Victoria Rayburn [00:00:00]:
In order to build a firm marketing foundation, you need to identify who your ideal customers are, work to truly understand them, and write your marketing guiding statements accordingly. Because to be blunt, your marketing is only going to work if every facet of your marketing strategy is built with your ideal customer in mind, and if the language you use speaks directly to them. Hey there, you're listening to Priority Pursuit podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners and leaders define, maintain, and pursue both their personal and business priorities so they can build lives and businesses they love. I'm your host, Victoria Rayburn, and I want to start this episode by saying that I know your plate is full between fulfilling your products or services, going the extra mile to ensure your clients are well served, handling the not so fun back end aspects of running a business, being present in your personal life, and doing all of the many, many things required to run a business and simply be a person, you have a lot on your to do list and even more on your mind, while I hope that as your business grows, you're able to add team members or contractors to alleviate some of your workload, according to the US Census Bureau and Small Business Administration, approximately 80% of small businesses are non employer firms, meaning that most small businesses are one person businesses. Now, whether that's because these businesses are new and are still growing or this is by choice, this means that most small business owners are solopreneurs. For the record, there is nothing wrong with staying small. As we've discussed in past episodes, bigger by no means means better. When we talk to solopreneurs, they tend to share a few common struggles when it comes to their marketing.
Victoria Rayburn [00:01:50]:
First of all, because they have so much on their plates, they just don't have time to focus on their marketing. So they put it on the back burner. Then when they do have time, they aren't sure where to start or where to put their energy. So they try one marketing tactic after another, often without seeing results and wasting time and money. Now, when business is going well, meaning when these businesses are maintaining repeat customers and referrals are helping them generate new business, most solopreneurs don't feel concerned about their marketing. However, when business drops, they panic and start putting what I can only think to describe as panicked energy into their marketing. Can you relate? Are you a solopreneur? Or maybe a small business owner with a team that's stretched? Then again, I know your to do list is miles long. However, as we've shared and I don't know how many episodes at this point, hard work great products and services and exceptional customer service can only take you so far.
Victoria Rayburn [00:02:53]:
In fact, most small businesses plateau or fail to get to the next level simply because their marketing isn't equipped to take them any further or even to keep their doors open. Unfortunately, with this in mind, you need to be able to effectively and consistently market your business at Treefrog. There is nothing we want more than for your small business to succeed. So whether you are planning on being a solopreneur for the long haul or you just don't currently have the budget to hire marketing professionals, in this episode we're going to break down how to market your small business on your own okay, first, whether you're handling your own marketing or trusting someone else to market your business, you have to have a marketing strategy because operating from a strategy is going to give you clarity, structure and targets and this is going to prevent chaos. And I know you know what I'm talking about. We have discussed this a bit already. But how often have you let your marketing fall to the bottom of your to do list simply because you don't know what to focus on? Or how many times have you sat down to work on your marketing and not even put in a dent because you don't know where to start or what to work on first? This is why you, especially as a solo preneur, need a strategy now for the sake of clarity. A marketing strategy is a long term plan that defines your business goals and details the steps you need to take to achieve your goals.
Victoria Rayburn [00:04:24]:
For example, your marketing strategy should detail what kind of content you should be creating so you don't waste time creating something that's your ideal customers won't engage with. Basically, unless you have a long term plan with clear, actionable steps, you won't know what to work on or what to prioritize. Instead, you will likely find yourself failing to prioritize your marketing, which, as we have discussed, prevents business growth and or stability. You'll probably also find yourself trying one marketing tactic after another without seeing results, which, like we also already discussed, waste time and money. Basically, failing to operate from a marketing strategy is only going to lead to frustration, burnout and chaos. However, when you let an effective marketing strategy serve as your compass, you can say goodbye to uncertainty and confidently market and steer your business toward the growth and or stability you want to see. That said, I do want to make it clear that you need to operate from an effective marketing strategy. I mean, it is not just enough to have a plan, the plan needs to actually work.
Victoria Rayburn [00:05:32]:
If you've listened to past episodes of priority pursuit. You know we are big fans of the flywheel marketing strategy. We'll be sure to include links to some of these episodes in the show notes. However, we also have a free guide that walks you through the flywheel marketing method in full. This guide breaks down every step of the exact marketing strategy we use for our agency clients. And whether you want to implement the strategy on your own or just better understand it, we would love to share it with you. To access the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses, the flywheel marketing method, visit the link in the show notes or go to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel really quick. In case you aren't familiar with the flywheel marketing method, this is the exact strategy we use for nearly all of our agency clients because it's proven to work small businesses and just see big results from this.
