Is This One Mistake Costing You Your Marketing Time?
As we all know, and should keep top of mind, we need to be marketing. Every. Single. Day.
And what happens if we don’t?
No money.
No money = no business = very expensive hobby.
And we definitely don’t want to have a hobby business. Because after a while, of having a hobby business, we then have to go work for other people.
And in my world….that’s bad. Very bad. I don’t like working for other people and if you are here reading this, then you must think it’s bad too!
*insert telepathic fist bump here*
We need to be spending our marketing time effectively and efficiently.
So we market. And nothing.
We market some more. And nothing.
We get frustrated and market some. Still nothing.
I have been there. I have spend upwards of 30-35 hours/week one month marketing plus $25,000 of ads and paying other people to assist me. It had fabulous ROI (return on investment) of $1200.
At the end of it all I felt sick to my stomach.
I couldn’t get those hours back. I still had to run the company so those extra hours – they were taken from my personal time. My family time. My looking after my health time.
It was not worth it at all, except for the bonus of being able to share it here with all of you so that you don’t do it. And even that’s a stretch when I think of the time it cost me.
Simply put – the cost was too high.
Therefore I would like to bring to your attention how to avoid the number one mistake you could be making that’s costing you your marketing time.
Now why is it costing you your marketing time? Because if you are correctly spending 60-80% of your business operating time marketing, you should be rolling in the dough.
Unless you are not doing it correctly. Then the marketing time used up, is a cost. Not a profit…..see what I did there? (yes I think I am hysterical…I guess that’s a ‘mom’ joke).
Let’s get into this shall we?
When I first start working with my private clients our first pillar is research. We dig in using a bunch of templates and scripts to reveal what our ideal client truly is asking for (which means they will also pay for it).
Part of those templates is specifically curated questions so that we can determine where they hang out online.
We then build in time to learn how to use that specific spot for marketing expertly.
We put together a strategy. Then we implement the strategy, track the results, tweak and go again until our ROI is 10-50x outweighing our marketing time investment.
That’s a profitable business system for marketing and selling your specialized signature program.
However I have seen time and time again where a client LOATHES that platform that their client likes to hang out on.
So they decide to market on the platform that they like or their friend (who usually hasn’t made any big money) recommends.
And they spend hours, upon hours a day or week trying to get engagement from people, or likes or followers, or group members. Or worse, they are trying to get them to like, follow and subscribe all in one post or DM.
It just doesn’t happen or it’s happening in bumps and spurts so they get upset and a little depressed. Then they claim that it’s not working so then they stop being focused or get busy doing other things during marketing time.
They are on the wrong bloody platform. They don’t have a marketing strategy of the journey they are sending the client on SO THAT THE CLIENT GETS THE TRANSFORMATION THEY WANT.
So they just wasted all that marketing time and energy to get bupkiss. (which means nothing)
Then they happily jump, skip and sashay into another platform….that doesn’t match what their client says they like to be on, and add that into the same hours they have set aside for marketing on the first incorrect platform.
As a result, this promptly pushes them into doing a half assed job in two spots that their client is hanging out on to see their amazing offer that they are looking for.
This is like trying to sell a wheelchair to an Olympic runner.
Not going to happen.
So then you are trying to figure out where to get more marketing time because obviously you need to be doing more.
NOPE
Don’t do it.
Don’t do it.
PLEASE Don’t do it.
Rather, go back to your initial program research and see where your clients told you they were hanging out.
However, if you forgot to ask, or *gasp* you didn’t do any client interviews before building your program, stop right now.
Put together a list of questions, and get out there and interview 10-15 of your ideal clients…not your competitors. Your actual, going to open their wallet and give you their hard earned cash, clients.
MINIMUM 10.
Does it feel like I am yelling? I’m not.
In reality, I really, truly desire for you to be successful and this is the number one mistake I see that burns through marketing time with no reward. I want you to do this right.
So get out there and interview 10. Maximum 15.
Now why did I give you a maximum? Because some of you lovely beings like to use ‘over doing’ as a way to stall out. I have had wonderful, amazing, talented ladies decide that they are going to interview 40-50 before they reworked their marketing platform strategy.
WTH?
No. Maybe I could see 20 but 50? If that’s not screaming self sabotage and I don’t believe in myself I don’t know what is.
So take a deep breath. Repeat after me –
We humans like to “under” or “over” all the time when it comes to self-sabotage in our business marketing.
So 10-15. And make sure that one to two of your questions revolves around where they hang out online the MAJORITY of time. As in 4-5 times a week.
If you are wanting to be a successful elephant hunter….you surely wouldn’t be spending your time here in Calgary, Alberta where it could snow on any given day….and in the last 24 years of living here…IT HAS!
Once you have compiled this information you will know exactly where to spend your marketing hours to get you right in front of the right people looking for your transformational, game changing offer.
And you will get a better, much better return on investment on your marketing hours.
Then like I said earlier in this blog, block off a chunk of time to learn how to effectively use the platform for engagement. Then set out daily time in your work day to market.
I like to do mine first thing in the morning before I open emails, look at any texts, etc. Marketing is the life blood of business. So master it and you will be selling your specialized signature program like hot cakes.
You will now be avoiding the mistake that costs you your marketing time and amplifying your ROI month after month. So get out there and crush it!
I look forward to seeing you in the next article.
Xo,
Tracy
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Mark Laurie
December 1, 2021 at 9:22 amI like the max, a wonderful actionable course of action. I suspect that redoing every year or so to see if there have been changes would help too.
Tracy Blehm
December 1, 2021 at 9:31 amAbsolutely. In fact I like to do mine twice a year to ensure that my offerings are still in alignment with what my clients are working through.