Promoting a new project is tough be it online or offline. We all need to use opt for some paid advertising so as gather some optimal amount of footfall. But, it is better to plan the budget beforehand and work in a systematic manner.
How important is it to plan a budget beforehand? What are the strategies that can be adopted for launching a successful business which gives high returns?
I'm no professional financer or advertiser or businessman but a budget is important before advertising. If you're working on your own then a budget may not be important but it's recommended. If you were to spend more money on marketing than resources and jobs then you'd be losing money faster than before. As if you were to set a budget, you'd have to plan out how much you should spend carefully.
That's my advice anyway.
A budget is important. Period! However, when I was an accountant and an auditor I can't recall any set of financial records I examined that did not have a line for in the budget for marketing and advertising. This expense category was always monitored very thoroughly. The amount spent and whether or not the marketing campaigns or ads were worth what the money spent.
I always set an amount of money I was willing to spend in a year on the site (including marketing, hosting costs and other misc costs which could arise) and stuck to that when adminsitrating over the site. It was important because whilst it is/was a hobby for me, I didn't want to get stuck down a money sink pouring into a website. A key aspect in my opinion!