Victoria Rayburn [00:06:21]:
I mean, some of our clients have seen a 800% growth as a result of this strategy. This is also the strategy I use as a wedding photographer that allowed me to meet my booking goals year after year and become entirely self employed, which is one of the reasons that I am so passionate about it. Oh, and also another side note, I implemented the strategy as a solopreneur, but just it is possible. Put simply, the flywheel marketing method though is a marketing strategy where your website and online marketing efforts are in sync and function as a flywheel to continually produce results. Essentially, you're going to lay a really firm marketing foundation with messaging and a strategic website and then from there you are going to use content and ads and other things to attract your ideal clients. We've done so many episodes on this guys. If you want to go back and listen to episode 103, this really breaks it down. But again, you can also check out that guide.
Victoria Rayburn [00:07:20]:
But at tree for up, we recommend the flywheel marketing method for all small businesses because first of all, it's proven to work. Like I said, our clients have experienced up to 800% growth as a result of this strategy. And then second, once your flywheel system is built, your marketing will essentially continue to work on its own. As a result, this strategy is ideal for small businesses that want to see big, consistent results. Basically, when you use the file marketing method, you can feel confident in your marketing strategy, permit the time and income loss that come with trying one ineffective marketing tactic after another, and focus on other important aspects of your business. Because again, you can feel confident in your marketing. So if you are looking for a marketing strategy that you can implement as a solopreneur, as a small team or even as a small business with a full marketing department. Download our free guide, the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses the flywheel marketing method.
Victoria Rayburn [00:08:14]:
You can find this guide at the link in the show notes or by visiting treefrogmarketing.com flywheel. Now if you're going to market your small business on your own, the next thing that you need to do is build a strong marketing foundation. Maybe it's been a while since you've thought about the story about the big bad wolf and the three little pigs. But as a reminder, three little pigs build houses. The first builds his out of straw, the second builds his out of sticks, and then the last pig builds his out of bricks. Then when the big bad wolf comes to huff and puff, that rouses down, only the brick house remains. That's the only one that survives. Well, not having a firm marketing foundation like before, trying various marketing tactics like so many small businesses do, is like building a house out of straw or sticks and that it's not going to protect you or help you for very long.
Victoria Rayburn [00:09:04]:
Yes, it might look nice at first and it might even be fun to build, but it won't set you up for long term success. So to build a firm marketing foundation, you need to. And we already talked about this actually a little bit, but you need to understand your ideal client and create clear messaging specifically for them. Then you need to build a strong foundation with a strategically built, SEO optimized website. Now, if you have listened to any episode of Priority Pursuit, you'll likely already know the importance of understanding your audience and creating clear messaging. This is absolutely the most important step in marketing and something small businesses often fail to do. After all, if you want to convert prospects into paying customers, you have to know who you're talking to and what to say to make them want to do business with you. So in order to build a firm marketing foundation, you need to identify who your ideal customers are, work to truly understand them, and write your marketing guiding statements accordingly.
Victoria Rayburn [00:10:01]:
Because to be blunt, your marketing is only going to work if every facet of your marketing strategy is built with your ideal customer in mind. And if the language you use speaks directly to them.
Natalie Franke [00:10:15]:
What would you do with an extra 45 minutes every workday? That would save you 16 hours a month or roughly eight days a year. And over the course of your career, we're talking about over one year of your life. Saved all that time back? Well, many independent business owners spend far more than 45 minutes a day on administrative tasks. And with honeybook you can get that time back and then some. Honeybook lets you easily manage projects, contracts, invoices, scheduling and client communication, saving you time and allowing you to better serve your clients. For a discount on your first year of honeybook, visit honeybook.com and subscribe with the code priority pursuit 45 minutes a day adds up quickly. Use it to focus on what matters most.
Kelly Rice [00:11:00]:
Many small businesses don't have an effective marketing strategy, and because of this, they try one tactic after another without seeing results. This not only prevents consistent business growth, it makes managing marketing efforts more difficult than it should be. As a marketing agency for small businesses, we understand how frustrating it can be when hard work doesn't deliver the results that you want. Because of this, Treefrog has developed a proven four step marketing system that will help any small business grow. On our website, you can also schedule a 30 minutes discovery call to discuss working with Treefrog to build a marketing strategy that will allow your small business to to finally see the growth you've been working so hard to achieve.
