You’ve laid the groundwork — now it’s time to turn early traction into long-term growth. If you’re still laying those foundations, check out our startup marketing guide first. Scaling startup marketing isn’t just about doing more. It’s about setting the right goals, focusing your efforts, and knowing where to invest your time and budget.
Research from the University of Technology Sydney shows that early-stage B2B startups benefit the most from marketing — but are among the least likely to invest in it.
“An alarming 50% of early-stage start-ups either don’t opt for marketing, or invest in marketing when it doesn’t yield significant benefits”
That’s a missed opportunity for many, and a smart advantage for those who act early.
In this guide, we’ll break down what growth actually looks like for early-stage startups — from clarifying priorities to choosing the right channels and partners.
What we cover:
What is startup marketing, and why does it matter?
When should you start thinking about marketing?
What should you focus on first?
What channels actually make sense early on?
How do you measure what’s working?
What are the most common mistakes?
What does good startup marketing actually look like?
Make your marketing count — even at the earliest stage
What is startup marketing, and why does it matter?
Startup marketing isn’t a department. It’s not a campaign. It’s not a shiny brand video or a six-month roadmap. At this stage, marketing is about momentum. It’s about making smart decisions that move your business forward — even when things are still changing fast.
That could mean positioning your product so people understand it at a glance. It could mean testing a landing page to see which message gets more signups. Or getting your first few customers and actually asking them why they bought. All of that is marketing — even if you don’t call it that yet.
The challenge? There’s no single blueprint. What works for one startup might completely miss the mark for another. But there are patterns. And one of the biggest is this: the startups that grow fastest are the ones that treat marketing as a strategic tool, not just a way to shout louder.
Good startup marketing helps you:
- Get clear on who you’re for — and who you’re not
- Focus your efforts so you’re not chasing everything at once
- Learn fast, adapt faster, and avoid building in the dark
It’s not just about visibility. It’s about direction. Done right, marketing keeps your early momentum from fizzling out — and helps you turn that momentum into meaningful, measurable growth.
When should you start thinking about marketing?
Marketing matters before product–market fit. It’s not about big campaigns — it’s about being intentional early on: shaping how your product is understood, who you’re reaching, and what you’re learning from your audience. Start before you think you’re ready.
Early marketing is about learning, not just selling.
Marketing doesn’t have to mean launching ads or building a full content engine from day one. It’s how you test whether your message lands. It’s how you find out who really sees value in what you’re building. And it’s how you start building a reputation — even before you’re ready to go big.
- Here’s what early marketing might look like:
- Writing a landing page to see which value proposition gets the most clicks
- Posting on LinkedIn to gauge interest or start conversations
- Running a small cold outreach experiment to understand objections
- Talking to early users and adjusting your messaging based on what they actually care about
You don’t need a full strategy right out of the gate. But the earlier you start thinking about how people discover, understand, and trust what you’re building, the stronger your position will be when you’re ready to grow.
The short version: don’t wait for permission. The best time to start shaping your marketing is while you’re still building — not after the spotlight’s already on.
What should you focus on first?
When everything feels urgent, it’s tempting to jump into tactics — a blog here, a campaign there, a few ads to see what sticks. But the startups that move faster (and waste less time) are the ones that stop and ask three key questions first:
1. Who are we building this for?
Not “everyone who might find it useful” — the real people who will benefit most, feel the pain most, and be most likely to take a chance on something new. Think about their context, not just their job title. What are they trying to solve? What’s getting in their way?
2. What do we want them to understand, feel, or do?
This is about your message. What do you want people to walk away remembering after 10 seconds on your site or one scroll through LinkedIn? Clarity here makes everything else easier — from positioning to pricing to how you describe your product in a pitch.
3. What are we trying to learn — or prove — right now?
Early marketing isn’t about running on autopilot. It’s about getting feedback. Are people clicking? Signing up? Staying engaged? Which messages or channels are driving that behaviour? Treat marketing as a way to test assumptions, not just promote what’s built.
Once you’ve got those three answers, you can start to prioritise where to put your energy. For some teams, that might mean building out a strong landing page. For others, it could mean starting a direct outreach list. Either way, you’re making decisions with focus — not just reacting to noise.
This stage sets the tone. If you skip it, you risk spending time and money pushing messages that don’t land, to people who don’t care, in channels that don’t suit you.
What channels actually make sense early on?
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to marketing channels — SEO, social, paid ads, email, partnerships, PR, community… the list goes on. But early on, trying to do it all is a fast track to burning time and budget without much to show for it.
Instead of chasing every channel, choose one or two based on what you need to learn and where your audience already spends their time.
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
- Need conversations fast? Try direct outreach (email or LinkedIn), or tap into communities where your audience already hangs out.
- Want to build trust over time? Start creating content — posts, guides, short videos — that show you understand your audience’s problems.
- Looking to test positioning? Landing pages, onboarding flows, and short messages in real conversations are your best bet.
There’s no “perfect” channel — just better bets based on your stage and your goals. Early traction usually comes from depth, not reach. That means going all-in on one or two channels, testing deliberately, and only layering in more once something’s working.
