Marketing Magic

For all the women out there who think they aren't enough. They aren't worth it. That someone else is doing it better, faster, prettier. Silence the inner mean girl, and listen to this 5 minute pep talk.

Today's episode was recorded while my guest Brooke VanHoy, a Disney travel planner, and I were on a road trip to the BEAM Women's Conference.

On our drive we dove into two topics that you'll find helpful: What's the fastest way to cash? AND How do I market my business when I have a parent company and restrictions placed on what I can and can't do?

So many entrepreneurs will understand this question because unless we’re incredibly lucky, most of us have pivoted at some point.

How DO you handle the transition for your audience when you pivot your business?

Today’s guest, Carla Day, asks just that as she transitions her service-based baby-proofing business into a podcast — dropping all services for now.

One of the most popular questions I am asked by anyone new to me is: "How do I create a marketing strategy I'll stick to?" Or another variation is: "How do I even begin with marketing?" I figured it was time I answered the question publicly once and for all! When I think about marketing strategies and help clients create their unique ones for their business, these the four types of strategies we plan around. But, not all business owners are even aware there are four DIFFERENT strategies that will help you simplify your marketing. Last week on the content strategy episode with Erin Olillia, we talked about business owners who think at a macro level, and those that think at a micro level. This first strategy is a macro level marketing strategy: 1. Create a Big Picture Strategy for Your Business  This means having a vision or direction for your business over a certain extended time frame. For some businesses, it will be OK to think 6 months ahead. Others will want to think 1-2 years out or even a 5-year plan. A big picture marketing strategy for your business allows you to know where you're going and what types of efforts you'll need to focus on to hit those goals in that timeframe.  Without this type of strategy, you'll be randomly picking new thing after new thing to create, launch or target, without any synchronicity between them. It can leave you feeling unmoored from your business and unsure what growth really looks like. The most common type of marketing strategy and the one my clients spend the most time working on with me is: "Start by breaking down your goals into these categories and you'll see your business skyrocket, not only in productivity but in profit." - Mallory Schlabach 2. Create a Growth Marketing Strategy for Your Business How do you determine growth? By numbers. This marketing strategy is entirely based on what numbers are important to your business and how you're going to achieve them, thus leading you to your big picture goal. You've heard the obscure saying that the proof is in the pudding? I don't even know what it actually means, but to me, it means the proof is right in front of you. For marketers, it's in your data. To get started with a growth marketing strategy, you first need to know what's your overarching number-based goal? >> Do you want to grow your list to a certain amount? >> Do you want to hit a revenue/income goal? >> Do you want to see your conversion rates changes over the next three months? Whatever your BIG number goal is, you'll then need to break it down into manageable goals that actions can be created for. For example, if you want to bring on 5 new clients per month in the next quarter, you'll need to know:

• what you're offering to hit that goal
• how many people you'll need to offer to get the 5 new clients
• how many people you'll need to be introduced to so that you can make offers
• how many people you need to be in front of total

Now we're getting somewhere. With that data alone, you now know exactly how many people to focus on for the entire quarter. It's time to turn it into actionable marketing tasks. Based on our loose example above, if we need to talk to 20 people a month to hit 5 sales versus 100 people a month, won't that change what actions you take and what offers you put out there? With 20 people you can almost cherry-pick the ones you want, whereas, with 100 people per month, you're most definitely going to have to figure out a strong traffic source and/or do a big marketing splash like a challenge, event, series, etc. to attract that number of people to you. With this growth strategy marketing plan, suddenly it's very obvious what you need to DO to hit your big number goal and big picture goal. Everything you focus on will be in alignment with what you're doing to grow your business. This next marketing strategy is one I want you to use sparingly, although I'm aware that for many of you, this may be your ONLY marketing strategy at this point. 3. Run a Quick Fix Marketing Strategy to bring in immediate cash and/or visibility to your business. A Quick Fix Marketing Strategy is exactly like it sounds. The entire premise is for you to figure out the fastest way to cash and visibility. The problem with using this type of strategy to run all your marketing off is that it gives you tunnel vision in your business. Instead of focusing on where you're going, the focus shifts inward to how do I stop the bleeding, get immediate success to see results NOW? This type of marketing strategy is useful when you want to try out a new idea when you DO need a quick cash infusion or when you want to leverage exposure from someone else's platform. The last marketing strategy is one that will help you plan your big growth spurts in your business. 4. Create a Seasonal Launch Schedule Seasonal launches take place, obviously, when seasons change, but also at the start of new "seasons" for your own business, such as when you launch a new product, service or when you're transitioning into something new for your biz. These type of marketing campaigns can be mapped out on a calendar so you can visually see when the big moments are in your business. This allows you to avoid the feast or famine cycle and plan your day-to-day tasks around when your big launches or busy times are in your business. All four of these strategies make up what most marketing professionals will say is a marketing plan -- but we're throwing out the corporate structure that says you need to have a 30-page marketing strategy that ties into your business plan. No. You. Don't. Start by breaking down your goals into these categories and you'll see your business skyrocket, not only in productivity but in profit. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: Episode #005: The Down & Dirty of Marketing Metrics and How to Print Money for Your Biz B.E.A.M Women's Conference 

