3300+ Words Worth of Non-Obvious Marketing Tactics That Work

Let’s face it – if you’re serious about growing your business, you’ve already heard all the usual advice:

Sound familiar? Thought so. These strategies have been discussed to death, and frankly, the world doesn’t need another post about Facebook marketing tips.

But here’s where things get interesting.

I’ve been diving deep into some lesser-known, non-obvious marketing tactics. The kind that don’t show up in every other blog post. While you might recognize a few, I’ve gone the extra mile to gather insights from experts like Notion creators, Forbes, John Jantsch, and even some unexpected sources. My goal? To bring you a fresh perspective on what really works – beyond the basics.

Let’s dig into some strategies that can make a real impact without being overplayed.

Be bold and authentic

Everyone is trying to be nice online these days, so standing out often means being unafraid to speak your mind.

There’s a common belief that we should always play it safe, avoid controversy, and keep any critical opinions to ourselves – especially if they’re not backed by hard facts. But here’s the thing: playing it safe can dilute your personal brand and make you forgettable.

If you try to be all things to all people, you’ll likely end up resonating with no one.

Take Jeremy Clarkson, for example (his Twitter). The former Top Gear host didn’t build a global fanbase by being agreeable. Sure, some people watched the show for the cars, but most tuned in because Clarkson was unapologetically himself – often opinionated, sometimes offensive, but always entertaining.

Consider his infamous comment about Sarah Jessica Parker:

“People think ‘oh, she must be pretty, she’s on television.’ She isn’t—she looks like a boiled horse.”

Did he offend people? Absolutely. But he also made thousands laugh, and more importantly, he made an impact.

The takeaway? Be real. Don’t be afraid to say what you think. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

Create products and give them away for free

Giving away free products might sound counterintuitive, but in the digital space, it can be a powerful marketing strategy. Of course, if you’re in the business of selling physical goods like shoes or refrigerators, this approach is less practical. But for digital products, there’s almost no reason not to try it.

Take the booming market for Notion templates as an example. Creators like Thomas Frank and Pathpages have built successful businesses by offering customized templates for a fee. However, they’ve also made a name for themselves by giving away some of their best work for free.

As it turns out, for them, the product is the marketing.

Here’s how it works: A user searching for a Notion solution stumbles upon these free offerings, tries them out, and is impressed. When they need something more advanced, they’re much more likely to purchase a paid version. In fact, Thomas Frank’s business model hinges on this – at the time of writing, he offers only one paid template, with the rest available for free.

This strategy isn’t unique to Notion. WordPress theme creators have been doing this for years. Most of their themes are free, but they also offer premium upgrades for users who need additional features.

The takeaway? “Free” is one of the most powerful words in marketing. If you operate in the digital space, consider making it a key part of your strategy.

Break the pattern with unconventional content

At some point, every website hits a plateau where its content becomes predictable. While consistency is often key – especially if your content is consistently high-quality – there’s value in shaking things up occasionally to keep your audience engaged.

Consider introducing something unexpected to break the routine. Here are a few ideas:

• If your brand is known for publishing long-form content, try sharing a minimalist image post with just a quote and no accompanying text. Track how it performs in terms of shares and engagement.
• If you typically stick to text-based posts, experiment with creating an infographic to present your ideas visually.
• If you mostly share your own insights, invite a well-known figure in your niche for an interview to offer a fresh perspective.
• If you usually publish educational content, switch gears and share a personal story or behind-the-scenes look at your process.
• If your content is typically serious and data-driven, lighten things up with a humorous or satirical post.
• If you always post at a specific time of day, try posting at an unconventional hour to reach a different segment of your audience.

The goal here is to test whether your current approach is truly the best use of your content strategy or if your audience might respond even better to something different. You won’t know until you try. No case study can provide the exact answers you need, but your own experiments can reveal what resonates most with your audience.

Focus on the essentials and spark curiosity

When it comes to describing your products or services, it’s easy to fall into the trap of providing too much detail. But here’s the truth: overwhelming people with information rarely works. In fact, it often backfires. Most people don’t need – or want – all the details when making a purchase decision.

Think about it: Do you know the specs of your iPhone? The processor, RAM manufacturer, or battery capacity? Unless you’re a tech enthusiast, probably not. Yet, that didn’t stop you from buying it.

The same principle applies to most products. Your audience only needs to know the essentials – how your offering will make their lives better.

Even marketing experts agree. Neil Patel once revealed that simplifying his landing page from a detailed, long-form format to a concise, essential version led to a 318% increase in leads. The takeaway? Less is more.

Remember, people don’t care about your backstory or the intricacies of your product. They care about how it benefits them. Keeping your messaging focused and to the point not only respects their time but also piques their curiosity, drawing them in to learn more.

Dedicate just as much time to writing your headlines as you do to writing your content

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit. But please bear with me.

