20 free (or cheap) ideas to inspire your communications

Think you can’t produce excellent, compelling communication on a budget? Think again.

Don’t let a lack of spending power stifle your ambition. Here are 20 affordable ways to spice up and enliven your messaging:

Collaboration

1. Enlist local “cheerleaders.” Recruit a team representing all your organization’s departments to support the rollout of campaigns and initiatives—especially if you’re a team of one.

2. Discover your gold mine of skills. Explore the wealth of knowledge around you before hiring a costly consultant. You might find that Fiona from finance is a whiz with a camera and Alan from accounts is a graphic design guru. Cultivate internal skills to save money and boost engagement.

3. Contact community and art groups. Speak to a local group or college about involving them in your campaigns. Most will be keen to support a local business, and you’ll get access to hyper-creative young people eager to build their portfolios.

4. Borrow with pride. If you like something someone else has produced, be it internally or externally, ask whether you may repurpose the work. Get permission, and give credit where credit’s due.