I know you…
You’re scared of inundating people.
You don’t want to be annoying.
You think people already get too many emails.
You don’t want to feel “salesy”.
If you don’t have these thoughts, you probably have no problem sending out 100 tweets, 20 Facebook posts and 5 emails to your list per day. And this post is not for you.
This post is for the doubter, the over-thinker, the one who’s afraid someone might get peeved at you or do something unimaginable, like unsubscribe from your email list! Egads!
Here’s the thing about websites. Or that online course. Or that new product.
If you want online success, you have to market.
Yes, I said the M” word. Let’s not tiptoe around that puppy. You may squirm. You may think it’s beneath you. You may think people will reach out to you when there interested and you shouldn’t bother them.
Yes, I get it. I once believed and thought all of those things too.
Let’s get into this.
1. Marketing is UNCOMFORTABLE.
If you have any doubt in yourself, your service, your product, your experience, your pricing or your whatever, marketing is uncomfortable.
If you feel even a tad bit nervous about putting yourself “out there”, marketing is uncomfortable.
If you’re an empathic person, marketing is uncomfortable.
I am often thinking about what other people might be thinking and feeling. This makes it hard to repeatedly promote things, because every damn time I send an email, post on Facebook or Instagram, I belabor “Is this too much?”, “Am I being too salesy?”. And that belaboring… that is exhausting and uncomfortable.
If you have thoughts that you’re “too good” to have to do marketing, I would argue you are uncomfortable with marketing, because you have an issue with truly being visible.
2. Marketing is about being VISIBLE.
I’m the first to admit, this sounds so much more simple than it actually is in real life. Being visible requires your willingness to put yourself out there, but also an internal muscle with being okay to use your true voice. I call this a “muscle”, because it needs strength training. Every time you put something, say something or do something true to you… you’re working that “muscle”.
Most of us (especially us ladies) are taught not to rock the boat, not to make too much noise, that someone knows better than us, and so after years of this training, many of us have lost our voices.
Being truly visible requires an ability to not freak out if someone calls you out, reports you as spam, or tells you to do x, y and z differently. Because those things will happen.
And the stronger your “muscle” becomes, the less often these things will break your heart and the more courage you’ll have to keep going.
3. Marketing must be REINFORCED. (i.e. Follow up!)
So there’s this thing called “Effective Frequency” – the number of times it takes someone to see something before they take some action (like buy something). This is why marketers use jingles, stories and catchy tag lines that can be easily repeated.
While slogans are good for big dogs like Coke, the concept of effective frequency has a direct application to internet marketing.
New things take time sink in. Give your audience the time and the repetition they need to fully understand what you’re offering. People need to see, hear, or experience things several (or more) times to really “get it”.
So, if I attend your webinar, look at your sales page and get one email from you… I probably won’t buy. Now, if I have a compelling reason to buy AND you have made it stupid easy for me by sending follow up emails, I’ll be more likely to buy. I’m not saying saying send 5 emails a day and beat me over the head. I am saying that following up with the people who’ve shown any interest is crucial to being successful online.
Here’s a recent example:
One of my clients recently launched a new online course. She needed 20 sign ups. After her webinar, she had one sale. However, within 2 weeks she signed up 30 people. How did she do this? By following up with people. She sent a few follow-up emails to prospects and the big key for her was offering a free 20-minute call for people trying to decide if the course was for them.
Now, think about your business.
Are you willing to be uncomfortable, put yourself out there, and follow up (and keep following up)?
If you take nothing from this post, please take this (as I have learned this the hard way several times): follow up, follow up and follow up some more.
Most people will not convert by reading your sales page. For those of us who are not super internet famous, I firmly believe most people require a quick chat with us on a call before they open their wallet.
Like, what do you have to lose?
So, get out there and toot your own horn. Promote yourself. Follow up and follow up some more! If you think it’s too much – it’s probably not. People might unsubscribe. They might call you names. And that’s truly okay.
Did you like this post? I’ll share more thoughts on marketing in the next few weeks. Pop you’re email address into that red box below and you’ll get an email when I publish my next one.
Photo by the talented pair at Boy Girl Beauty World.
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