How do you create a content strategy if you're an entrepreneur doing it all? Even better: one that actually works! Today's guest on the podcast is Erin Olilla (pronounced O-Lillah), a content strategist and creator who works with anyone from big brands to solopreneurs needing a plan. We did a flip episode because instead of having my guests on for me to strategize with, Erin came on and was my coach to help me with some content struggles I have in my own business. Perhaps you can relate.  She specializes in how to make content work for each entrepreneur in relation to her goals. (I think it's why we get along so well -- it's the same approach I take with marketing!) Mallory: How do you know where to start with a content strategy? Erin: The best place to start is by identifying what your current long-term goals are, and what your immediate short-term goals are. It's okay if your goals change or shift, the important thing is to set a roadmap so you know why you're doing what you're doing. If you enjoy maco-strategy, you're probably the type that knows what you're doing over the next two years, so you're going to focus your content on reaching that target market so that you get there faster. If you enjoy micro-strategy, you're probably the type that plans for the next big thing. The next event, workshop, launch, offer, etc and then you go and create it, without totally seeing the overarching goal of how content fits into your business plan.   "You should look at content as a bigger picture, not just words." - Erin Olilla   Mallory: I'm not short on ideas, but I hesitate to actually execute. How do I just start executing? Erin: First off, you are so much further ahead than you think.  The first step, if you don't even have content ideas is to create a content pool. Track it in Trello, a spreadsheet, a piece of paper, the back of a receipt. Somewhere where you can start brain dumping content ideas in any form for your business.   "One drop of water in that pool is one topic, one idea. The pool stays there all the time. You don't need to drain a pool every time you go swimming, right? If you splash a little water out of there. You're literally just keeping this thing there that can house these ideas for you that you can pick from as you need, and add more as you get inspiration." - Erin Olilla   Other tips: • Put anything down that comes to you that is relevant to your business, even if you have no idea how you'd use it at this moment. • Put anything you're an expert in that you can talk about a lot • Put anything you're a beginner in and you're just learning yourself, but you educated through your own learning process. • Put down ideas you learn from other people's post or content to spark ideas of what you can ask or create for your audience. To execute, if you're a planner, it helps to organize your topics so that you know what you can create and when by creating categories or an editorial schedule. Others will want to pick the topic that is the most interesting to them and go with that topic when it's time to create. If you're stuck but have ideas, backtrack into strategy and ask: "How will I use these topics?" It can also be a mindset thing and it might be helpful to set yourself up to just do it.   Mallory: For all the perfectionists out there, if I have one form of content and want to add another, do they have to be about the same topic? I have a podcast, clearly, but I also want to start doing more Facebook lives. One hang up in my head is that I keep getting stuck on if the two topics have to be on the same thing or not, and how.  Erin: This is so normal and I see so many people stuck on this. The funny thing is people spend way more time talking themselves out of or through creating content than they would spend if they just sat down and created the thing. Other people may be the opposite and know blogging is important, but they just can't do it. Just start doing it and stop trying to control every aspect of the process. [My summary of her words :)]   GUYS! It's really just mindset blocks that you're likely dealing with around content creation. THIS was the realization I had talking with Erin about getting unstuck.   Mallory: So, if mindset DOES seem to be a problem, what do you do? Erin: I suggest, other than working with an actual mindset coach, that you sit with your feelings before you begin to create something. > Where do you procrastinate? > What are my fears for doing this? > What's holding me back? Mindset can also be a huge motivator because if you find something you'll like, you want to spend time doing it. Erin:  How often do you produce a podcast? How do you approach it logistically? Mallory: I am actually not on top of things as much as you might think. I produce a podcast once a week and I typically know what's coming up a few weeks ahead, but I don't necessarily ahead on producing the content (shocker after hearing my blocks, right??) I block off Fridays to do all my interviews and if I don't have anyone in particular scheduled to do a live strategy session with, I pull from my content bank or a question I got that week from a client or potential client and do a solo episode. The organized side of my brain says I should go live on Tuesday to space things out, but my schedule says I should go live on Fridays since I'm already in content creation mode. Erin: I agree and disagree. If you're already set up for Fridays and in the zone, just keep doing it because you're ready. But, if you do want to create themes the easiest way to do this is to do the opposite content. For example, if you were going to talk about why About pages are so important on your podcast when you go live, you could do the reverse opinion and do something like All of the mistakes people make with their about page. You're talking about the same thing, but still approaching it from different angles. If you do the Facebook live, you could point them to the podcast that is coming out later that week. Your Facebook live needs to be quick though. Your people watching want to come for a quick tip and then go on. You don't have time to expand on ideas a lot with this format and keep their attention.   Mallory: Should I transcribe my podcast instead of creating a new post of show notes in blog format?  Erin: Shownotes are so much more useful to your audience and great for organic SEO. Transcribing is important though for other reasons. You can get it transcribed for ideas of what to put in the show notes. Timestamps are important for the people that are scanning your podcast for content. If they scan the show notes and see a topic they want to tackle, they'll listen to the whole podcast. Shownote ideas: > Write a short introduction about the topic and why it's important. > Decide how many quotes you want to pull out of your podcast. > Save your quotes so that they can be shared socially because it will open up your audience pool and get more eyes on your content. > End show notes with additional resources.   "Strategy isn't about coming up an idea that's never been done before. It's about taking all the ideas that have been done, and finding out how to either personalize them or implement them in your business."  Erin Olilla   Mallory: How do I repurpose the content I'm creating to make it go further? Erin: If you've created something good, don't just set it and forget it. Repurposing Ideas:

