‘I have never worked a day in my life without selling.
If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard.’
ESTÉE LAUDER
Let’s recap on my super-complicated, two-step millionaire marketing formula:
Before we start, a reminder: the basics work, but only if you work them. Some people second-guess the basics because they’re so damned unsexy. They want a silver-bullet solution instead. Others avoid them as a form of rebellion (‘If everyone is doing it, I’ll do the opposite!’), even if that sabotages their business.
Nobody wants to hear this, but the way I grew my business to six and then seven figures, was consistency, not perfection. I’m not super-organized, I don’t have superior planning skills, and I don’t have a solid marketing strategy. Nope. I’ve half-assed my way to a successful business, but I’ve half-assed consistently! I show up even when I’m second-guessing it. Just get on with it.
In this chapter, we’ll cover the ‘sharing’ part of your very simple marketing strategy; after all, what is marketing if not just sharing what you’re passionate about? First, let’s cover some frequently asked questions about marketing.
‘Money doesn’t grow on trees; it grows in your list!’
NATALIE SISSON
One of the truisms of marketing is that the money is in your list. In this case, your list is your customer database, your newsletter subscribers, and your social media following. These are people who are interested in your business and in how you can help them.
If ‘list’ feels too impersonal to you, give your community a name! Lady Gaga has ‘Little Monsters.’ Nicki Minaj has ‘Barbz.’ And I have ‘Lucky Bees.’ Whatever you call them, your people are your gold. They aren’t just the source of your income – they’re how you can create loyalty and a big movement.
You might be thinking, If 1 percent is a good conversion rate, and I have fewer than 100 people in my community, I’m doomed.’ Not true! But building an audience should be a major marketing priority for you. I don’t want to brag, but I have a pretty big list (wink, wink), and I can tell you from experience that it’s easier to build a Chillpreneur business when you have a lot more people to market to. Size does matter if you want to do less work and make more money, especially with passive income products.
My Lucky Bee community has grown slowly and consistently over many years and, for a long time, I didn’t spend any money on advertising, just my time and energy. My best list-building tip is to give, give, and give some more, with a mindset of ‘people want to hear from me’ and ‘I have something valuable to share.’ Stop thinking you’re bothering people by sharing your knowledge with them. Remember: you don’t have to be the über-expert. People want to hear your perspective and experience, so give it to them! Give away free resources, show the results from your last marketing campaign, tell an embarrassing story about one of your biggest business or life mistakes, show how you create your artwork, give tips and tricks that you’ve learned along the way, or share internal resources that save you time. The only caveat is that it has to be relevant to your business and useful to your target market.
Then ask: ask for an email address in return, ask for a follow on social media, and (most importantly) ask for permission to contact them again! Nurture that community with regular material to develop your ‘know, like, and trust’ factor and then, when you have something for sale, ask for the sale!
Show up and give to your audience.
Don’t overthink this. Your free content has to be useful enough for people to take the next step to becoming part of your community (either as a subscriber or follower). Always find the path of least resistance and create what’s easiest for you, instead of procrastinating and waiting for the ‘perfect’ marketing idea.
Because I’m passionate about consistency, I’ve had the discipline of creating something new every week for years. And here’s the thing: you never know what will resonate with your audience. I’ve spent hours agonizing over a blog post, only to hear… nothing… in return. Other weeks, I’ve dashed something out before my newsletter deadline, and people loved it! That’s why you have to show up regularly if you want to build your audience consistently.
In your journal, or in a conversation with an entrepreneurial friend, answer these questions:
I’m not going to recommend a particular marketing tool, social media platform, or technology here, because they change so often. By the time you read this, we could be hologramming into each other’s living rooms! The core of marketing is unchanging: get your message out there. Just choose the medium that works best for you and your audience.
Ignore coaches or marketing gurus who tell you that you can market only in one way. I once interviewed with a coach who told me that I had to go to every networking event within three hours of my house. When I told her I wanted a more online model because a) I’m an introvert, b) I have young children, and c) people, ew, she said, ‘Online? But how would you get clients?’ Needless to say, I didn’t hire her. There are easier ways (for me) to make money.
