Need some low-cost ideas to amp up your small business or freelance outfit in 2012? Here are 14 suggestions that are either free, inexpensive, or easy to save for in the course of 12 months. What would you add?

1. Update your business cards. Yes, you still need paper cards. But even if you love your logo and branding, why not change ‘em up instead of reordering the same-old? This literary agent put the cover art from client’s books on the backs of her cards. (With Moo.com, you can have the same text side and swap out pictures.)
2. Find new Twitter lists (or chats) to follow in your industry. No need to clutter up your already-big follower list. If you’re in a prticular niche and feel like you’re lagging in knowledge, why not find some great lists, or hop into some chats once or twice a week? Here’s one I just found and hopped in for: Michelle Rafter’s WordCount Last Wednesday chat (#wclw).
3. Dust off your library card and check out some of the business non-fiction you missed last year. Jim Collins co-authored a new one in 2011, Great by Choice, about businesses that survive, thrive and innovate even when the world is increasingly chaotic.
4. Commit to a blog or social media editorial calendar. Even if you’re a solopreneur, you can help kick-start some web traffic by (a) studying what others in your niche are doing well and then (b) coming up with a monthly calendar and sticking to it. Remember: answer questions (or pose questions) your audience wants you to answer.
5. Take an online class. Both private companies and public and private universities now offer almost every course imaginable in an online iteration. It’s a fraction of the cost of regular tuition in many cases, too. Provided you can focus without a teacher or classmates to prod you along in person, why not add a few credits and gain some needed skills on those evenings you usually spend watching TV? I recently took a MediaBistro course myself. The self-paced versions are jam-packed with knowledge.
6. Comment on others’ blogs. Share the love.  You know you should. So make it a point: if you have 20 minutes to read blogs, you have time to craft a few meaningful comments on the posts that really count. (If you can’t think of something to say, you can always link back instead in your next post.)
7. Plan to attend one trade event. If you’re not ready to buy a booth or table, that’s OK. But going as a guest can be awesome. Listen to the speakers and commit to approaching at least 5 potential clients, partners, colleagues or competitors. Your cell phone camera will come in handy for when you’re ready to do it yourself. This year, hubby and I are planning to attend Comikaze on behalf of our t-shirt company, La Muerta. And yes, some of these events require you to buy or reserve spots months in advance–so start lookin’ now.
8. Host a client appreciation event. Or if you’re an author, a group reading. And if your clients are far-flung, like mine, find another way to show them your appreciation, perhaps virtually, and give them something that counts–an eBook you wrote just for them? A free service? A wet kiss? OK, maybe not the last one.
9. Join a professional association or group. I know what you’re thinking: but this costs money, and what will I get from it? If you’re looking for peer support in-person, you can usually attend a mingler for free. Consider the membership benefits against the price, and also weigh whether having the credential will be attractive to the people you work with or for before laying out your cash. OR, try an informal Meetup or group instead–these are often free, and can yield the same peer-to-peer benefits a costly association would.
10. Unsubscribe to all the crap in your inbox, and choose 5-10 blogs or publications only. Get rid of the retailer emails, the daily deals you never use, and ensure that your work inbox is just that–work. You’ll always have reading material and a pulse on the small business climate without liftitng a finger (or missing an important missive because of all those OTHER emails).
11. Commit to one new piece of software, technique or tool to help automate some of your marketing or tasks. This might be email marketing (using autoresponders), project management software, CRM software, or something else entirely. But pick one. The investment of time and energy up-front will pay off in dividends, trust me.
12. Delegate at least 1 task that left you frustrated and time-strapped in 2011. Blogging? Expense tracking? Writing those email newsletters? Answering email all day long? Find one thing you hate doing and hire someone else to do it for you, even if it’s just a small thing. You can find a freelancer or virtual assistant to do it for you, or a writer (hint hint).
13. Break into that market/product/niche/publication at last. Target one (and I mean ONE) thing you want to achieve that, until now, has been beyond your scope, or too challenging, or too (insert negative word here). And go after it. You’ll be amazed how relaxing it is to take on something big and audacious (to borrow Collins’ word) and realize, Yup, I can do this. Likewise, doing this sometimes reveals a different result: that what you were already doing was good enough. ;)
14. Take a vacation. OK, this isn’t low-cost, but this is one of my BIG goals this year. When we lived in Mexico, we’d take off for weekends all the time–largely because it was cheaper and, well, we lived in the Southern Baja. There were a million places and empty beaches. We’d go camping, or get a room on the East Cape at this grand (if a little decaying) fishing hotel right on the beach that had a great infinity pool for about $60/night. In California, it’s a lot harder to do anything for $60, needless to say, but that means we rarely do ANYTHING. This year, I’m going to set aside money. R&R is an investment in yourself–remember that.