1. Turn your Facebook lives into blog posts with show notes.
2. Take the quotes you're putting in your show notes and turn them into graphics
3. Grab part of the audio and use it as a teaser for your podcast on social media
4. For blogs or Facebook lives, you can reuse the content you've already created and upload it again with a new date and refreshed content
5.  If you have a podcast and want to go live, talk a podcast topic from last week.
6. OR take a piece from  your podcast and do a Facebook live on just that one section
7. Record your podcast, and then before it's released, do a Facebook live and talk about 2 of the 5 points for example, and then tell them to catch the podcast for the rest of the points.

Resources Mentioned: Transcribing Services: Sonix RevConnect with Erin:  The Content Clubhouse Erin Olilla Website

Tis the season of launches -- which means, many of you will invest or consider investing large sums of money in your business (and not all of it is a good choice). How do I know? Because I've done it way too many times. I didn't know what I didn't need, so I bought hook, line, and sinker everything some magical gurus were selling. It's a painful lesson I wouldn't wish on anyone, so that's why I'm brutally honest on this episode to talk about the other side of online marketing and be the voice of reason. It's not always a good idea to invest. I don't believe you should extend yourself to pay for a product, service or coaching. And I certainly don't believe that all mentors are created equal. But what does that mean for you? It means that I'm giving you my biggest mistakes and what I've learned from investing nearly $30K in coaches so that you can confidently grow your business with the RIGHT mentors at the RIGHT time at a price that you can stomach. Here are my top 8 warning signs that it's not a good fit for you to invest right now: #1: If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. The old adage rings true. If the end result of whatever sales process you're sucked into (a coach, PLF launch, course, mastermind, etc) promises you an end result that is WAY further than where you currently are in your business, it's time to run. Big leaps are entirely possible in your business. But they require significant time, money and energy investments that *most* entrepreneurs below six-figures aren't ready for. #2: If it's significantly out of your budget, it's not a good fit. Stretching yourself and investing in your business is a good thing. Putting your business and family in jeopardy with your financial gambles is not. Personally, I refuse to work with someone that wants to put their investment with me for one-on-one done for you or done-with-you marketing on a credit card, unless I know they have significant income coming in and want the points.  Overextending yourself financially in the hopes it will kick your butt into gear to execute your dreams for your business only puts stress on your business and on your dreams. Don't do it. #3: If you weren't referred by someone you know, have met them personally or had a personal connection, it may not be the best fit. I say this one lightly because it's entirely possible to find the perfect person for you on a whim. However, from the majority of women, I've worked with and my own experiences hiring someone -- if you don't personally know who they are outside their business or when they're not in front of a camera, or what results they've actually gotten someone -- do you even really know them? Too often we get sucked into the sales process and make decisions based on gut and instinct when our judgment is clouded by our desperation to be anywhere but where we are in our business. #4: Try before you buy. What I mean by this one, is that you should experience what it's like to work with this particular mentor, guru, program before you invest significant amounts of money with them. Join their list, try out their freebies, watch them live, take them up on the free consultations. Find out a) if you enjoy that person's personality, b) if you get results from their free things and c) if you can learn from their style of teaching -- sometimes the person is great, but it's not a good fit for how you work. For my clients, you can't work with me at a high level (one-one-one work for done with you or