Also worth noting: paid ads can be tempting, especially if you’re short on time. But unless your message is already dialled in and your funnel’s tight, they can quickly turn into expensive guesswork. Save them for later — or use them sparingly, just to test.
Your first channel doesn’t need to scale forever. It just needs to help you learn something useful and move you forward.
How do you measure what’s working?
Start simple. Focus on whether you’re reaching the right people and if they’re taking action — clicking, signing up, buying, sticking around. Look for patterns, not perfection. The goal isn’t perfect data, it’s useful signals that help you move forward with clarity.
You don’t need complex funnels or dozens of KPIs. Start simple. Focus on a handful of signals that help you answer two questions:
- Are we reaching the right people?
- Are they doing what we hoped they’d do?
Here are a few useful metrics to watch:
- Traffic and engagement — not just volume, but quality. Are visitors sticking around? Are they clicking? Are they coming back?
- Conversion rates — from visit to sign-up, trial to activation, or demo to deal. Are you getting traction, or just attention?
- Response quality — if you’re running outreach or content, what are people saying? Are you getting real interest or vague compliments?
- Time to value — how long does it take for someone to “get it”? If people need a 20-minute call to understand your product, something’s off.
At this stage, measurement is more about learning than reporting. You’re looking for patterns. Are people resonating with your message? Is one channel clearly outperforming others? Are certain types of customers sticking around longer or converting faster?
And just as important — don’t chase perfect data. You won’t have massive volumes to draw from yet, and that’s fine. Gut instinct still has a role. But pairing it with even lightweight data helps you make sharper calls, faster.
Track what matters, ignore the noise, and use what you learn to tune the next thing you try.
What are the most common mistakes?
Trying to do too much, copying bigger brands, switching tactics too fast, or skipping strategy altogether. Early-stage marketing works best when it’s focused, consistent, and built around what your audience actually needs. Here’s some more info about the big ones to watch out for:
Trying to do too much, too soon
Spinning up five channels at once, chasing every new tactic, publishing content without a clear goal — it spreads you thin and blurs the signal. Focus beats hustle every time.
Copying what big brands do
You’re not Salesforce or Notion — and that’s a good thing. What works for them won’t work for you. Their brand campaigns, tone of voice, or paid strategy might look slick, but they’re built for scale, not speed or scrappiness. Design your approach around your stage, not theirs.
Skipping the strategy
A nice logo and a few LinkedIn posts won’t get you far if your message is off. Don’t treat marketing like a box to tick. Get clear on your audience, your value, and your goals — then build from there.
Switching things up too quickly
Consistency builds traction. If you ditch a channel after a week or rewrite your messaging every time you get nervous, you’ll never find what works. Make space to test, reflect, and stick with something long enough to learn.
Forgetting that brand matters (yes, even now)
You don’t need a full brand book. But you do need a clear tone, a point of view, and some consistency. Even if you’re early, people are forming impressions. Give them something real to connect with.
The good news? Every one of these is fixable. The key is to stay focused, make deliberate choices, and resist the urge to do what “everyone else” is doing — especially if it doesn’t serve your next move.
What does good startup marketing actually look like?
There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook. But great early-stage marketing is clear, focused, and builds momentum. It’s not about polished assets — it’s about a message that lands, an audience that responds, and traction that actually moves the business forward.
Here are a few real-world examples of what that can look like:
A landing page that converts because it speaks directly to a real problem
No jargon. No hype. Just a clear promise, explained in plain language, backed up by a real outcome. Even better if it’s backed by social proof, a customer quote, or a tight product demo.
A founder using LinkedIn to test positioning and build trust
No agency. No fancy graphics. Just sharing what they’re building, what they’re learning, and who they’re building it for. It creates connection, draws in early advocates, and surfaces valuable feedback — all for free.
A startup that uses onboarding emails to reinforce its value
Instead of a bland welcome series, they use simple messages that help new users see value quickly. Each one builds confidence and reduces friction — so people stick around longer.
A small team doubling down on one channel that’s working
Rather than juggling five marketing tactics, they go deep on one — whether that’s outbound, content, or partnerships — and use it to drive consistent growth while they build everything else behind the scenes.
Good startup marketing is scrappy, strategic, and built around learning. It doesn’t always look impressive from the outside — but inside, it’s doing the job: building awareness, sharpening positioning, and moving the business forward.
Make your marketing count — even at the earliest stage
Startup marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things at the right time — with focus, confidence, and a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve.
You don’t need a 50-page strategy to get started. You need to know who you’re building for, what message will resonate, and which channels are most likely to move the needle now. From there, you test, you learn, and you adjust.
It won’t always be tidy. It won’t always feel like progress. But if you treat marketing as a tool for clarity and momentum — not just noise — you’ll be better equipped to grow with purpose.
And if you’d rather not figure it all out alone? That’s where we come in.
Bravoed helps early-stage startups bring more strategic focus to their marketing — so they can cut through the chaos, build trust faster, and grow with intent.
If you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen — let’s have a chat