It’s a known fact in the world of publishing that headlines account for around 80 percent of a given publication’s success.

What this means in plain English is that headlines are more important than content. And it makes sense when you look at it.

At the end of the day, if your headline isn’t a success, no one will even get to your actual content.

So here’s what I encourage you to do:

Write 25 different headlines for every piece of content you create.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

This is not my idea, and to tell you the truth I was also shocked when I first saw it.

The reasoning behind it is that writing the first 5 headlines is ultra-easy. Writing the next 10 gets difficult, but you can still get through it. However, writing that final 10 will get you bleed through your fingertips.

It’s those final 10 headlines that can give you some gems – things that are not obvious at all. Things that you’d have never come up with if you hadn’t used all the common ideas on the first 15 headlines.

The secret is that people tend to resonate with things that break certain patterns.

Steal ideas from Reddit

Reddit is often called the front page of the internet for a reason. It’s a treasure trove of content ideas that are capturing people’s attention right now. Sure, it’s also a great way to lose a Saturday afternoon, but let’s focus on its potential for idea mining.

Now, let’s be clear – I’m not suggesting you steal content, but rather that you draw inspiration from what’s already resonating with people. If an idea is gaining traction on Reddit, there’s a good chance it could work for your audience too, especially if you put your own spin on it.

Here’s how to leverage Reddit for content ideas:

1. Identify posts or topics that are rapidly gaining popularity.
2. Pinpoint an aspect of the idea that you can improve, enhance, or present in a new way.
3. Create and release your own version, tailored to your audience.

Invest in relationships with potential clients by doing free work

First off, I like getting paid for what I do just as much as the next guy. That being said, it’s kind of impossible to make every hour of your work billable, especially if you’re just starting out.

The big problem here is trust, or lack thereof.

In other words, people don’t really trust your expertise enough to pay you for your services if you’re new to the market. To overcome this, you can do either of two things:

(a) Offer your services really cheap – so your clients don’t have to trust you all that much because the investment is small. – Not recommended.

(b) Offer your services for free. – Recommended.

The trick here is that if you start by offering your services cheaply, you will find it very hard to increase your rates later on – the clients will resent it.

On the other hand, if you start offering your services for free, people will understand that it’s not a permanent thing, and that you are likely to ask for money pretty soon.

However, what’s different now is that you’ve already built trust with them and proven that you can deliver results. This entitles you to ask for higher rates.

Speaking from my personal experience, offering free advice is what got me most of my initial freelance writing gigs.

Be a show-off

Let’s be honest – showing off isn’t for everyone. If it doesn’t come naturally to you, it’s easy to end up looking inauthentic or even cringe-worthy. But when done right, showing off can be a powerful marketing tool, especially if you’re in coaching or consulting.

There’s a fine line between bragging and strategically showcasing your success. The key is to highlight achievements or possessions that reinforce the persona you want your audience to associate with you. It’s about subtly saying, “I’ve achieved what you’re striving for, and I can show you how to get there too.”

For example, if you’re a business coach, sharing a glimpse of your lifestyle or successes can make your advice more compelling. People may think, “This person has what I want – maybe their methods really work.”

Of course, this tactic only works if it’s genuine. If you don’t feel confident doing it, skip it. But if you can pull it off naturally, showing off can make you more relatable and aspirational to your audience, enhancing your influence and credibility.

Reuse your existing results

Over time, your online presence will naturally include both hits and misses. Some content will outperform the rest, earning you significant recognition and driving consistent traffic. These standout pieces are goldmines that you can – and should – leverage repeatedly.

First, identify your top-performing content. A wise person once said it’s easier to improve something that’s already working than to build up something that isn’t. I couldn’t agree more.

Here’s how you can reuse and maximize the impact of your best content:

• Step 0: Identify your top content. Start by digging into your Google Analytics to find your most visited posts. Check which ones received the most comments and social media shares as well. These are your high-value assets.
• Step 1: Add a clear call to action. Ensure that each of these top posts includes a specific call to action. Whether it’s encouraging readers to join your newsletter, download a resource, or purchase a product, make sure the CTA is prominent and aligns with your goals.
• Step 2: Eliminate distractions. Focus your visitors’ attention on your desired outcome. If your goal is to get newsletter sign-ups, remove distractions from the page. Consider eliminating sidebars and even the top menu to make the CTA the most obvious path forward.
• Step 3: Build internal links. Drive even more traffic to these high-performing posts by linking to them from other content on your site. Your popular posts are popular for a reason, so funneling more readers to them can amplify their success even further. The more exposure these posts get, the more they’re likely to resonate and be shared.

By strategically reusing your best content, you can extend its lifespan and continue reaping the rewards without reinventing the wheel.