Victoria Rayburn [00:11:38]:
Now. Spoiler Alert understanding your audience and writing clear messaging like we already discussed is the first step of the flywheel marketing method. So to keep this episode as concise as possible, we aren't going to go over how to identify your target audience. But like I mentioned before, we have a guide that walks you through every step of the flywheel marketing strategy, including a six step process that will help you identify and thoroughly understand your ideal clients. And again, you can access this guide in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel. But once you know who you're talking to, you'll be ready to create clear messaging for them, which is simply communication that your ideal customers can understand quickly and easily. Again, if you've listened to just about any episode of Priority Pursuit, you know the key to successful marketing is clear messaging. This is because people don't always support the best businesses or invest in the best products or services.
Victoria Rayburn [00:12:33]:
Instead, they typically purchase the products and services they can understand most easily. To ensure your message is clear and customer focused, you need to create what we call your marketing guiding statements, which include your talking points, one liner, story pitch, why and sales script. In case you have no idea what these items are or how to write them, we have a free mini course that walks you through exactly what each of these elements are and how to create them. I'll explain where you can find this course in just a moment, but first, I want to clarify that your marketing guiding statements are easy essential in building a firm marketing foundation because they are the gps of your marketing efforts. Meaning once you have these statements written, you'll know exactly what to say on your website. And later on, when you're developing content, social media posts and ads to convert prospective customers into paying clients, you'll even know what to say to them in person. Now, we've already done several episodes about marketing getting statements, so yours may already be done, but in case you've yet to complete this critical step, we put together a free mini course breaking down exactly how to write your marketing guiding statements. You can access this mini course at the link in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com marketingguiding statements and that is all.
Victoria Rayburn [00:13:49]:
One word, no hyphens. Treefrogmarketing.com marketingguiding statements now this has been a very brief overview of a very critical step, but I want to highly encourage you to check out the free guide and many course I mentioned because as a former solopreneur myself, I can honestly say that my marketing worked because I knew exactly who I was talking to and what they needed to hear. And this resulted in my business standing out as couples search for wedding photographers. To give you a little insight, I specifically targeted type A brides in the Indianapolis area. And because I knew my ideal client was highly detail oriented, my messaging very much revolved around the fact that I would provide communication and pay attention to the little details so that my detail oriented brides could enjoy their big days while being confident that they would love their wedding photos. And this message made me the obvious choice for my ideal clients because I was able to speak directly to their problem, which was the fact that they were worried that they weren't going to love their wedding photos because they were afraid their photographer wouldn't be as detail oriented as they were. Again, this messaging made me the obvious choice for my ideal customers, but it also helped differentiate me from my competitors. I mean, if you're a couple looking for a wedding photographer, who are you going to be more likely to remember? A wedding photographer who simply offers wedding photography services or a wedding photographer who empathizes and helps solve a problem for type A brides? Now, truly knowing my ideal clients and having clear messaging didn't just help with my marketing, it also allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my job.
Victoria Rayburn [00:15:25]:
You see, I'm a detail oriented person and I just wasn't going to enjoy working with couples who didn't care about timelines or the many little details that go into a wedding. So in addition to improving your revenue, taking the time to understand your ideal clients. And creating messaging specifically for them is like creating messaging specifically for them is going to help you attract more of the people you actually want to work with. And who doesn't want that? Sorry again, this first step is the most critical step in marketing your business because your efforts are only going to work if you know who you're talking to and what to say to make them want to work with you. And in all honesty, every marketing tactic is a waste of time and money until you take the time to complete this step. With this in mind, I once again want to encourage you to check out our Flywheel Marketing guide@treefrogmarketing.com, flywheel and to take our free messaging mini course@treefrogmarketing.com, marketingguiding statements we'll include both of these resources in show notes. Okay, so that's the first step to building a firm marketing foundation, understanding your audience and creating clear messaging. Now let's move on to step two, creating a strategically built, SEO optimized website.
Victoria Rayburn [00:16:38]:
Your website is the foundation of all of your marketing and communication efforts and is your business's most powerful marketing tool. That said, it is not enough just to have a website. Your website needs to serve your ideal customers well by helping them quickly and easily understand what you offer, how you can help solve their problems, and how they can work with you. And your website needs to be able to be easily found where prospects are actively looking for your products or services. Among the top Google search results I know I am throwing a lot of resources at you today, but I know that marketing your business on your own is also a lot of work. And at Treefrog, there is nothing we want more than for your small business to succeed. So with this in mind, I want to share another guide with you. Like I said, your website needs to serve your ideal clients well and keep their attention by helping them quickly and easily understand what you offer, how you can help solve their problem, and how they can work with you.