done for you marketing) unless you've worked me with at a smaller package first. This is to protect me from getting involved with a client that I can't deliver the results I want to for, and them, from working with someone they don't truly get or jive with. #5: If there are not crystal clear deliverables or results, pass on it. If I had known this one when I was a wee fledgling business, I would have saved $16,000. But I didn't know. If you're getting promised everything you're hoping for your business and some pie in the sky -- it's more of a mindset mumbo jumbo program (and trust me, I love me a good mindset coach) and not what you need in this exact moment to move your business forward. You need to know exactly what you want out of a program/course/mentor and what they are promising/delivering at the end of your time together. In specific terms. Not "massive engagement" or "more clients" or so much money you'll be taking a trip to Disney every month with your family" things. Real things that matter to run your business and make it profitable. #6: If the experts you're wanting to work with are AWOL except for when they have to be, it's probably not what you need in your business. When you invest a significant amount of money, there is an unspoken assumption that more money = inside access to that person. That's unfortunately not always the case. If you're on someone's list who is killing it with big business, it's probable you'll be working with their team instead of them directly, or getting access to them will be like pulling teeth. I don't know about you, but that's an experience I can go without. Make sure you talk to other students/clients of the person you're watching, to know what the working relationship is like first. #7: Beware when hiring a "guru" to work with. They have accelerated success, which throws off the results of their clients. I have "worked" with multiple big-wigs in the online marketing industry over the past three years. Some I adore and will follow them to the ends of the earth. Others, it was quite disappointing to work with them in person, as their on-camera persona is not the same as their results promised. Why does this phenomenon happen, because I know I'm not alone in this predicament? It's because of this tiny thing called a tipping point in your business. It will happen to you as someone point, trust me. It's when you're slowly plodding along, growing inch by inch and then one day, everything shifts into place and your business starts growing faster than you could imagine it. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill. This accelerated success is deceiving, because the more you grow, the more people you attract at any stage of business. When you have people coming to you at all levels of business, with all types of revenue, there is NO possible way to get the same results for all of them. Yet, because they are masters at their skill, and masters at copy, funnels, ads, etc. We believe each word was written uniquely for us and we eagerly hand over our money to work with them, expecting results we are in no way, shape or form ready to accomplish. So now you know, so beware! #8: If you're not vetted before you buy, you shouldn't buy. It's like allowing an underage girl to buy alcohol because she's pretty. A practice that operates under the same values that I do wants the best for the customer, and to make a profit. They aren't mutually exclusive. For me, they must go together. So if you're getting into the sales process and there is no language on the sales page that narrows down who this program is for, or more importantly who it is not, OR if there's not a fitting call for a large investment over $1000 to see if it's what you need, that is a red flag that this could possibly not be a good fit. Phew, that was intense. But it's a conversation that is worth having because we don't talk about the pains of investing money in the online world. Women are shamed for doubting they can afford it, or cajoled into spending money they don't have for results they aren't ready for. Not anymore, my friends! If you want to continue the conversation with us in my free Facebook group, join Marketing Magic, a place for female entrepreneurs who want to grow their business and be unapologetically successful can find community.

