Hi friends,
Maintaining a Startup business is not an easy task but it’s worth it to invest as much time and research as possible. In this week’s blog post, I am sharing with you some useful and creative marketing ideas for a small business. And remember that success comes to those who dare and act!
Virtual Presence
If you already have a website you should consider starting a blog as well. Now, before getting there you have to make sure that your website is more than a few telephone numbers and locations. Your website is one of your most powerful weapons. Keep it updated and post only meaningful content. Use your writing to establish a connection with your visitors. By approaching your audience with creativity and thoughtfulness you will put your brand out there with ease. You can write about your brand, new products and any interesting topic which is relevant to your field.
Social engagement
Focus on establishing a strong media presence by engaging your users. Try to be open-minded and put your ideas on the market. When you have a social media presence you will be able to present your brand and business in any possible way. Many small businesses have at least a Facebook or Twitter account, however, you should take advantage of Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Google+ to reach a new visitors base as well. Don’t forget that your personal touch of creativity will make your customers feel like there is an actual person behind the marketing.
Notifications
Notify your customers about upcoming specials and deals. You can send a push notification to get the message across, or you can add it to your newsfeed. Another great idea is to send them holiday greetings. This is an effective way to send a direct message through your app or via email which will boost activity and engagement on your site. It also creates the kind of personal and friendly connection which that modern consumers appreciate.
What has changed for marketplace marketing since this post (2026 update)
This post was written in 2022, and some of the channels it names have changed a lot since then. Here is what still works for a new classifieds or marketplace site in 2026, and what to do differently.
| Channel | What the post assumed | The situation in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Google+ | Use it to reach new visitors | Gone. Google shut down consumer Google+ on April 2, 2019 and deleted its content (Google Help). |
| A standard small-business account | Rebranded to X in July 2023 (Marketing Brew, July 2023). | |
| Social media overall | Be present everywhere | The audience is still huge. DataReportal counts 5.79 billion social media user identities as of April 2026, 69.9% of the world's population (Digital 2026 Mid-Year Update). These are accounts, not unique people, so pick the one or two platforms where your buyers and sellers already trade and stay active there. |
| Email newsletters | Send newsletters and holiday greetings | Since February 1, 2024 Gmail requires every sender to use SPF or DKIM and keep the spam rate reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day also need DMARC and one-click unsubscribe (Google Workspace Admin Help). Without these, your newsletter can end up in spam. |
| Push notifications | Send them through a native app | You no longer need a native app. Since iOS and iPadOS 16.4, a web app added to the Home Screen can ask permission to send push notifications (WebKit, February 2023), and Android browsers have supported web push for longer. |
A practical launch order for a new classifieds site
- Listings before promotion. Visitors who find an empty site leave and rarely come back. Start with one niche or one city and fill it with real listings before you spend money on ads. If you already have sellers in a spreadsheet, Yclas can import listings and users from a CSV file (Yclas features).
- Set up email authentication on day one. Your site sends sign-up confirmations, contact messages and alerts. Add SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for your domain before you send your first newsletter, so the transactional emails that keep buyers and sellers talking get delivered too.
- Use one social channel per audience. Post real listings, not generic brand messages. A photo of a new car or apartment on your site gives people a reason to click through.
- Measure what brings listings, not just visits. A channel that brings ten new sellers is worth more than one that brings a thousand visitors who never post or reply.
Create trust
As a small business, you have the advantage of being more authentic and the opportunity to build relationships with your customers. Create an online community, by using email newsletters and strong social media groups. Don’t leave an unanswered comment or review on your website and blog. Assure your customers that there is an actual person behind the marketing and that they are being heard. Think about starting a loyalty program that gives preference to loyal and repeat customers. Research options, like referral programs that benefit your clients who tell their friends about your brand. Encourage repeat customers to participate in your events, offer them membership discounts and special deals for loyal customers.
New Features
We have new features available for you!
Import Users tool and Video custom field are the latest features that we added.
The Import Users tool allows users to import as many users as they want, all at once, and with the Video custom field feature, they can upload videos of their products directly to their ad.
