22 Ways To Market Your Woodworking Business [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Wondering how to market your woodworking business?

Marketing your woodworking business is certainly not easy, but there are many ways to promote and advertise your woodworking business.

We put together a list of the best marketing ideas for your woodworking business, so you can get your small business out there.

Here’s the list:

1. Affiliate Program: Launch An Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

  • Topic: Affiliate
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $50-$500
  • Result: Lead Generation

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Check out our full guide on affiliate program ➜

2. Pay Per Click Advertising: Set Up A Pay Per Click Campaign

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.

  • Topic: Affiliate
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - Average is typically $1 per click
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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3. Referral Program: Launch A Referral Program

A referral program is the type of marketing where you state an offer to your existing customers for the act of creating a word-of-mouth referral that converts.

According to SEMrush, word-of-mouth is considered to be one of the top traffic sources for small businesses that practice affiliate marketing.

Launching a referral program is a great marketing strategy for growing a small business. An effective referral program enables startups to increase lead generation and an active audience.

  • Topic: Word Of Mouth
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $10-$100
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on referral program ➜

4. Outsourcing: Business Outsourcing

Outsourcing is an agreement where a business contracts a third party to perform services and job functions that were traditionally performed by the company’s employees.

Any business operations that can be performed from an offshore location can be outsourced.

Examples of business operations that can be outsourced include call center services, bookkeeping services, inventory management, IT services, Payroll solutions, etc.

  • Topic: Automate
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
  • Result: Product Quality

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Check out our full guide on outsourcing ➜

5. Handwritten Marketing : Send Handwritten Notes to Customers

Handwritten marketing is a common strategy used by sales and marketing teams that aim to maintain close relationships with their customers.

Sending handwritten notes to customers helps marketers achieve personalized marketing, improve customer loyalty, and improve open rates.

The concept of sending writing handwritten notes to customers is ideal in lead generation, sending thank you message after the customer made a purchase, retargeting abandoned shopping carts, and several other scenarios.

  • Topic: Relationships
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $0-$50
  • Result: Brand Loyalty

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Check out our full guide on handwritten marketing ➜

6. Product expansion: Expand Your Product Line

Product line expansion simply refers to a way of focusing on your customer's requirements and offering them variants of the current products that they already love.

Before undertaking the product line expansion strategy, consider listening to customers' feedback. Focus on understanding their current pain points and look at ways to make your products appeal to a broader market.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on product expansion ➜

7. Competitor analysis: Conduct A Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis refers to a report analyzing your competitors' strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own business.

For startups trying to break into the market, a well-researched competition analysis gives you the tools to reach strategic decisions.

A competitor analysis should be included in your marketing plan, your business plan, and all aspects of your high-level business and pricing strategy.

  • Topic: Sales
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $0-$300
  • Result: Product Quality

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Check out our full guide on competitor analysis ➜

8. Leverage Third Party Platforms: Leverage Third Party Platforms (Amazon, Etsy, etc)

Running a successful startup requires wearing a variety of hats at all times.

According to Forbes Report, startups should leverage third-party platforms to thrive.

Simply put, third-party platforms involve startups using an existing infrastructure and expertise built by the third-party platform to market and reach your customers.

Amazon, Etsy and Shopify are all examples of third-party platforms.

Startups that choose to leverage third-party platforms save an enormous amount of resources involved in hiring, training, and retaining in-house experts.

  • Topic: Sales
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $0-$100
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on leverage third party platforms ➜

9. Pinterest ads: Pinterest Advertising

Pinterest Advertising is a fast-pass ticket to increasing your social media reach by targeting more than 450 million active pinterest users every month.

By running promoted pins, marketers can drive traffic, increase conversions, and boost brand awareness effectively.

For startups, Pinterest Advertising is a great way to boost your business.

  • Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $.10-$1.50
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on pinterest ads ➜

10. Meetup groups: Meetup Group As a Marketing Strategy

Marketing via meetup groups is a strategy to helppublicize a brand during an ongoing in-person or virtual meeting.

Meetup groups offer many benefits for marketing your business, such as finding clients, hosting meetup groups that attract your customers, and learning from like-minded entrepreneurs.

Therefore, if you run a local or global business, meet up groups can be a great strategy for publicizing your offer.

  • Topic: Events
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $5-$150
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on meetup groups ➜

11. Tasks Automation : Start Automating Repetitive Tasks

Task automation refers to the application of modern technology to minimize or eliminate the need for human involvement in order to complete the task. Automation tools are one of the most effective ways to increase productivity and scale your business.

Think about all the redundant tasks you complete in a day. You would save a huge amount of time by using automation tools to eliminate the need for your involvement.