Not to freak you out or anything, but there are only 123 days left in 2018. 123!! And if you're anything like me, summer was so loosey goosey that you're feeling like you better get moving to accomplish everything you set out to do this year. Today on the podcast I'm covering 5 ways to absolutely crush your goals this fall, EVEN IF summer wasn't hot and you weren't as productive as you wanted to be. By taking time to walk through these 5 quick steps, you'll instantly set the next four months up for success. #1: Set a goal that challenges you, is directly tied to revenue and that has a deadline. Goals that don't work are generic ones like: "grow my list" or "fill my client slots" or "max out my program." I can't help you crush goals that aren't quantifiable. Why? Because you can easily rationalize why generic goals didn't happen. There's no accountability. There's no framework and there's no way to make sure you succeed with goals like that. Instead, set a goal like "Grow my list by 500 new leads by Dec. 31" or "Sign 2 new 1-1 clients in September, October and November" or "Get 12 women to join the Mastermind when it launches in November" Now those goals ☝☝ are ones we can work with. #2: Know what metrics show the health of your business and track them Set benchmarks for yourself/business so that you know at each step of the way if you're on track to hit your goal AND what needs to be adjusted so that you can still hit it. Obviously, if I'm telling you to tie it to revenue, tracking the revenue coming in will be one metric. But you also may need to know the path a lead takes until they say yes and how well you convert at each touchpoint. You probably need to track basic stats like the number of people you make an offer to and how many say yes. You may want to track how many people are qualified who join your list and how many are simply unknown leads. This tells you if you need to tighten up your optin so that you're attracting higher caliber leads who are READY FOR YOU. Listen to episode #005: The Down & Dirty of Marketing Metrics and How to Print Money For Your Biz and snag my free Marketing Metrics Cheatsheet to start tracking the metrics most important in your business. The spreadsheet gives you metrics to track, formulas so that all you have to do is plug and play. #3: Execute by blocking off your time to do the most important tasks. Time-blocking is one of my favorite ninja moves for executing. So many women entrepreneurs struggle with executing the plans and goals we set for ourselves. Part of it is because we second-guess everything and another part is because we can be paralyzed when we're so close to our business to know what's actually making a difference. Using my time-block method, you will make time for the most important things AND STILL have time to do what's important to you outside of work. (and minus the hustle). Download my Ideal Schedule Planner to walk you through exactly how to block out your schedule this fall and get everything done you need to. OR join my email list and get all these goodies and more sent straight to your inbox each week. The secret to time-blocking is blocking off everything in your day. Not only does it force you to evaluate what's important to you, but it also helps you see if you're under planning, or more likely, over-planning and trying to cram 30 hours of work into a single day. To get started, block of these things in this order:

1. Non-negotiables (appointments, kid activities, events, obligations)
2. Date Night With Your Spouse
3. Time for YOU
4. Income-Producing Tasks
5. Admin & Work IN Your Biz Tasks
6. White Space

#4: Focus your tasks by creating a Minimum Viable Task List We all have emergencies pop up that totally wreck a carefully planned day. By creating a MVT List (minimum viable task list) you're allowing yourself to focus on only the most important things if you DO have to readjust, without feeling like everything you carefully planned is ruined. This backup feature also gives you peace of mind that even if a tragedy strikes or something requires your immediate attention, that you're still moving toward the goals you set. #5: Don't lose momentum when you transition to a new task or stop work for the day with a To Start on Tomorrow List I told you I love lists. I especially love this list because it closes the open loop I create in my mind when I wrap up a project because time is up, but am not completely finished. By tracking the project, what I was working on and the very next step to take, I allow myself to immediately jump right back in when I'm back on that project without losing 15-20 minutes each time getting refocused.