Guest post with a purpose

Guest blogging is a widely used promotion method, but not everyone leverages it as a strategic element of their business. Too often, people use guest posts to link to generic websites or social media profiles. While this might bring in some traffic, it’s a missed opportunity to make a more significant impact.

I’ll admit, I’ve been guilty of this too. But here’s what I’ve learned: Guest posting can be much more effective if you approach it with a clear purpose.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Start by identifying the specific product, service, or offer you want to promote through your guest post.
2. Decide on a topic that resonates with the audience you’re targeting. Your content should attract and engage the people who are most likely to benefit from what you’re promoting.
3. Ensure your guest post includes a call to action that directs readers to your offer. This could be a link to a landing page, a lead magnet, or a product page – whatever aligns with your goals.
4. Target websites that have the audience you want to reach. The site should align with your niche and have readers who are interested in what you’re offering.

The beauty of guest posting is that it allows you to position yourself directly in front of the audience you want to reach. When done strategically, guest blogging can be a powerful way to drive targeted traffic, generate leads, and build your brand.

Try local offline marketing

While online promotion gets most of the attention these days, offline marketing still offers plenty of untapped potential – often at a low cost. With a bit of creativity and a free Saturday, you can make a big impact locally.

Here are some clever offline marketing tactics that have proven effective:

• Stickers in high-traffic areas: Place branded stickers in bars, cafes, public spaces, and anywhere people gather.
• Sidewalk chalk ads: Use chalk to create temporary advertisements on sidewalks where foot traffic is heavy.
• Branded bookmarks in libraries: Donate bookmarks with your branding to local libraries for a subtle, recurring presence.
• Pens in public places: Leave branded pens at banks, post offices, or anywhere people sign documents. Staff often don’t notice the pen switch, giving your brand ongoing exposure.
• Sticky notes around town: Stick branded notes in strategic locations where they’ll catch people’s attention.
• Beer coasters in bars: Print your logo or message on coasters and distribute them to local bars.
• Business cards everywhere: Place your business cards on public bulletin boards, in restaurant tip jars, inside library books, and hand them out whenever you meet someone new.

These offline tactics might be simple, but they can be surprisingly effective at getting your brand in front of a local audience, especially when combined with your online efforts.

Find, and get on board with existing giveaways

The web is chock full of various giveaways these days. And this is especially valid for all kinds of digital products. Be it plugins, WordPress themes, short e-courses or memberships, e-books, icon packs, you name it. People are ready to give them away left and right.

What you can do to capitalize on this trend is find giveaways that are in some way related to your niche and website. The best case scenario is finding something that’s directly in your niche, but if that’s not possible, then go one step up.

For example, if you’re in dog training, there might not be a specific dog training giveaway going on, but there probably are some giveaways or even contests focusing on dog owners in general. Maybe someone’s giving away leashes, treats, or some other dog-related stuff.

There’s nothing holding you back from picking one product from your own offer, and adding it to the giveaway. That way, you’re piggybacking off the giveaway’s popularity by itself. It requires almost no marketing on your part whatsoever.

Of course, the difficult part is contacting the giveaway’s managers and convincing them to include your stuff.

Supervise everything

Granted, this is a very counterintuitive piece of advice.

In today’s world, countless experts preach the idea of outsourcing and finding other people to do some of your tasks for you. (By the way, I’m generally preaching it too.)

But the thing we need to keep in mind is that we shouldn’t ever let anyone take over a whole department of our business for us.

For instance, let’s use content as an example. When you first started out, you likely created all of the content yourself. But as you grow, you might get tempted to invite other people on board – to hire help. This is all great and it’s actually the direction you should aim for. However, you should still be the person who’s making the top-level decisions.

The thing is that as you build up your site’s presence, people come and identify with your content. They come to read “you” primarily.

This is a relationship very easy to lose if you disconnect yourself from the publishing process later on. Whoever you hire, will always have their own ideas and ways of handling things. And while you do want to get the most out of their expertise and skill, you need to be very careful not to lose that unique touch that only you can provide.

And this goes for all kinds of tasks you’re doing in your business.

So all of my rambling boils down to this:

Be the decision maker. Don’t assume that others will be better at it than you.

Be persistent

Let’s end this list with the simplest advice possible, yet at the same time, something that makes all the difference in our marketing efforts, and basically in anything we do in life.

Being persistent is what makes you successful. Not talent. Not hard work. Not connections. It’s persistence.

You maybe know this story, but let me tell you about Michael Jordan.

Jordan was not accepted on his high school basketball team. This may not sound like a big deal, but what it actually means is that he was not a talented kid. I mean, clearly, no trainer in the world would say no to a talented young player who wants to be on their team.

Yet despite not being talented he became the biggest star in basketball history.

He did it because he was persistent.

He even summarized this in one of his famous quotes:

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Let me end this post with this. If you don’t believe me, believe Michael Jordan.