Victoria Rayburn [00:17:33]:
To do this, you need to make sure your website includes the right information. In other words, your website needs to include the information that your ideal clients need to make the decision. In our experience, there are eight things that every business's website needs to include to convert, say, visitors into paying customers. If you'd like to learn what those eight elements are, visit treefrogmarketing.com website to access our free guide. Eight things every small business's website must include to convert visitors into paying customers. When your website includes these eight elements and other information that is pertinent to your ideal clients, which you can determine when you thoroughly understand your ideal clients. Your website will be much more likely to convert your ideal customers and repel those who just aren't a the right fit for your business. Basically, when your website includes the right information, it will serve as a 24/7 salesperson that generates business and saves time by filtering out unqualified leads.
Victoria Rayburn [00:18:30]:
Again, please be sure to visit treefrogmarketing.com website or the link in the show notes to access our guide. Eight things every small business website must include to convert visitors into paying customers so that you can turn your website into a lead generating machine. Now, in addition to including the right information, your website also needs to be found where your ideal clients are already likely looking for your products or services. Among the top Google search results you see, 97% of people use Google when they're in need of a product or service. As a result, if you can get your website and business to rank on the first page of Google, you can get your information in front of prospects you are actively searching for and likely ready to purchase exactly what you have to offer. Basically, when your website ranks at the top of Google search results, you don't have to spend so much of your time going after new leads. Instead, many of your strongest leads will start coming to you through Google. With this in mind, in phase two of the flywheel marketing method, you want to take time to optimize your website and business for search engines.
Victoria Rayburn [00:19:36]:
SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, is a free process that helps your website rank well on Google or other search engines. When users conduct searches related to your products, services or content, there are a lot of moving parts to a successful SEO strategy. But SEO has the power to do big things for your small business. After all, when people intentionally look for a service or product, most go to Google and many are ready or almost ready to make a purchase. So when your website is one of the first solutions that they see in a search, they will be more likely to buy from you. Now, when I was a solopreneur, SEO played a huge part in my marketing strategy. In fact, every year, 40% of my clients found me through Google. In other words, SEO was responsible for nearly half of my income.
Victoria Rayburn [00:20:24]:
And because my website ranked well on Google, my ideal clients were able to easily find my website information. As a side note, SEO only works if your website serves your customers well. If your site isn't built well and doesn't include the right information, it isn't going to convert website visitors into paying customers, which we just discussed so SEO can get people to your website, but it can't convert them. So don't waste your time doing SEO work if you don't have a site that serves your ideal customers well. Now, there are a lot of moving parts, like I said, to a successful SEO strategy, and we aren't going to get into all the technicalities in this episode. However, like I mentioned before, we have a guide that walks you through every step of the flywheel marketing strategy, including the six things that you need to do to give your website a strong SEO foundation. And again, you can access this guide in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel. But essentially, when you build a strong marketing foundation for your business, by understanding your target audience, writing clear messaging specifically for them, and building a strategic SEO optimized website, you're creating a brick house of the Marketing foundation that is going to enable you to engage and reach your ideal customers, which is only going to generate more business.
Victoria Rayburn [00:21:38]:
Now, once you have a marketing strategy in place and you've built your marketing foundation, you simply need to create systems that allow you to implement the rest of your marketing strategy. Now, this is going to look a little different for everyone simply because we all work a little differently, because we have different goals for our businesses and because we have different ideal clients. But in case this helps, I want to give you a few examples. Okay, so let's say that your marketing strategy calls for twelve educational blog posts per year, one per month that lead to your opt in. Well, to write this content, you have a few options. You can batch this content and then release one blog post a month. This can work especially well if you have a regular slow season. For example, as a wedding photographer in the midwest, winter was always on the slower side for me, so I batch as much content as I could then.
Victoria Rayburn [00:22:28]:
Or you could do something like dedicating the first Tuesday of every month to writing and publishing a blog post for social media. You can batch a month's worth of content at a time. This is what we do at Treefrog. Or you can set aside a specific amount of time every week to create social media content. Honestly, there aren't any wrong options. However, in order to market your business consistently and to fully implement your marketing strategy, you have to develop repeatable, scheduled systems and processes, and you have to actually use them. Now, if you'd like some guidance for creating your own marketing systems, I do want to refer you to Treefrog's systems guru, Mary Atkins, our director of operations, to hear some of Mary's wisdom on systems so you can build marketing systems of your own. Tune into episode 118 four systems every small business must have to increase efficiency and growth.
