If you’d rather just watch the video, skip to the end and do that, or read the blog here….
What is marketing and do you need it?
Marketing, is basically everything a customer or potential customer sees and experiences of you and your business, whether that is a social media post, an ad, your website or meeting you at a networking event. It also includes your visual branding, your products or services, your pricing and positioning and where you sell your services.
You cannot make sales without doing some marketing (it’s like needing to break eggs to make an omelette) – unless you’re some kind of spiritual genius!
So, yes of course you need to market yourself!Â
Its only by putting yourself ‘out there’ in the market place (aka marketing), whether that is online (via video, blog, social media, podcast, your website) or in person (via networking or speaking) that you will:
- be seen, get noticed and stand out from the crowd
- get more ideal clients & sell more products or services
- get known for what you do and be seen as the expert
- have your stuff shared and recommended (through word-of-mouth)
- be invited to speak, be interviewed or be an expert to someone else’s audience
- secure guest blogs and media coverage/PR in magazines
…. all of which helps your ideal clients to find you, to know, like and trust you and ultimately to buy from you.
AND I know it’s the hardest thing to do!
BUT Without effective marketing you’re actually doing a disservice to the people you want to help as you’re not reaching those who want and need your gifts!
What to look at if you’re struggling to make your marketing effective
If you’re struggling to get enough clients (either for 1-2-1 sessions or into your workshops or courses), to go networking (or to make networking work for you), to sell your products or services, have sales conversations and convert leads into clients, ask for money or do ANY of the strategies you’ve learned from other courses and workshops or that you’re seeing online (you know, all those freebies you’ve signed up for) then there’s two things you need to look at.
The first is WHAT you’re doing, ie the strategies you’re using, your goals and the actions you’re taking and secondly it is HOW you’re doing them!
There is your outer world (what you’re doing ie your strategy and execution) and your inner world and how your confidence, presence and energy effects how others feel about you.
Two sides of the same coin.
As most people are focused on the strategy and execution, for this blog, let’s look at the other side; your confidence, presence, beliefs and energy.
Do you lack confidence or self-belief?
Are you running fear of rejection or judgement?
Are you unsure what to say?
Or are you not feeling clear enough to move forward?
Whatever is going on internally, your thoughts, feelings, fear, excitement and passion all get projected out to your prospective clients in your marketing efforts, not just on video or in person (although it is more apparent through these channels) but also energetically online or through your words.
People can actually pick up your fear or desperation, they can feel your lack of confidence, self-belief or nervousness and they will, unfortunately, be turned off you. Which is probably your biggest fear of putting yourself out there in the first place!
Urgh!! Double whammy!
I’ve actually had this happen to me, in the past, when I’ve been trying to market a workshop when I was really skint and quite desperate for it to work because I needed the money (and I also really wanted to run it). I got no bookings, despite doing what seemed to be everything right and exactly what I’d been doing before with success!
There is another way
The old marketing ways are very heady, manipulative, masculine and I think you’ll agree, mostly, totally off-putting. Even many people who think they’re doing authentic marketing often come across as pushy, annoying, inauthentic, lacking in clarity or lacking in credibility.
There is another way, there is a way to market yourself authentically and confidently which utilises your strengths and skills AND the right strategies and has the best YOU coming through all of your strategies.
Most people are focused just on strategies and not on presence and their inner world but, you do need BOTH. You need to be focusing and working on your presence too, or the strategies simply fall flat.
So I hope that’s been helpful and at least given you some food for thought around your marketing and not just WHAT you’re doing, but HOW you’re doing it and perhaps you have had some insight about what you may need to look at.
Please comment below
Do share what your insight has been or how this information has landed for you today.
Please check out the video too below.