In this post, we look at task automation and tell you how you can automate repetitive tasks. . further, we will share an example of how automation has worked for our business. Let us jump straight in!

  • Topic: Automate
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - Automation tools cost $50-$200
  • Result: Product Quality

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Check out our full guide on tasks automation ➜

12. Guest Blogging: Start Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a content marketing strategy that involves writing and publishing a blog post on another company’s website.

Guest posts include your byline and are highlighted by the editor of that website as being written by a guest author or contributor

Guest posts attract a new audience and ultimately boost brand credibility and awareness.

  • Topic: Content
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $0-$300
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on guest blogging ➜

13. Yelp ads: Create Yelp Ads

Yelp Ads refers to the placement of promotional content on Yelp with the intention to reach more customers who visit Yelp.

The Yelp advertisements will appear in the search results and on business listings.

Through Yelp ads, you can bring more people back to your Yelp business page so that they learn more about your business and ultimately decide to contact you.

  • Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $0-$350
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on yelp ads ➜

14. Corporate gifts: Corporate Gifting

Corporate gifting is the practice of creating a touchpoint with your existing clients and prospects through the use of a gift.

Giving gifts is one of the worlds oldest traditions. Why? Because it works.

According to Destination CRM:

Businesses that send highly personalized and modern gifts at key moments in the customer journey see a far better outcome—particularly with small and midsize businesses, whose customer relationships are crucial.

  • Topic: Sales
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $20-$500
  • Result: Brand Loyalty

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Check out our full guide on corporate gifts ➜

15. Press Release: Get A Press Release Published

A press release is a marketing strategy that involves sending out a newsworthy bulletin.

Targeting journalists and potential customers, the press release provides a popular approach for getting immediate brand exposure.

For startups, getting more press is an attractive approach to gain traction, so that target customers know who you are, and what you are offering them.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $0-$2,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on press release ➜

16. Geographic Expansion: Develop a Geographic Expansion Strategy

Geographic expansion is a market strategy where an enterprise grows by expanding from its original location to additional geographic regions.

Geographic expansion is one of the preferred business growth strategies.

According to Frost & Sullivan, geographic expansion can help enterprises gain access to new markets and talent pools.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Hard
  • Cost: High - $5,000-$20,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on geographic expansion ➜

17. Business cards: Create Business Cards

A business card is a card bearing information about a business or an individual.

Business cards may seem like an "old" way to market yourself, but they still may be worth it.

A skillfully designed business card can be your best marketing tool especially if you meet many clients in person.

  • Topic: Print + Traditional
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $25-$200. Price depends on how many business cards you order.
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on business cards ➜

18. Promotional videos: Create A Stellar Promotional Video

A promotional video is any type of video you record and post with the intention of promoting a particular marketing initiative, sale, or event.

According to Wyzowl, 83% of video marketers say video gives them a great ROI.

Creating a stellar promotional video grabs the audience's attention and draws them to learn more about the featured product or service.

  • Topic: Content
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$10,000
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on promotional videos ➜

19. Publicity Stunts: Plan A Publicity Stunt

Publicity stunts are generated by a certain campaign or promotion (initiated by you) and are intended to raise awareness for your business.

Press could result in the form of TV coverage, write-ups in local newspapers, mentions in magazines and of course social media.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on publicity stunts ➜

20. Direct Mail Campaign: Design A Successful Direct Mail Campaign

Marketing through direct mail is a process where a business sends print advertising to their customer using the mail system.

Although this may seem like an old school way of doing marketing, it's proven to create brand awareness and convert customers.

This form of marketing can be done through various different methods, such as brochures, letters, postcards, flyers and much more.

  • Topic: Print + Traditional
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $.50-$3.00 per piece of mail
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on direct mail campaign ➜

21. Caption Contest: Run A Caption Contest

A caption contest giveaway is when brands share an image on social media and ask their audience to come up with a description for it.

Typically, whoever creates the best caption is chosen and rewarded with a gift or prize.

Not only can this engage your audience, but the results are often so clever that they can be used for future marketing material. You could even use the best entries to create a hilarious meme for your business. The opportunities are endless.

  • Topic: Social Media (Organic)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $10-$500. Depending on the giveaway prize, the cost may vary.
  • Result: Engagement

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Check out our full guide on caption contest ➜

22. Brand Story Email: Create A Brand Story Email Campaign

A brand story email narrates the story of how and why your business was started and expresses how that narrative is still apart of you today.

Emails that explain your brand story can be a very effective way to connect with your customer.

  • Topic: Email
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Free - -
  • Result: Lead Generation

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Check out our full guide on brand story email ➜

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.