How I escaped expensive marketing to build leads?
A system that you can ( swipe ) to build X+ Leads.
Does marketing feel expensive, scary, and uncomfortable?
Are you tired of struggling to find the perfect balance between investing in expensive ads and allocating your budget for essential tools?
It is important to plan your pipeline, sales, execution, and promotion!
Close your eyes and think about all these activities. Chances are, you are frustrated with the long list of tasks and expenses.
The same painful sense flashes in my mind. After experimenting with a few different methods, I learned an inexpensive way to promote.
And this way is better because it gives you the control, generates referrals, uses your core content in a low-cost, high-impact way, self-reliant manner?
Here are the 5 simplified ways that I used to get 5X leads.
1. Set Up Your Technical Stack Basics
Your website is the backbone of your online presence, and it’s essential to set it up for success. I went through a steep learning curve to optimize costs and time.
As a solo/entrepreneur, you require a place to showcase your services. But what good is a storefront if nobody can find it? That’s where SEO comes in!
When I first started, I was bewildered with all the website builder and hosting options out there.
I spent hours researching and comparing different platforms to find the best fit.
With so many options available, choosing the right platform can be daunting.
So, how to decide? I asked these questions to choose.
Choosing the right website
- Do I need a website, or can I use leverage Gumroad to start with?
- Do I want a simple website with a few pages on CARRD, or will I benefit from advanced options, such as e-commerce?
- What’s my budget, and will I need to engage an external expert?
I selected Wix. It was easiest to create a website myself and I had options for contact forms, blogs etc.. I had an expert give the finishing touches.
If you’re just starting, CARRD is a good option too.
It is beneficial to take your time to explore the options, observe what some other creators are using and then make a choice.
The power of SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engines. It is crucial!
SEO can also be annoying!
I am not a SEO-savvy person. I had no clue and opted for an agency to do the heavy lifting.
It felt embarrasing! Not understanding the language they used, the terms!
There were several curve balls that I faced when it came to SEO. After a steep learning curve for 3.5 months, I ditched the off-page organic process. It requires constant spending and not fit for a niche offering such as mine htat is L&D consulting and transformation.
In my limited observation, organic is crucial when you depend heavily on inbound traffic. On-page technical is important and a must do. I stuck to the on-page.
In my experience, the tipping point is:
- Do clients commonly search for your product or service on Internet?
It is possible to optimize your costs by focusing on a basic platform and the basic process to improve your website’s visibility.
2. Ads Are Not Marketing
Marketing is often equated with advertisements.
I remember the first time I hired a digital marketing agency for my promotional activities. My expectations were high, but they only talked about running ads.
I get it, it’s the easiest way to show some sort of an immediate action for the money you’re spending.
I was hesitant at first, but I decided to give it a try. The results were not promising.
Advertisements = Nil Customer
Do you really need Ads?
- My observation is that it is ok to skip them at the starting point.
- Advertising is likely to drain your budget with little return on investment
Keep pouring and here’s the kicker — the outcome is naught.
Yup, you heard me right. It may be better to avoid the quick fix. You need to explore all your options before making a move.
Advertising is a component of promotional activities. The latter precedes advertising.
Initially, when your dollars are limited and there are several other competing priorities, ads often take a back seat.
3. Create a Simple Marketing Plan
It seems to be overwhelming to navigate, let’s face it.
As an entrepreneur, you often find yourself juggling too many aspects and inadvertently neglecting promotional activities.
I know that because I easily get caught up in the multitude of tasks.
That’s why I love Imogen Roy advice to “make it simple”, who recommends two key elements, they are:
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1. Have a clear message that informs what problem you solve.
2. Build a community around your message and solutions.
By focusing on just two key elements — a clear message and a community of like-minded people, I’m able to stay focused on my goals and make progress without feeling overburdened.
For example, I help L&D leaders to translate business problems into learning outcomes at speed. By drilling down to a specific problem that I resolve, I able to clearly communicate my value to my target audience.
So, what’s my takeaway? A modest promotional plan entails clarity on your message, target market, and obstacles addressed.
Wanting to be everything to everyone can result in a recipe for confusion. Focus on what you do best and build a community of people who share your vision.
4. Content Marketing
This is a powerful tool for showcasing your expertise and building your authority.
Using this tool you can combine your core skills with methods in marketing. This enables you to promote your solutions as you share the technical content. Thus, saving time and effort.
I run workshops on L&D topics. Initially, I relied heavily on paid advertisements. It was expensive.
That’s when I decided to try content marketing.
I discovered that workshops are the central piece the “Heart” of my branding. All my promotional activities, and the delivery both can flow from there.
Here is an example of my promotional strategy in action, I tried advertisements and SEO, but it was delivering just a single workshop that gave me five leads.
o I tried paid ads and off-page SEO = Zero
o Delivered a workshop = 5 leads
Through content, you can build authority and promote your goods effectively.
Here is the strategy I use. If you love it, steal it!
- Use a masterclass or other asset as the core piece, then promote it on LinkedIn with mini-posts to generate curiosity and engagement.
Design the central asset → Share Mini-Posts on Linkedin to → Build Curiosity → Launch → Promote it to your consumers → Engage with people who are interested.
- What about the frequency? I post a tip three times a week, send messages, post insights once a week. Then, I listen for signs, and stop doing what does not work.
Tip: I measure the impact of my activities and adjust my plan regularly to better reach my target audience.
2. I do a few other things that you could find useful.
- Create campaigns around my book
- Network with people in my field
- Attend mentoring events e.g. Mentor Walks
You can see a sample here of an upcoming book event.
3. You can use a range of assets as the heart of your strategy. For example, online courses or product-related content.
Pro tip: If you offer masterclasses or training, the act of delivering them serves as a way to generate leads and referrals.
I regularly measure the success of the approach and adjust the strategy as appropriate.
5. Star Mindset
Here’s the thing, you don’t wish to stop just at content marketing, but take it a step further with this mindset.
What’s that, you ask? It’s about choosing a task that serves as a heart, and leveraging it to create arteries.
A big challenge I faced was figuring out how to make the most of my time and resources. That’s why I love the “Star Mindset” approach.
This mindset involves utilizing a core asset — like a workshop or demo — to create “arteries” of content and marketing activities. This allows me to maximize my impact without spreading myself too thin.
Apply this mindset to every task, from identifying the core asset ( heart ) to selecting events to attend or host.
For instance, imagine you design a killer masterclass — that’s the heart. From that event, you are able to write an ebook, a newsletter, a Twitter post, or even a checklist handout. Pretty cool, right? You are able to formulate a self-sustaining content management and marketing system.
And the results? A small-sized masterclass alone generated four referrals from a masterclass.
Using the lens of heart and arteries, you can create a self-sustaining content management and marketing system.
You can apply the Star mindset to any situation, be it planning a holiday, your to-do list, or meal plan for the week.
Each one of our context is unique. I’d love to hear how you manage marketing.
If you need a quick reference of points discussed, here is a checklist for download.
This checklist contains the process I use to promote without spending a fortune.
Conclusion
Everyone’s ventures are unique requiring a tailored approach of publicizing them.
There may still be some ideas or assets that you can take from here and try in your own context. The following are aspects of branding that I explored and worked through to develop a 5X marketing system
1. Set-up technical stack basics at a basic cost
2. Ads are not marketing
3. Create a simple marketing plan
4. Content marketing
5. Star mindset
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