Most small business owners in Australia do at least some of their own marketing, often squeezed between everything else. This site brings together independent, plain-language guides to marketing a small business well, and within the rules, with official sources on every page and a free email marketing checker.
Explore the guides
- Foundations Marketing plans, knowing your customer, the 5 Ps and setting goals.
- Digital Search engine basics, local search, email marketing and social media.
- The rules Advertising claims, online reviews, privacy and sponsored posts.
Popular guides
- How to write a marketing plan
- Search engine basics for small businesses
- Email marketing and the spam rules
- Online reviews: the rules
- Advertising law basics
Start with your customers
business.gov.au notes that identifying your target market helps focus your marketing and improves your chances of success. Know who you serve, what they need and how they choose, and the rest of your marketing gets easier.
Plan and measure
business.gov.au offers a free marketing plan template and tool, and suggests SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Choose a few channels that suit your customers, track a handful of measures and review regularly.
Be found online
Google's SEO Starter Guide says creating compelling, useful content will likely influence your website more than anything else. For local businesses, accurate and consistent business listings and genuine reviews matter too.
Email with consent
ACMA says you need consent before sending marketing emails or texts, and each message must identify you, include your contact details and make it easy to unsubscribe, with requests actioned within 5 working days.
Every claim must be true
The ACCC says any claim a business makes about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds, and fine print mustn't contradict the main message. The same rules apply on social media.
Reviews must be genuine
The ACCC says it's against the law to create fake or misleading reviews or arrange for others to do so. Asking customers for honest reviews is fine; manipulating them is not.
Respect privacy
The OAIC explains that people have the right to know why their information is collected and how it will be used, and to stop receiving unwanted direct marketing. Collect only what you need and be open about it.
A simple marketing routine
Marketing works best as a steady habit rather than an occasional burst. A simple routine might look like this. Each week, reply to enquiries and reviews, post or send something useful, and note where new customers came from. Each month, check your key measures against your goals, update your business listings if anything has changed, and plan the next month's content. Each quarter, review your marketing plan: what worked, what didn't, what customers are saying and whether your goals still make sense. Each year, look again at your target market, your offer and your budget, and check that your website, privacy policy and marketing practices still reflect how you work.
Common mistakes to avoid
Some mistakes come up again and again. Trying to be on every channel at once spreads limited time too thin. Measuring followers and likes rather than enquiries and sales hides what's really working. Making claims you can't back up, or burying important conditions in fine print, risks breaching the Australian Consumer Law. Emailing people who never agreed to hear from you risks breaching the Spam Act and annoys potential customers. Buying or faking reviews is illegal and can badly damage trust. And stopping too soon, before an activity has had time to work, wastes the effort already spent.
Getting help
If you want help with your marketing, business.gov.au lists government support and advisory services for small businesses, and many state governments offer small business advice, workshops and mentoring. If you hire a marketing agency or freelancer, agree clearly on what they'll do, how results will be measured and who owns your accounts, website and customer data. Remember that you remain responsible for what is published or sent in your business's name, even when someone else does the work.
Try the email marketing checker
Our free email marketing checker asks six quick questions based on ACMA's spam guidance and shows what to fix. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you answer is sent anywhere.
Marketing on a small budget
Many of the most effective activities cost little except time: a clear website, accurate local listings, genuine reviews, an email list built with consent, consistent social media on one platform, and service good enough to earn word of mouth.
About this site
This web address was once home to a small marketing agency's website, which later closed. Marketers is a new, independent site with original content and no connection to that business or any previous operator. We aren't a marketing agency, consultancy, regulator or law firm, and we don't rank or recommend agencies, software or platforms. We never invent statistics, results, prices, quotes or case studies, and our guides are general information, not legal advice.
How we work
Every guide is written in our own words from official sources, including the ACCC, ACMA, the OAIC, business.gov.au and Google Search Central. We link to those sources at the end of each page and review guides regularly. Read our editorial policy for details, or contact us with corrections.