Victoria Rayburn [00:23:27]:
We'll be sure to include the link to this episode in the show notes, but you can also find it wherever you listen to podcasts. Now I know you might not be super pumped about thinking about and implementing systems. However, consistently marketing your business is so important because people rarely purchase something the first time they hear about it. Have you heard of the rule of seven? The rule of seven is a marketing principle that contends that customers need to see your brand at least seven times before they commit to a purchase decision. With this in mind, a big part of why small businesses don't see success with their marketing is simply because their marketing is inconsistent. Basically, they market their businesses as they have time, but because their prospects aren't regularly seeing content from them, their prospects don't make a purchase simply because they don't remember them. However, when you have a marketing strategy that helps you reach your best customers and systems in place that ensure your audience is regularly hearing from you and seeing your content so that you can connect with your ideal clients and so that they will remember you, you can reach your business goals, whether that means growing your business or bringing in the revenue needed to maintain the solopreneur business and lifestyle you love. Now, with all of this in mind, I do want to wrap this episode up by answering a common question we receive, which is can someone realistically market their business on their own? And yes, if you have time, yes, you can.
Victoria Rayburn [00:25:01]:
When you have a clear marketing strategy in between drag and drop, web builders, YouTube, how to videos, automation options, and other tools and resources, you can implement your own marketing strategy. However, as a small business owner, handling every aspect of your marketing strategy likely isn't the best use of your time, at least not long term. After all, several skill sets and just knowledge you may not currently have are going to be required. And chances are the time needed to learn these new skills and information will take a lot of time, which is going to inhibit business growth and prevent you from focusing on other aspects of your small business and life outside the office. With this in mind, as we wrap up this episode of Priority Pursuit, I want to encourage you to do a few things. First, commit to implementing the flywheel marketing method step by step. Again, we are passionate about the strategy because we've seen it work for small businesses of all sizes and across countless industries. If you are going to handle your own marketing, you can feel confident that you are using your time wisely because this strategy actually works.
Victoria Rayburn [00:26:07]:
This strategy includes four steps that are meant to be followed in order for a reason. With every phase you complete, you'll likely see bigger results. Even if you can only focus on steps one and two for now, which, like we discussed, include identifying your audience and creating clear messaging for them, and then creating a strategic, SEO optimized website, you'll likely experience growth. Second, I want to encourage you to outsource aspects of the flywheel marketing method. Again, you can implement every step of the strategy on your own, but it's likely going to be a much better use of your time to work with contractors to take some of the workload off your plate. For example, when I was a solopreneur, I wrote my own messaging and web copy, but I worked with a designer to build my website simply because I knew where my strengths lied and simply because I didn't have time or the desire to build a website that was going to meet my standards. Also, while I wrote my own blog posts, I worked with a VA to publish my blog posts, meaning I wrote the copy and I Google Doc and she was the one to actually put blog posts with photos and all the copy on my website, which saved me a ton of time. Again, you can implement the strategy on your own, but you'll likely see bigger, faster results if you use help along the way.
Victoria Rayburn [00:27:26]:
And last but not least, I want to encourage you to seek out accountability for marketing your business. Now this might be as simple as asking a fellow entrepreneur friend to hold you accountable, or it could also mean investing in marketing coaching. Now, I don't think we've actually shared this in past episodes of priority pursuit, but Kelly and I both actually offer strategic marketing coaching. With this program, you would meet with either Kelly or myself one on one for six months for 90 minutes. Over the course of these six sessions, we'll teach you the flywheel marketing method and help you make it your own so that your marketing strategy aligns with your business goals. At the end of every session, you'll be assigned homework. That's due by our next meeting, which it will be one month later. So not only will you have step by step guidance as you build your marketing strategy, you'll also have someone to hold you accountable.
Victoria Rayburn [00:28:20]:
If strategic marketing coaching sounds like something you might be interested in, check out the link in the show notes or go to treefrogmarketing.com. click on the marketing, coaching and consulting option that appears in our website menu and explore all of our coaching and consulting options at Treefrog there is nothing we want more than for your small business to succeed. And considering how hard you work, there is no doubt in my mind that you have the determination and work ethic required to implement your own marketing strategy. But whether you want to utilize our free resources, enroll in coaching, or partner with us to build your marketing flywheel for you, please know that we're here for you. And on that note, thank you so much for tuning into another episode of the Priority Pursuit podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we hope you'll take a moment to share it with your small business friends to leave us a review on Apple Podcast, and that you'll join us next week for even more marketing boundary and priority driven tactics you can use to build a life and small business that you love.
