For example, if you have a 30-day trial for an autoresponder, make sure your opt-in pages are ready and you’re getting traffic before signing up for the 30-day trial. In this way, you’ll hit the ground running from day 1 and build your list instead of wasting precious days getting the other components in your funnel ready.

5 – Quality Is Important

You get what you pay for. Sometimes, it’s better to pay more for a product to get a better service. You’ll often find cheap self-hosted autoresponders sold by dodgy marketers.

Their selling point will be that you only pay a one-time fee. That’s true. But once you start using their software, you’ll find that the cheap software breaks down or has atrocious deliverability rates and so on.

You’d be better off paying monthly for a solid service like Convertkit, AWeber or Active Campaign… and you’d not have wasted money on junk. You must find the balance between cost and value here.

6 – Browse Around

You may find that some info-products, courses, etc. are priced differently in different places.

For example, you may find a PLR store selling you a resell rights product for $9. That same product may be sold on another website for $3.

This happens all the time and is no different from a can of coke costing 3X more in a cinema than at a supermarket. Shop around and see if you can get the product at a cheaper price.

7 – Find Coupons and Discount Codes

Another way to save money will be to do a Google search for ‘product name + coupon’. You may find coupons that help you get a few dollars off.

Always be alert. Sometimes software is discounted during times like Black Friday, etc. Now is the best time to grab the opportunity and save yourself some money.

Alternatively, you can contact the product vendors directly and ask for discount coupons, etc. Many vendors will accede to your requests if you’re polite. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

At the end of the day, you want to run a lean, effective online business that makes money round the clock without incurring too many costs. One of the easiest ways to increase your bottom line will be to trim your expenses.

Constantly look for ways to do this and your business will see higher profits and you’ll be able to earn more and save more.

If you enjoyed this post on ways to cut costs in your online marketing business then please consider sharing it. If you would like to leave a comment use space below or contact me via the contact form.

Mike Gaudreau is the owner of The Wealthy Boomers, a site devoted to helping seniors make money online. Mike resides in Montreal Canada.

You should assume the owner of this website probably has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection, to any suppliers of goods and services that may be discussed here and may be compensated for showing advertisements or recommending products or services, or linking to the supplier’s website.