This article is part of our comprehensive SaaS Growth Strategies Guide.

The $50 Marketing Stack Challenge

Enterprise marketing teams spend thousands monthly on tools. Solopreneurs don't have that luxury - but they don't need it either. Here's how to build a complete marketing operation for under $50/month.

The Essential Categories

A complete marketing stack needs:

1. Social Media Management - Schedule and publish content
2. Email Marketing - Nurture leads and customers
3. Analytics - Understand what's working
4. Content Creation - Write and design
5. Lead Generation - Find potential customers
6. Automation - Connect tools and save time

The Stack

1. Social Media Management - $10-20/mo

OneUp Today - $10/mo starter plan

• Schedule posts across 6 platforms
• AI caption generation
• Recurring posts for evergreen content
• Reddit campaign support

Alternative: Buffer Free (limited), Later Free (limited)

2. Email Marketing - $0-15/mo

Buttondown - Free up to 100 subscribers

• Simple, clean interface
• Markdown support
• Good deliverability

Alternatives:

• Mailerlite - Free up to 1,000 subscribers
• ConvertKit - Free up to 300 subscribers

3. Analytics - $0

Google Analytics 4 - Free

• Traffic and conversion tracking
• User behavior analysis
• Integrates with most tools

Plausible/Fathom - $9/mo (if you want privacy-focused)

4. Content Creation - $0-20/mo

Writing:

• Notion - Free for personal use (drafting)
• Hemingway - Free (editing)
• ChatGPT - Free tier available (ideation)

Design:

• Canva - Free tier (social graphics)
• Figma - Free tier (more complex design)
• Screenshot.rocks - Free (product screenshots)

5. Lead Generation - $0-10/mo

Social Listening:

• OneUp Campaigns - Included in subscription
• Reddit Search - Free (manual)
• Twitter Advanced Search - Free (manual)

SEO:

• Google Search Console - Free
• Ubersuggest - Limited free tier

6. Automation - $0

Make (Integromat) - Free tier (1,000 operations/mo)

• Connect tools together
• Automate workflows
• Webhook support

Alternative: Zapier free tier (limited), n8n (self-hosted, free)

Sample $47/month Stack

Alternative: The $0 Stack

If budget is extremely tight, you can start with entirely free tools:

• Social: Native scheduling (limited)
• Email: Buttondown free
• Analytics: Google Analytics
• Design: Canva free
• Writing: Google Docs + ChatGPT free
• Automation: Make free tier

Upgrade individual tools as revenue allows.

What Not to Buy

Too Early

• CRM - A spreadsheet works until 100+ leads
• Paid ads tools - Focus on organic first
• Enterprise analytics - GA4 is enough initially
• Multiple social tools - One good tool beats three mediocre ones

Never

• Tools with features you don't use
• Annual plans for unproven tools
• Anything promising "growth hacks"

Scaling the Stack

As you grow, upgrade strategically:

At $1K MRR

• Upgrade email tool for better automation
• Add basic CRM functionality
• Invest in better analytics

At $5K MRR

• Consider hiring help vs more tools
• Add customer success tools
• Invest in conversion optimization

At $10K MRR

• Full marketing automation
• Dedicated analytics platform
• Possibly dedicated ad spend

Ready to build your stack? Start with OneUp - our plans are designed for solopreneurs who need value without enterprise pricing.