In today's digital world, to make it as a business, you HAVE to have a website (and one that converts). The problem is not many of us were taught how to design in CSS and HTML, so we throw up a site on a DIY platform (which is a fabulous thing) or hire someone to make it pretty and think we're golden. Except you're not. I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Branding isn't everything. You might disagree, but I've spent the past 14 years reviewing websites, landing pages and sales pages for what makes them successful, and beauty doesn't always equal sales. So how do you get more conversions on your website? A large part of my business is reviewing small business websites and giving them a review and recommendations on how to optimize them so they actually start converting. In doing these, I've noticed five mistakes that nearly everyone makes. If you fix these things, you'll learn how to turn your website into a marketing machine. 1. You're being too general in your copy.  You only get a second or two to make an impression on your visitor -- and if you aren't drawing them in with the first line of copy, you've lost them. They'll never see the beautiful graphics you slaved over. All the content you painstakingly created. The beautiful photoshopped pictures you posed for. The first copy on your page should include who you work with, how you help them and what the result is after working together. Treat your website like the top half of the newspaper. In journalism, it's called "above the fold."  The MOST important stories with the juiciest details and best photographs are always at the top of the front page with the biggest headline. It should be the same way with your website. 2. You have too many calls-to-action on your site.  You're the expert in your subject. Give your visitors ONE thing to do on your site and repeat it over and over again. If you ask them to optin to your freebie, join your mailing list, schedule a fitting call and join your Facebook group all in the same line on your site, you've lost them. Eliminate the confusion and decision overload by giving them the best recommendation you have and pointing everything to that one thing. 3. It's not clear what you do.  Sometimes when I review a site, I can't tell what it is they do, and I've worked with them! It needs to be obvious what your specialty is, how you work/help people and what they need to do to take the next step with you. 4. It's not clear how to work with you and/or purchase.  If you are a service based business, as the majority of my clients are, you need to explain how exactly you work with your clients, what all you help with and what the relationship looks like. It's why I do the live strategy sessions on the podcast. Not only do I want you to be able to take the advice and apply it to your own business, but I also want you to understand what it would be like to do a strategy session with me yourself, and how I could fit into helping your business. It's much easier to convert someone to be a client if they can picture how you'd help them. 5. Your website is too busy.  If you have too much going on in the design and layout of your website, your visitor will leave without a glance back. The more things that are presented for someone to browse, the less likely it is they'll click on anything. The good thing about these five mistakes is that they're easy to fix. Since my birthday is tomorrow, I am doing something I've never done before. If you would like to get a taste of what a website optimization audit is, and how I would recommend you tweak your site for more conversions for free, email me at mallory [at] malloryschlabach.com (so spammers don't find this post and blow  up my Gmail) and let me know you heard this on the podcast and would like me to give you my top three recommendations. I will personally look at your website's homepage, give three tips and set up a quick follow up to see how it's working for you.  But act quick because who knows how long before I delete this last section. =)

