So you’ve started a business, or maybe you have an existing business but you’re not selling as many online courses, custom bicycles, jellybeans, etc. as you’d like. Is that you? Do you hear terms like “click funnel”, “SEO” and “retargeting” and feel overwhelmed or confused? Are you wary of spending money creating Facebook ads, Google ads or hiring an SEO expert because you aren’t sure it’s going to pay off?

Well, let’s slow down for a minute and do a little pre-marketing work.

*If you’re a visual person, fill out this worksheet after reading this post! 

Step 1: What is working/ not working on your website so far?

If you don’t already have a Google Analytics account, set one up now.  This is a free tool that will give you a comprehensive look at how many people are visiting your site, where they’re coming from, how long they are staying on the site and what page(s) they spend the most time on. Set up is easy, but you’ll need to insert a code snippet on your site (talk to your web developer if you aren’t sure), or use the Google Analytics plugin if you have a WordPress site. So once you have that up and running for a few weeks, you can start to get a clear picture on what is working/ not working on your site so far. And you’ll have a clear picture of who your existing customers are.

In your Analytics dashboard, check out “Audience” for a look at your user demographics.

Step 2: What are your client/ customer Personas?

This is a fun exercise that every business owner should do once in a while, because sometimes your audience changes. After looking at your analytics on who is already visiting your site, talking to existing clients/ customers, being active on social media, etc. you might have a pretty good idea of who your typical audience is. Now let’s dig deep in to that- create a profile for each of your existing customers and also your “dream” customers (if they aren’t the same as your existing ones). Maybe you have several or maybe it’s a very niche product/ service you offer to one “persona”. Write down the pertinent demographics for each persona- age, gender, location, profession, income and then ask bigger questions like: What do they care about? What problems are they trying to solve and what might be holding them back?

Step 3: How can you solve their problem(s)?

Now that you’ve worked out who your ideal and existing client/ customers are, you can start to identify the really important question: How can you (or your company) solve their problem(s)? Because in the end, you’re not selling a product or service- you’re selling the solution to a problem!

Take those solutions and start writing down words and phrases that speak directly to each persona’s problem and your solution to it. Remember, language that appeals to peoples’ emotions and gut are best- don’t make it too heady or intellectual. Also, it is widely known that most people respond more to negative language than to positive language. I don’t mean be a Debbie-downer, but appeal to their concerns, worries and problems- because solving those issues will mean more to them than offering them something awesome.

Step 4: Marketing Strategy and Free Offers

The last thing to think about before you start spending money on marketing or hire someone, is what kind of marketing makes the most sense to your potential customers and what can you offer to “lure” them in? Consider which social media platforms your personas might be frequenting. Here is a great article on 2019 Social Media Demographics to help you sort through who is using which platforms. You might discover that spending money on Youtube, for example, doesn’t make sense for your brand but maybe Facebook ads do make sense.

Finally, what can you offer visitors to your site that will create value for them and let them “taste” your services/ products before purchasing and/or push them to purchase? You’ll see many e-commerce sites offering free shipping or a coupon code to first time shoppers, or service providers offering a free quiz, informational pdf or video tutorial in exchange for a visitor’s email address. This is a very popular long-term marketing strategy that can often grow your email list, or help you sell more product without spending a lot (if any) money. So think about what you can offer- something small that might plant the seed in a potential customer’s mind that you can solve a problem in their life. Generally, you’ll want to offer this in exchange for an email address- you can set this up easily with a free service like Mailchimp. Keeping an email list and growing it will be the best marketing investment you’ll make, because it will allow you to reach people directly instead of trying to catch their attention.