You can choose the most comfortable and enjoyable marketing strategies for you. If you don’t want to be on camera, you can write blogs or start a podcast. If you love spontaneity, you can do livestreams whenever you feel like it. If you’re a former high-school thespian, you can confidently create silly or funny videos. But if you prefer face-to-face work, you can make networking and public speaking a major part of your marketing strategy. Respect your preferences and personality: you’ll likely be more consistent than you would be if you followed the latest sexy marketing fad or forced yourself into doing something ‘everyone else’ is doing.
As an introvert, I like marketing in a way that requires minimal contact with other humans. I only speak on stages a few times a year; I hate traditional networking events; and I have to psych myself up to attend launch parties (even my own!) I like telling stories, so I love being interviewed on audio podcasts (because I don’t have to wear a bra or makeup!) My videos and interviews can go out to thousands of people (who I don’t have to meet in person), so I choose the most leveraged, easy way for me to reach as many people as possible. Remember: the key is knowing your personality.
Get your message out to more people in
whatever way feels good to you.
You don’t have to do all the things. Some marketing platforms won’t resonate with you, and that’s okay. Start by focusing on the easiest medium for you – otherwise, you might never start! Give yourself permission to start something new and easy and drop something hard or boring. Just because others are doing it, doesn’t mean it’s right for you!
In your journal, or in conversation with an entrepreneurial friend, answer these questions:
‘People talk about perfect timing, but I think
everything is perfect in its moment.’
EDDIE HUANG
You know those ‘friends’ who pop back into your life every time they want something? Yeah, don’t be that kind of marketer. You’ve got to show up consistently and give a lot of value between sales campaigns.
According to the Marketing Rule of 7 (which originated in the 1930s), people need to hear a message at least seven times before they act on it.1 In some ways that’s easier to do in the digital age but also harder because there’s so much information. I’ve heard that the number of contacts needed to lead people to action has increased, which wouldn’t surprise me – we’re bombarded with media that didn’t exist in the 1930s.
A good rule of thumb for the frequency of contacting your audience could be:
A lot of woo-woo and spiritual entrepreneurs ask me about ‘divine timing,’ like, ‘Is there a perfect time to launch my website or book?’ or ‘What’s the best day of the week to send out my newsletter?’ Here’s my philosophy: The day you do it is your lucky day.
Yes, I’ll admit that I look at my horoscope to get good launch dates, but not as an excuse to procrastinate or wait for the stars to align before I take action. If you can muster the energy only to launch on a particular day, go with that. Don’t psych yourself out looking for the perfect time to send your newsletter. Pick a date and time and send it out – you can always change it. I’ve met many entrepreneurs who have done nothing for years for fear of getting it wrong. Sometimes, you just have to launch and see what happens!
‘Repetition makes reputation and
reputation makes customers.’
ELIZABETH ARDEN
Consistency is so much more important than finding the perfect timing. Why? Social media is like a digital river. You never know if the people you want to reach will be standing on the bank when your tweet, email, or post flows by. Become a reliable presence in people’s lives, and they’ll get excited to buy from you when the time comes.
‘Patience doesn’t mean making a pact with the devil
of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations.
It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the
process that’s unfolding, rather than ripping open
a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry
up and get that chrysalis stage over with.’
SHARON SALZBERG
You want some advanced strategies? Okay, here they are: share more and make more offers. I’m only kinda kidding – it really is that basic. But if you insist, here are some nuances that have really helped me.
Writer and comedian Judd Apatow recommends that stand-up comedians stick to 80 percent tried-and-true material that they know people will laugh at, and try out new content only 20 percent of the time. I saw Bette Midler’s show in Vegas, during which she said, ‘I’ve been telling the same jokes for 30 years. But you keep laughing, so I keep telling them!’ And she was right – I laughed my ass off!