Meet Becky. She was one of my dream clients to work with and the first of many authors that I began working with this year and last. On this episode, we dove into marketing secrets that everyone needs to understand about marketing and what she's learned since being terrified of marketing a year ago, to now loving and rapidly growing her business. 1.  Marketing does not only equal that you need to make money Making Money should be a result of good marketing, but marketing is getting your content/message to the right people 2. For authors and those building a personal brand, marketing feels icky because everything is intimate and close. Most people are afraid to do anything to promote themselves in this space because it feels like, "You're hanging up your underwear to dry as an author and putting a giant neon billboard up beside it that says come to look at my underwear! That's a mindset issue. No one, literally no one (or at least they won't say it to your face and if they do; drop them like its hot) thinks that. In fact, it endears you more. 3. Not everyone will follow or work with you forever. That's OK! You're growing and evolving at the same (or even sometimes faster) rate that your ideal people are. And some people just aren't in that space or ready to move with you. It means you're STILL attracting the right people for exactly what you do. 4. The more specific you get, the more exact you find and attract your people. Don't be afraid that you're alienating who you're talking to. You absolutely are NOT. People want to be seen and heard. You do that by speaking directly to them. It's where you find the rabid fans like those that attend Comic-Con in full attire, who go to Disney every week, etc. 5. Get to know your audience and perfect-for-you clients SO well that they run your marketing and business plan for you. Find out what your tribe wants. Find out what they need. Deliver on exactly that to the best of your ability. It makes your people show up for YOU in a big way and gives you everything you need to grow your business and quickly. 6. Surround yourself with people who are a step or two ahead of you. This will not only push you to expand your business in ways you didn't know were possible, but also give you the fire to take action and not be stuck in a mindset space where you're afraid to make big moves. 7. Be willing to be brave and be yourself. Messy and all. At the heart of everything we do, we are just people who want to hang out with people. We're just people. Be willing to have the conversations and show who you are every day. 8. Marketing does not have to be the same thing as sales.  Yes, it should make money at some point, but it doesn't have to equal sales to be successful. When people confuse the two, it puts so much pressure on you, the entrepreneur, to show up, make the hard sales and go for the jugular every time. Marketing is spreading what you do at the right time with the right people. 9. You don't have to serve one type of person forever. You also don't have to take every person from start to finish in the right order and timing. People are going to interact with you at the level they are at. You don't have to capture and hold onto forever, every person that joins your list or comes into contact. But you do need to know where they are coming from and how to meet them and how to move them IF THEY WANT to the next step of how you work with people. 10. Map out how you work with people and at what stage so you know HOW and WHAT to create. It's what I call a client scale. If you've been in business for more than a minute, you know that not everyone who comes into contact with you is at the same stage. (See truth above). If you can outline where they are in relation to your sweet spot and what transformation you're offering, it allows you to weed out the people who are not ready for you yet, latch on and convert the ones who are perfect, and understand how to grow and scale your business with those who are ready to move out of your sweet spot into a new space. 11. Be willing to try out new platforms and take a risk because that's how you grow. Becky mentions Patreon. I know people using Quora, Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and in-person. Use platforms and social tools that help you and that you want to use. If no one else is using it -- don't be scared. That doesn't mean it can't work for you if you're comfortable there OR intrigued to try. 12. Understand how to master Know, Like & Trust with your audience. This is how you build a sustainable business, and it piggybacks on some truths above. Know = Understanding your audience so well that you are nearly reading their minds. Do research. Ask them what they think. Meet up with them. Take notes from clients. Create genuine relationships. Like = Create content/programs/products that people genuinely are interested in and that work. Trust = Be consistent. Be genuine. Put out things that are helpful without constantly asking for money in return. 13. Marketing is not formulaic. It's a creative thing and if someone gives you a magic formula, run! Marketing is built on principles that work across the board. But how you do it and what works for your business, is going to be unique to your audience and their needs and emotions and it can't necessarily be put into a script, 1-2-3 plan or whatever else is being peddled on the Internet these days by popular Internet marketers. Too many people feel as if they suck at marketing because the "formula" they've been taught just doesn't work for them. It's the formula, not you! 14. Treat social platforms as social spaces. Don't be all weird and spammy. If you don't show up as yourself and a real human being that is interested in people and is social, then you're 15. If you are stuck in your head over details, pick the simplest option and move forward. Let go of the responsibility of having to make the perfect decision every time. For Becky, she's stuck on what to name her group coaching program she's posting on Patreon. What did I recommend: - Put a poll to her group about what to call it - Ask for suggestions - Ask the 12 people interested what they want to call themselves - Draw a name out of a hat. - Pick one for a month and see how you like it 16. Strap on your big girl panties and be willing to put yourself out there starting TODAY. You have big things to do, big missions to accomplish and no one can have their world rocked by you (in the best way possible) if you aren't getting noticed. If you don't let people know who you are or where you are, then it's never going to happen. Connect with Becky:  www.beckylmccoy.com BraveTogether Facebook Group Resiliency Coaching (Patreon Group) Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @BeckyLMcCoy Sucker Punched Podcast Brave Together Virtual Retreat About Becky: Becky L McCoy lives on the Connecticut coast with her two precocious and hilarious children. She once enjoyed teaching high school physics and now tells her story of loss, grief, and joyful living on her blog. Having struggled with depression and anxiety and experienced several seasons of grief and struggle, Becky is passionate about creating an online community where people share their stories and encourage one another to choose to live bravely and authentically through disappointment and discouragement. Other Things We Mentioned: Mallory's Free Book Club for Female Entrepreneurs to Feel Good About Being Successful  Should we create a course on how to Market for Creatives? Let Becky and I know where this should fall on the priority list.

