The “Less is More” of Marketing
Did you start your business because you wanted to make a difference but never imagined it would be this hard to get your first few paying clients?
Maybe you’ve been jumping from one thing to the next without giving anything a chance to get traction, and you can’t seem to settle on that “one thing” that works for you.
Or maybe you feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of different marketing activity that supposedly you “should” be doing, and wondering how everyone else seems to manage it?
If so, you’re not alone. In fact, I think most small business owners go through this when they first start out – I certainly did.
So today I want to make sure you’re approaching marketing in a way that is sustainable for you – so you can grow the business you want, instead of burning out before you even get there.
You see, what I observe is that most people rush into marketing tactics that are designed for the later stages of business too early. As a result they make things unnecessarily hard for themselves.
Then the more it doesn’t work, the more you are tempted to do – and before you know it you are like a hamster on a wheel running endlessly in circles just to keep up. And still not enough to show for all that hard work.
It’s like being stuck in quicksand – the harder you struggle to get out, the further in you sink.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is pause – I mean REALLY pause – and take a step back to figure out what’s not working.
The Real Reason your Marketing isn’t Working
If you are like most people I work with, the real reason your marketing isn’t working, is probably NOT because you are not doing enough of it, or not doing enough different things.
It’s more likely that you are just not STICKY
In other words, if the message you are putting out isn’t attractive to the people who come across you, so much so that they want to “stick around” and learn more, then any marketing activity is likely to be wasted effort.
Whether it’s online or offline, when you tell people what you do, the response you want is “oh my gosh, you’re talking about me, I think maybe you could be the answer to my problems, I want to know more!”
(OK, they might not say this out loud of course, but it’s what you want them to be thinking!)
I call this being Velcro!
If you are more like damp cotton wool than velcro, then it doesn’t matter how much marketing you do, people are not going to “stick” and want to know more.
It’s a bit like catching butterflies…
You can run around chasing them and trying to catch them with a net – and you WILL catch one eventually, but not without ending up in a sweaty heap needing time to recover before you set off to chase the next one.
Or you could be the beautiful flower that magnetically attracts the butterflies who come and land on it. These are ideal clients who want to know more, and “lean in” towards you, rather than you needing to do the chasing. You do this by talking about what you do in a way that draws people to you – no chasing required.
When you get this right your marketing is so much more effective, and because of that you don’t need to do anything like as much of it – because the activity that you do will have so much more of an impact.
You’ll also find that you probably don’t need any more than two core marketing approaches to generate all the clients you need – I know that’s counter-intuitive but it’s actually true – and has been true for me too, and pretty much every very successful business owner I know.
The Solution:
Take a step back to work on your message. This doesn’t necessarily need to be as tight as a “niche” but a clear idea of who you are talking to and knowing how to communicate with them in a way gets their attention could change everything and take your business from struggle to flow.
Does your Marketing Feel in Flow?
The other important thing is, you also have to ENJOY your marketing. Now whoever would have thought that??
Because believe me, if you don’t enjoy it you won’t want to do it, and you definitely won’t do it well.
So it’s important to choose marketing strategies that feel fun and in flow for you, and also that are likely to give you the best results based on where you are in your business right now.
What feels easy and in flow will depend on a number of factors, including the client group you are wanting to reach, your personality type, your natural strengths, and what comes ‘easily’ to you based on your current assets, contacts, skill set, and your stage of business (different marketing approaches have a different impact depending where you are in your business).
The Solution:
Take time to observe what marketing approaches feel good to you. What feels fun and exciting and doesn’t even feel like marketing at all? What feels heavy, laborious or gives you a knot in your stomach? How could you design your marketing to be more of what you love and less of what you don’t love?
Pause to Reflect
Have you had any “Aha!” moments so far about why your marketing is either not working or just feels way too hard? Is it because you’re not “sticky” enough or because you’re not enjoying it enough to do it well and consistently?
What is it you need to focus on next to get “more from less” when it comes to attracting new clients?
How to Get Clients when Marketing is Making you Miserable
If you love your business but your marketing is getting you down, and you’d like to find ways to love your marketing as much as you love working with your clients – OR if you’d like to grow your business without social media like I’ve done, then this will give you a valuable shift in perspective:
Sign up for How to Get Clients when Marketing is Making you Miserable
