Let’s talk MARKETING!
Sales & Marketing seem to be most entrepreneurs least favorite topic when it comes to their business. So many of my clients tell me (especially when they are just starting out) that they are scared or hesitant to “put themselves out there” because they don’t want to be too sales-y, pushy or sleazy. Unfortunately, this seems especially common with female entrepreneurs– we are so conditioned to focus on other people and rarely feel comfortable talking about ourselves and our talents/ accomplishments for fear of coming off as arrogant or pushy. Well, this has got to change. Being an entrepreneur means that you have to promote yourself and your products and/ or services. But there are ways to shift your mindset and share your expertise and experience with people in an authentic way (and yes, maybe they happen to buy something!). Here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way:
1. Create Value
This blog post is an example of how I try to create (free) value for my audience. Thanks to the internet there are a million ways to provide valuable content, including video tutorials, worksheets, discovery calls, great social media posts, etc. The key is to be really clear on who your audience is, where and how you can reach them, and what kind of content you are best at providing. For example, if your audience is women over 50, you know that a lot of them hang out on Facebook, and your preferred method of sharing value is by creating short videos. . . Well, you get the point. Take those videos to FB groups and/or your page and share, share, share!
Of course, the other part of this is that you don’t want to give away so much high-value content that people don’t need to work with you or buy your product. The key is to give them just enough value that you establish yourself as an “expert” in your field, so that your audience trusts you and wants to work with you further.
2. Create Community (or join one!)
I’ve said it before but community over competition is the way of the future. I actually like to think of all marketing as community-building. If you are genuinely interested in people and want to help them, you will not be sleazy. There are so many ways to create or join existing communities. Facebook groups are a great way to start- once you have a bit of an audience you might want to start your own. I also love platforms like Mighty Networks, which is a great alternative to social media because you can create a closed community (either for free or within a membership) that doesn’t allow ads or spammers!
3. Create Authentically
It all boils down to authenticity, right? If you are creating content, products and services that are authentic to who you are and can actually help people, then you are never going to be sleazy. I know there is a lot of noise out there in web-world, and it might feel difficult to be unique and stand out, but the one thing that is going to help you do that is to BE YOU. You are the only person who can do what you do, how you do it. I find that tapping into my intuition is the key to creating anything authentically. If you listen, that “inner voice” will tell you if you’re heading down the right path or not. Some methods I’ve used to amplify that inner voice include tarot cards, breathwork, meditation and long solo walks.
Looking to create a strategy for holistic business growth in a way that feels authentic to you, your brand and your audience? Send me a message to schedule a free 15-min. consultation to discuss coaching options!