If you’ve been in your business for any amount of time, you’ve likely determined that marketing is a challenge. In fact, most entrepreneurs and small business owners would agree, creating a marketing message that resonates with their ideal audience can be time consuming and without significant results.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The reason that you and most other entrepreneurs feel this way is because you are trying to market so that it makes sense to you.
Yes, you heard me correctly. In fact, I will take it a step farther and say, your marketing is not for you at all. Now, hear me out before you roll your eyes and click away from this article, let me explain…
What I mean is that you do not need to resonate with your marketing. It’s not for you. Your marketing doesn’t have to make sense or resonate with you at all because you aren’t the one with the problem. And trust me; I know how you feel because when I first started my business I felt the exact same way. I was creating marketing that resonated with me and the result: no new clients, but I was really happy 😀
I specialize in helping service based entrepreneurs and this group of people is caring and passionate about evoking change in the lives of their clients. Simultaneously, this group also fails to understand that warm and fuzzy marketing does not convert nearly as well as pain-based marketing.
Because you are truly and deeply concerned about the well-being of your clients, you tend to want to paint them a pretty picture with your marketing. You want to help them to understand that you know what they need and you keep talking about the solution. When a prospect can’t see the solution and you keep talking about it, you turn them off.
The problem with that is they are in pain and the thought of your solution doesn’t appeal to them. Not because your solution isn’t a good one but because all they can feel, see, think, taste and smell is the pain – how do I stop the pain? So, the way you get their attention – focus on their pain!
This is precisely why I recommend pain-based marketing. Pain-based marketing attracts clients much more quickly than solution-based marketing ever will. You “attract” them with their problem then after you get them in your funnel, you can introduce them to all of the warm and fuzzy solutions you have for them – in that order.
Believe it or not, people trust you if you can identify their problems. And remember marketing 101: people buy when they know, like and trust you.
So, you need to get over yourself. And more importantly, out of the way of your marketing. As I said earlier, my marketing doesn’t have to resonate with me. I don’t have to like it and get excited about it. And neither do you. The only person that needs to love your marketing, and feel warm and fuzzy because of it, and want to take deliberate action after consuming it….…the only person that your marketing needs to resonate with is YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT! Always remember, your marketing is not for you!
When you write your marketing copy, you need tunnel vision; focus on whom you desire to help with your products and services.
To help your marketing efforts going forward now that we are aware of your problem, I recommend the following:
1. Before you start a marketing piece or marketing copy, ask yourself…who is this for? What are they struggling with right now? How can I help them to understand that I understand their pain?
2. Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes. With your eyes close, visualize the perfect person that your new offering is for. Channel them. What are the words they would use to describe their current situation?
3. Write your marketing as if you are writing them (the person you visualized) a personal letter. Be sure to highlight their challenges more than your solutions. Remember, it’s not about you; not even a tiny little bit.
Upon completing the marketing piece, you are ready to share marketing that was designed with your ideal audience in mind and that means that if you have a strong call-to-action, people will begin to respond! Remember that marketing is organic just like a conversation. When you speak their language, they will respond immediately.
Happy marketing!
If you would like some help redirecting your marketing messages so you can stop marketing to yourself and start marketing to those who can hire you, consider one of our consulting options.
©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Speaker, Business Coach and Marketing Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com, Incredible Factor University® the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for more clients, more income and more leverage in your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Entrepreneurial Business Leaders to Avoid When Unleashing Your Incredible Factor So You Attract More Clients, Make More Money and Gain More Leverage” visit https://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com
