Why You Might Be Thinking “I’m So Bad At Marketing” – And Why You’re Not

“I’m so bad at marketing!”

I get why you think that. When I started my first business, I had been a public school teacher for the previous ten years. I knew nothing about marketing, I thought I was “bad” at it, and frankly, I didn’t like the idea of it. 

But I knew I had to learn this marketing stuff if I wanted the results in my business, and I learned something really important that I want to share with you today: Marketing does not have to be yucky, gimmicky, sales, pushy.

Why You Need To Shift Your Perspective on Marketing

If you think that the way to market your business is to put flyers out trying to get people to buy, and going to networking meetings trying to get people to like you (and then buy), and writing social media posts about how great your services are to get people to buy…

Of course you think you’re bad at marketing…because doing those things doesn’t work! And of course you have this internal resistance to “doing marketing” because doing those things does feel gimmicky and salesy, because…they are. 

Why Your Marketing Doesn’t Work

Here’s the real problem: you’re imitating traditional industrial marketing that’s used to sell cheap, mass produced products. So it’s no wonder it doesn’t feel intuitive, and doesn’t work well. It’s the wrong model for you!

After all, you offer a specialized, innovative service, right? You’re passionate about what you do, and your service is powerful for the right people. 

You’re not offering trinkets, you’re offering transformation.

And even if within your field, what you’re doing is different so you need to learn how to market your business and service differently.

How To Better Market Your Services

First, don’t try to sell your services in your marketing. Don’t even offer your services at all.

Marketing is not where you sell. Marketing is where you attract. (That’s why I’m always going on and on about the importance of a sales process, [First Name!]) 

In your marketing, speak to your ideal audience, the bullseye of your target market. Talk about them, not you. Their pains and problems, goals and desires….

Tell stories. Stories about clients. Stories from every day life. Stories from the news. Stories that speak to your people about what they’re dealing with in their lives, and what you know that they may not see on their own. Educate. Entertain. Inspire. Did I say educate?

How To Speak To Your Target Market

Make sure that you’re not trying to speak to everyone in your marketing. You’re not trying to attract everyone! This is not about being liked, so if you’re a people pleaser, pay attention to this point.

One trick to do this is to think of one or two actual clients you love, or even better is a person you actually know or talked to that would be a great client, but who hasn’t yet taken action to address their problems… And speak or write to them.

Use the language of your people, speak or write directly to them in a way that makes them say, “It feels like s/he’s talking to me!” (You know you’re doing this well when people actually say that to you.)

And then there are going to be people who totally don’t relate to or resonate with what you’re saying. And they will stop reading or listening, or ignore your post or video, or unsubscribe from yout list… And that’s a good thing! That’s what you want!

To attract your people only, and repel the others. (After all, who needs the people who just ‘don’t get it’? Those are the tire kickers and price shoppers. Repel them!)

How To Market To Your Ideal Client

Remember, this is not about being liked. This is not a popularity contest. You want your marketing to attract just the right people for you and your business. And the more transformative and specialized your service, the more specific your market is. Hone in on who those people are.

Before I wrap this up, I want to ask: do you notice that I didn’t talk about tactics, like what social media to use or where exactly to tell these stories or speak to your audience?

That’s because there’s no one answer to that, it depend you, your business, and your ideal clients. Where are your ideal clients hanging out?

ANY marketer that is telling you have to use some particular social media platform or have to be using some particular marketing method either has a limited understanding of effective marketing or is simply trying to sell you their offer.

What Effective Marketing Looks Like

Effective marketing is about knowing your audience and getting your message right. The tactics (like a free 5-day challenge, or paid ads, or a webinar or public speaking) are simply the vehicles for delivering your message. The tactics don’t stand alone and will bomb if you don’t have the market and message right (as you may have experienced yourself). 

In closing, you’re not bad at marketing, you just need a different approach. When you dial into what your ideal customer needs to hear and speak directly to them, you will find you’re actually great at marketing.

In the Business (R)Evolution Academy, we build out your entire marketing strategy – the language, the media, and the mechanisms to get leads for your sales pipeline. Learn more here.