Listen to the superstars and chill out. You don’t have to reinvent everything. I’ve been teaching money mindset for several years now, and let’s be honest: I’m saying the same things over and over in slightly different ways from slightly different perspectives.
Most entrepreneurs assume that everything has to be 100 percent new or it doesn’t count. But don’t assume that everyone has seen everything you’ve created (remember the river). It’s okay to repurpose older content because it will be new to a lot of your audience (especially if you’ve grown your business recently) and your loyal customers won’t mind. I tell the same stories on stage all the time (just like Bette Midler)! But even my oldest clients tell me they loved hearing a message reinforced or appreciated finding a new nugget of wisdom in an old lesson.
While your audience is small, you might develop content that few people will see, but consider it an apprenticeship. Every time you put something out there, you’re becoming a better writer, podcaster, or video producer. Keep practicing! The blog posts, videos, and podcasts you create will accumulate and create a library of media that your growing audience can discover any time.
Remember: being the ‘go-to’ girl isn’t super-fun or lucrative. It’s tempting to solve everyone’s problems but knowing what’s out of scope for your marketing is essential. Give yourself some ‘content rules,’ so you can catch yourself before you go too off-topic. I steer clear of the following: how-to advice – I don’t usually give detailed information about how to make more money; instead, I stick to the mindset behind it; financial advice or accounting (I’m not qualified to give that, anyway); technical business advice – don’t ask me about the best software to use for anything!
Narrowing your scope might mean killing some of your old or existing content. I had to delete all my old blog posts about random off-topic things. I unpublished some of my old books, including an e-book called Planning a Green and Ethical Wedding. Hardly anyone bought it, but it still came up in online searches, which diluted my message. Get focused, and watch your audience grow. Be everything to everyone, and you’ll never stand out in a crowded market.
Get focused about what you do and don’t offer.
If you follow me on social media, you might think I work 24/7. I really don’t. The truth is that I work way less now than I did several years ago, and I make a ton more money. I seem way more ‘on’ than I actually am, even when I’m doing ‘life stuff’ like being on holidays or having my babies, because a lot of my marketing is batched and automated. I once sat down at my computer and created 200 affirmation images for my website; I was inspired (and to be honest, procrastinating something else), but that was over a year’s worth of content for my social media. When you’re in a groove, keep going!
When I’m pregnant, I batch video content ahead of time, so I’m not missed during my maternity leave. I once even hired a studio for three days and created a year’s worth of videos because I knew I had a new book to write and wanted to conserve my energy that year but still serve my community with fresh weekly content. Batching will change your life and free up so much time for you. It also really focuses your marketing on what’s important. When you’re clear on your audience and your topic (and on what’s out of scope), it’s really easy to brainstorm a lot of potential marketing ideas.
Batching also saves you a lot of money if you’re outsourcing because it gives you economy of scale. It’s cheaper to give your graphic designer 20 similar jobs to do at the same time than it is to send the work out piecemeal over several months. Then, when you have a lot of content, you can schedule it using free or low-cost software, so your marketing is consistent without you having to think about it. You can schedule things to go out automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
You don’t have to be ‘on’ 24/7. Embrace
batching and automation, so you can chill
a bit and not have to work so hard.
The concept is simple but mindset around batching is fascinating. You may resist it because it feels inauthentic to you. Shouldn’t you just share when you feel like it? My answer is: if I’d waited until I ‘felt like it,’ I wouldn’t have a business, let alone a financially successful one. The idea of a regular marketing schedule might sound exhausting, but not if you embrace the power of technology for scheduling and batching.
Plus, here’s the thing: it’s not about you. As long as your marketing was authentic when you created it, it’s none of your business when your audience consumes it. It might actually come at the perfect time for them, even if it’s ‘old news’ to you.
My only caveat is that, in my experience, it’s best not to batch more than six months in advance. Any more than that and your branding or message might feel a bit stale. I once lost a ton of weight and cut my hair after filming 60 videos, and they annoyed me every time I saw them because they felt so out of date. Find your happy medium!
