• You have skills that should make money, but you don’t know what steps to take.
    I help you focus and push you forward with step-by-step marketing plans. 

What would such a plan look like?

Everyone’s business is unique, but this outline will give you a general sense of what I can help you accomplish.  Click the action items that interest you to read more.

1. Define what you do

You want to make money, so you list every possible money-making skill.  Now what?  Regrettably, that logic doesn’t work in reverse.  Potential clients aren’t thinking, “I want to give this person money, now, which of their skills could help me?”  Rather, people have specific needs, so they look for someone who seems to be a specialist.

I use reflective listening skills to draw out of you what you most want, and entrepreneurial thinking skills to fashion a realistic business model around what you’re best at.

2. Define your target audience

It’s certainly much easier to make targeted marketing efforts when you can see your target clearly and in focus.

I’ll talk with you and do research until we know exactly who you’re looking for, and where to find them.

3. Define what makes you different

You can list your skills & qualifications, but you probably don’t know why people actually like working with you.  What makes you better than a competitor with the same skill set?  Personality?  Organization?  Responsiveness?  Flexibility?  People may see you as better than the competition for reasons you take for granted.

I’ll mine for any insight you might have on this one, but we’ll primarily turn to your past and current clients. I’ll create a feedback survey that will reveal what real-life clients value most about you and your service.

4. Create a trust-building intro offer

There’s always a risk in hiring someone you don’t yet trust. You need to gain their trust at little or no cost to them. I’m attempting to gain your trust with this sample plan by showing you exactly how I would help you if you were to hire me.

I’ll help you craft a trust-building intro offer. It could be a free consultation, a discounted first service with a money-back guarantee, free literature that proves you know your stuff, a video that makes them feel comfortable with your approach, etc. We’ll decide what works best for you.

5. Write copy that clearly communicates your value

Now that we know:

  • Exactly what you do
  • What type of client you do it for
  • What about your business really speaks to them
  • How they can easily get started with you, at no risk

We’ll have no problem hammering out some compelling copy or wordsmithing what you’ve already written.

6. Spread the word

Now that you’ve got a great message, we need to broadcast it! Where? Your customers already exist—they’re walking around as we speak. You don’t need to create them or convince people they have a need. There are already people who need what you offer and are even spending money on it—we just need to find those people. Think about the ideal customer we stereotyped in step two. Where might they be found? Where do they go? What do they read?

I can help you brainstorm and decide on the most effective ways and places to advertise.  (I love creating simple designs and layouts, but if you want a more complex piece of advertising, I have friends in the industry.)  We can also find people and companies to affiliate with, and give clients incentives to spread the word.

7. Get on the map

If there’s one thing I could do for you it would be to place you on the map—so people find you when they seek.

I will get you to appear at the top of the results when people search for your specialty in your area. You’ll also have compelling copy so they click once they’ve found you. (This is so important that I have a stand-alone service for it. Send me $35 and I’ll put you on the three biggest search engines today (i.e., Google, Yahoo, and Bing).)

8. Websites

I don’t think I need to tell you the value of having a website. Specifically though, I do recommend a site that is clean and simple while having all the functionality you actually need.

I can help you define what your site should include and how to structure and word it. When it comes to actually building the site, I am not a developer, so I can not promise to do it all—it will depend on the complexity. I have built and designed some sites with pretty cool functionalities—online shops, job application systems, blogs, support ticket systems…

See my work here.

9. Social Media

Social media feeds are the new mailing lists, only better. They are more interactive and media rich, and can be more fun for your audience.

I don’t go crazy with this stuff, but if your target audience is already there on facebook or twitter, it is wise to keep them posted  and stay at the top of their minds. I’ll help you implement this in a way that takes up the least amount of your time.

10. SEO

Some people make a big deal out of Search Engine Optimization. I’m not going to waste your money spending hours tweaking code and copy, but I do stay current on SEO best practices and work it into everything I do.

 

Looking for my website portfolio?