Every tradie hits the same question sooner or later: how much should I be spending to keep the phone ringing? Too little and the pipeline dries up. Too much and you're working flat out just to cover the ad bill. The good news is there's a sensible way to think about it that doesn't need a marketing degree — just a bit of maths and some honesty about what's actually working.
The simple rule of thumb
Most small trade businesses land somewhere between 3% and 10% of revenue on marketing. That's a wide range on purpose, because where you sit depends entirely on what stage you're at.
If you're turning over $300,000 a year, that's roughly $9,000 to $30,000 annually, or $750 to $2,500 a month. Sounds like a lot written down, but spread across a year and measured against the jobs it brings in, it's usually a fraction of what a single good customer is worth.
The percentage isn't a law. It's a starting point. What matters far more is whether each dollar is coming back with mates.
Your budget shifts with your stage
The right number changes as your business grows. Spending 8% when you're booked out three months deep is just burning cash. Spending 3% when you're desperate for work won't move the needle.
Just starting out
When nobody knows your name, you need to spend more aggressively to get on the map — often the top of that range, or higher for a short burst. You're buying awareness and your first reviews, and both take money and time.
Growing steadily
Once referrals and repeat work are flowing, you can ease back toward the middle. Your reputation is doing some of the selling for you, so marketing tops up the pipeline rather than filling it from scratch.
Booked out
When you've got more work than you can handle, drop your spend right down and focus it on quality, not volume. Keep just enough going to stay visible so you don't fall off a cliff when the current jobs wrap up.
Where the dollars are best spent
Not all marketing is equal. Some of it is nearly free and works brilliantly. Some of it is expensive and only worth it once the free stuff is sorted. Spend in this order:
- Google Business Profile and reviews first. It's free, it's the first thing people see when they search your trade near them, and a steady stream of genuine reviews beats almost any paid ad. Ask every happy customer.
- A simple, honest website second. It doesn't need to be fancy. It needs your trade, your area, your phone number, and proof you do good work. This is where your ads and searches send people.
- Paid ads third. Once your profile and site are converting, ads pour more traffic on top. Google Ads for people ready to book, a bit of local social to stay front of mind.
The mistake is running ads before the first two are sorted. You end up paying to send people to a thin profile with no reviews, and they bounce to the next tradie.
Think in cost-per-job, not just spend
This is the shift that separates tradies who grow from tradies who guess. Don't ask "how much did I spend?" Ask "what did each lead and each job cost me?"
Say you spent $1,000 in a month and it brought in 20 enquiries. That's $50 a lead. If eight of those became jobs, that's $125 per job won. Now compare that to what an average job is worth to you. If your typical job clears $600 profit, spending $125 to land it is a no-brainer. If it's costing you $400 a job, something's off and you need to fix the funnel before spending more.
Track it roughly if you can't track it perfectly. Even asking every caller "how'd you hear about us?" tells you which spend is pulling its weight.
The cheapest win: stop the leaks first
Here's the part nobody talks about. Before you spend a cent more on marketing, plug the holes in what you've already got. The most expensive lead is the one you paid for and then missed.
When you're up a ladder, under a house, or mid-job with your hands full, calls go to voicemail. And most people who ring a tradie and get voicemail don't leave a message — they just call the next bloke. You paid for that ad, that Google ranking, that referral, and it walked straight out the door.
That's exactly the leak InstantLead is built to plug. It texts back every missed call in under five seconds, asks the caller their name, the job, and how urgent it is, then alerts you instantly — so a call you couldn't answer becomes a lead you can win back tonight. Fixing that costs a fraction of ramping up ad spend, and it makes every other dollar you spend on marketing work harder.
Putting it all together
Start with a percentage that suits your stage. Spend it in the right order — profile and reviews, then website, then ads. Measure it in cost-per-job, not just total spend. And before you increase the budget, make sure you're not leaking the leads you already generate. Do that and marketing stops being a gamble and starts being an investment you can actually count on.
A quick monthly check
- What percentage of revenue am I spending, and does that match my stage?
- What did each lead and each job cost me last month?
- Are my reviews growing, or sitting still?
- How many calls did I miss — and how many of those did I win back?
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a realistic marketing budget for a small trade business?
Should I spend money on ads or just rely on word of mouth?
How do I know if my marketing is actually working?
Is it worth spending more if I keep missing calls?
Stop paying for leads you never answer
Your marketing budget only pays off if the calls it generates actually reach you. InstantLead texts back every missed call in seconds, captures the job details, and alerts you on the spot — so no hard-earned lead slips away. Try it free for your first month at portal.instantlead.com.au/register, or get in touch and we'll help you get set up.