Content Marketing. Either you already have a plan in place, you're actively avoiding it, or you have no idea where to begin. If you've been online for any length of time, you'll know that content marketing is the currency of digital marketing and what makes the Internet go round. It's why there are 300 million + blogs active in the world and why SEO (another topic for another day) is so important. But there are a few problems with content marketing: >> It's too easy to get caught up in the creation and forget to make it beneficial to your business. >> With so many experts teaching online businesses "how" to do content marketing, it's easy to get paralyzed and quit before you get started. If you're going to have a content marketing strategy that works you need to do this: 1. Get crystal clear on what your content marketing should look like. Do you want to create cat videos with voiceovers? A top 10 list each week? A book review? A video interview series? A stream of conscious audio about your expert topic? The sky is the limit. The key to creating content is to make it A) FUN and B) something you'll enjoy creating, not something everyone else tells you to do. 2. Know why you want to create content. Don't EVER do something because someone tells you to do something. (Myself included). The thing about being an entrepreneur is that YOU are the boss and you make the shots. My goal (and ostensibly the goal of other consultants and strategists you surround yourself with) is to help you make informed decisions and strategic moves that equal growth and increased revenue in your business. But, you have to also see that whatever you do WILL make sense for your business and is in alignment with who you are as an entrepreneur. 3. Who the content you want to create intended for? The more you niche down for a specific type of person in a specific business with a specific problem, the more likely you'll find your rabid fans and they'll want to work with you/purchase what you're offering. 4. How do you want to create content? This comes down to what medium do you want to use? This is tied to #1 above, but this is where you decide what platform/format are you going to deliver this on. Ideas of content marketing examples: - A blog (obvs) - A podcast - A video series - A weekly Facebook Live show - An audio clip - An interview series - List format - Book reviews - A weekly local event - Video-based tutorials - Visual marketing (through Instagram) - Free wallpaper (backgrounds) for phones (especially if you're a designer, funny or motivational biz) - Music playlists - Slideshare - Conferences - Summits - A guide - A magazine - A book - Your own column - Teach classes - Webinars - Online course - Education center - Ebook - Downloadable PDF - Infographics The point is to pick something that feels like you and will be fun to execute, or it'll never happen. THEN put up blinders and don't worry about what everyone else is doing in your market. And write it down. It gives it more credibility in your mind that you're going to do this. 5. Is someone already doing this exact thing in your market? If they are, it's OK, but you have to either do it slightly different or better to stand out and make content marketing in this same fashion actually benefit your business. A book I can't recommend highly enough: 10X Marketing Formula by Garrett Moon (this is my Amazon affiliate link). And if you're on Kindle Unlimited, it's FREE! 6. Find topics that are resonating with people online. Look at the comments section, look at Quora, hop in Facebook groups. Anytime a question is asked, it means that someone wasn't clear or thorough enough, and that's your opening. What a different spin on what's out there and a favorite? How can you be so thorough in how you help your audience that's different than everyone else. Something most people don't realize about marketing is the more helpful you are and specific in your responses, the more desperate people will be to work with you. There's a funny thing that happens in our brain. Instead of greedily absorbing everything you put out and walking away feeling like their problem is solved, the person consuming your content will be flabbergasted that you're THIS helpful and their brain tells them: If they are giving me this much stuff for free, think of how much more amazing it would be to actually work with them. You are not giving it all way. A good resource on this and knowing how to operate in a space where you're not in competition with anyone else is Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim.  7. Create a marketing strategy plan that works for you. Basically, I'm telling you my favorite mantra: You do you. This means if you're type A and like to operate with a color-coded calendar that's 6 weeks ahead of your production schedule, then you're going to want to find a system that does that exact thing so you are successful. But some of you are going to want to write down ideas on sticky notes or on your phone and create the night before and cross your fingers that you remembered to do everything. (While not optimal, it gets the job done.) The key here is to set up a system (yes, something that's repeatable) and consistently follow it. If you can't be consistent, then don't even bother doing it. I'm not even kidding. There's too much. 8. Freaking promote your content people.  Most people who create content have zero strategies for how to promote it and nobody knows the content exists.  Here are seven ideas for how to promote what you're creating: - Brainstorm all the places you could share content. (I also call this brain dump or word vomit often). *Make a note if there are restrictions on when and where you can share content (cough, cough Facebook groups) - Look at your best channels for visibility. Where are you already doing a great job at being out there? - Commit to sharing it in at least 5 places each time you create something. Most of us stop at our email list, FB biz page and sometimes a friend. - Start a spreadsheet or a tracking system to track your content. Make a note of the title, theme, keywords, links, etc. so you can refer it on other posts or when topics come up, etc. and it's easy to access it. You can also merge related content into an epic optin, etc. - Make sure Google Analytics is set up on your site so you know what's working. Most places you can add it through Google Tag Manager in the head of your website, through a plugin if you're on Wordpress like me, or in the setup section of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) website builders. It's the best free website analytics tool out there. - Schedule it to be shared on channels that repeat with tools like Smarterqueue, MeetEdgar, Hootsuite, Pinterest. Content strategy is amazing for your business because once you post it, it's searchable and can be found over and over again to new people. You can always and update it and add to it at any time. It's also what makes SEO happen for your business, and allows you to get organic traffic to your site for free. Now go get into action and commit do something sustainable.