The best thing about the internet now is realizing that you’re not alone. Sharing helps people feel understood and assures them that you have similar problems in common – or that you did until you solved those problems in a way that enables you to help them. Entrepreneurs have a huge advantage over big companies because we can be more personal in our marketing and create intimate relationships with our clients.
When I started my business, I realized the blog posts that got the most traction were ones in which I simply told the truth. My truth. When I did that, without shame or embellishment, people loved it. For example, I posted a picture of me using hair removal crème on my mustache. People said, ‘Oh Denise, you’re so funny!’ I wasn’t trying to be funny, and it had nothing to do with money, but I wanted to be honest and show that my life isn’t all hammocks on the beach, because it’s not.
Nobody has a perfect life but, for some reason, we all fear that we’re not perfect enough and that, if our audience saw the ‘real us,’ they wouldn’t like us anymore. The way to overcome this is what I call my ‘Hairy Toes Strategy’ (HTS). When I was younger, I honestly thought I was the only person in the world to have ‘unladylike’ hair on my toes. It didn’t help that I had lots of friends who only seemed to wax the peach fuzz off their legs once a year.
If I’d had a mentor who mentioned that she had hairy toes too, or even had a stray pimple occasionally, I wouldn’t have felt like there was something wrong with me all the time. I love working with people who show me their real lives, warts and all. There’s something so compelling about showing up and being who you are. Maybe you feel that your accent disqualifies you for success in the business world, or you’re worried that, if you disclosed your infertility journey, a physical disability or mental illness, your audience would reject you or think you’re ‘unprofessional.’
Show people they’re not alone. There are people waiting for a leader who looks exactly like you. Someone who has your background and has experienced the challenges you’ve faced. If you’re sick of being the only person like you in your industry, talk about it! Have you faced challenges and discrimination? Share it openly. I guarantee you won’t be the only one.
I’m not saying that you should turn your whole life into a business. It’s okay to take space and privacy for yourself and not share everything, but your very existence might be challenging the norms of your industry. Showing full-length photos of yourself or making videos might be an act of bravery that inspires others to do the same. Being honest about your challenges might be revolutionary for your audience to hear.
There’s so much power in talking about taboo topics. Your voice might be the one that tips a whole industry into a new phase! The maker of Icon pee-proof undies (for light bladder leakage) is a company that has changed an industry from an embarrassing secret to a fact of life for a lot of women. One of the first things you see on its website is, ‘Yup, it happens to 1 in 3 women, from spring chickens to silver foxes.’2 My first thought was, Wow, thank you! I kind of felt like I was the only one.
Icon doesn’t wrap the problem up in vague, flowery language (tampon companies, I’m looking at you). It injects some humor into its marketing – you can join its ‘VIPee list,’ and there’s a ‘Dribble Diaries’ feature on its blog. It’s not crude or crass, it’s honest, and it’s so freaking reassuring! The owners of Icon created a movement because they were unafraid to tell the truth about a very common problem. And the company’s marketing shows women of all shapes, ages, sizes, and colors too.
I’m not saying you need to quit your business and start a hairy toes blog, and you don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable with. All I’m saying is: don’t be afraid to be genuinely yourself. Will you get criticism for it? Yes, probably. There could be someone who says, ‘I can’t believe you’re talking about this!’ Or someone who thinks you’re tacky, bragging, or even being crude. But the overwhelming majority of people will thank you. And that little piece of your heart that’s terrified of being rejected, shunned, or unlovable if people saw the ‘real you’ will be comforted and reassured. That’s how you become a leader.
Yes, it might take time to grow your audience – everyone starts from zero. But remind yourself that even the ‘popular girls’ in your industry have probably been slogging it out for some time, including me. I’m not any smarter and definitely not more hardworking than most. I’ve just been stubbornly consistent and persistent. Show up and share with your community. That’s what it takes.
There’s no secret, and there are no silver
bullets. Show up, be consistent, and share.