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I often have conversations with Entrepreneurs and they are totally overwhelmed trying to market their business. Here’s the simple fix:
If you’re like me or my clients (before we started to follow this advice), you’re busy keeping up with your clients, but you are trying to cram in a lot of marketing tactics.
Does this sound like your current marketing TO-DO list? I know mine has been this long…
- Followup with leads
- Update Facebook
- Get back to requests on LinkedIn
- Start a blog, SEO
- Create a live event
- Write a book…
If so, pick just ONE, learn how to use it and fully get it leveraged with your other branding. Then add another.
I know, I know… easier said than done! Your head is still swirling with reasons that you “need to” do all of this. So let’s break this down…
TO-DO LIST |
What may be going through your head… |
| Coffee Meetings | It’s with people from my referral group and I’m supposed to do 1-on-1 meetings and I had to go instead of following up with qualified leads and booking sales conversations. |
| Networking | Go to my breakfast referral group, lunch meeting and networking happy hour…all on the same day—shoot, now I have to work until Midnight to actually do some work today! |
| Facebook Page | So now I have to ask people to LIKE it right? I don’t have any real content on it for them to LIKE, but they will LIKE it and it will grow my business! |
| Facebook Profile | I don’t even know some of my contacts or they are just posting random stuff…and shoot, they changed the layout again! How is this going to help my business? |
| I don’t even know how I got on LinkedIn. People asked me to join, so I did. What’s my password? I never filled out my profile. Why are these business contacts bothering me? | |
| Everyone says to use it… I have no idea why! Do I really have to? What is a hashtag? | |
| Google My Business | Wait, what’s Google My Business? This is now one more thing I have to do?! How do I login? Is this Gmail? |
| Write My Book! | I’ve always wanted to write a book! And it’s so much more fun than these other things! |
| Teleseminar | My group coaching program gave it to everyone as an assignment…it must be the right time for me to do this, right? It doesn’t matter that this really only works if I have a large email list, and 1-30% of my list will opt-in to attend, and only 10-30% of those opt-ins will listen to the call live, and only 10-20% of those people will actually take my offer, and only 1-5% will listen to the replay and take my offer. (Actual stats from my coach who gave an assignment to our group to do a teleseminar.) |
| 3-Day Conference | I got a “free” ticket to attend a conference from [BIG NAME PERSON], and it’s TRAVEL! It will cost me $1000 for hotel and a plne ticket and I’ll be out of the office for 5 days, and I’m in debt right now, but I’ll be missing out if I don’t go. I know my business cards are out of date, my website is under construction and I don’t have a program for sale yet…but I’ll meet clients, right! That’s what the marketing said—I have to be in the room and spend a lot of money in order to grow my business! |
| Search Engine Optimization | I’m online so I better be search engine optimized, right? 90% of my business comes from REFERRALS but I really should do keyword research, blog 3x a week and create lots of social media links so people can find my business online, right? |
| And more… | How am I going to get all of this done AND actually work with my clients?! |
Here’s the reality…while this list is funny, it’s really not.
I’ve had them on my TO-DO list, and so have my clients. Each one was holding back our business growth, with the problem amplified when we were trying to do them all at once without a strategy or purpose.
Each of these things are not just a single TO-DO — each has multiple moving parts that require your time, money & energy. You will need to:
- Find time to become an expert in the technology
- Hire someone to do it for you, possibly with no return on your investment
- Be gone from your office, making your workdays much longer
- Link it in together with your other marketing (because if you don’t, you are working MUCH HARDER than you should).
Break the cycle… and take most of this off of your plate!!
TO-DO lists like this are making it much harder than it should be. Lists like this are just a bunch of tactics, and if you are randomly trying them out, it’s REACTION, NOT ACTION. It’s keeping you in overwhelm, away from success. Yes, you can hire a team to help you, but the smartest step you can take is to remove 90% of this FOR RIGHT NOW.
It was a very freeing moment in my business when I realized I DID NOT HAVE TO DO IT ALL! I started my business so I could have freedom, but for a few years I was tied to a long list of marketing that I was told I “must” do. “Experts” were telling me that I had to be everywhere if I wanted to grow my business. I jumped from item to item, never really fully implementing any of it.
Then I stopped. I got really clear on my PURPOSE. I defined my ideal client, and my fastest route to income. Then one by one, I focused on a marketing idea. What happened? My overwhelm stopped. I did less and had more impact. I got rooted in my strategy, then did my marketing.
I want the same for you! First, have a laugh about your own TO-DO list. PICK ONE THING and decide it will be your primary focus right now. You’ll need some time to get it going (or hire someone) and some time to see results. With each new marketing idea you add on, see how it can be leveraged with what you already have working.
Think of this as a house that you are building. Each “room” you add on is connected to the others. Your ideal clients can wander through these rooms and have a complete picture of your business.
Need some help to take things off your list?
If you don’t know where to start, you can schedule a FREE strategy session with me to discover what YOUR business needs to do next.
It’s totally up to you..Brand OVERWHELM or BREAKTHROUGH!
Hello Service-Based Entrepreneur,
I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed by reading blog posts full of ideas, tactics & tools. Be honest...
- How frustrated will you be trying to implement this on your own?
- How much time will you waste if it's not your next best step?
- Did you just take the time to read this but you won't make any changes?
- Or are you ready to take a small next step to build your brand?
Get clarity & your next step forward!
I'm here to help you with your marketing for the new normal & beyond. Let's talk about your options to work with me on a FREE 30-min call.
To your success,
Marketing Strategist & Designer
I offer a blend of 30+ years of expertise in marketing, websites, brand identity, strategy, tech solutions, and more.
I work with service-based entrepreneurs with a practical and flexible approach to adjust to changes in business & life. Let’s talk about how we can work together to start & grow your business.
