Bonus: Play the long game. Near the end of my conversation with Bill and Lisa, we completed a second poll and asked attendees: What are the biggest obstacles that are holding you back from getting better results through your virtual marketing? Here are the results.
• Developing the content and the right messaging: 50%
• Attracting prospects/attendees: 37%
• Not sure where/how to start: 23%
• Some other reason: 9%
• Not comfortable with the technology: 3%
50% said they were struggling with developing the content and messaging. Well, not to sound like a broken record, but it starts with identifying your ideal client through the client persona exercise then start writing.
Whether it’s an email letter, an outline for a podcast, a script for a video or copy for your digital ads, it all starts with writing. Writing is the great clarifier of your message. Once you have the written words, you can use them as the source for your marketing content.
Say you start with an email letter. That first letter you write is probably going to be the hardest one. And the end result might be a little rough. But the next one will be better, and so will the one after that. With a little thought and practice, you’ll find a voice that your audience will respond to. People will read those emails, maybe share them with friends and family. A part of that audience will subscribe to your podcast, like your Facebook videos, sign up for your first webinar. As that audience grows, so will your business.
If you’re thinking that’s going to take some time, it will.
If you’re thinking you might need to hire consultants or a content team to keep the wheels turning every week, you might.
It only takes a couple clicks to get your next digital marketing initiative out into the world. But growing those clicks into more business takes real commitment to doing things the right way for the right reasons. According to Bill:
“It needs to be in the spirit of education and helping folks to make smart decisions for themselves and their families and not be perceived as some hard sell marketing thing. It’s a long game. It’s not something that you get into and three weeks later, people are knocking your door down to become clients.”
It’s about doing the work says Lisa.
“This is way more time intensive than a lot of people think. So you have to really be prepared to commit to it. If you’re going to invest all that time and you’re trying to educate your clients and build a network through those things, just make sure you’re getting everything out of it because you’re putting a lot into it. Try to start on something and stick with it for a little while, commit the time and the resources. No one else can do the work of figuring out who you want to build your business for, who you want to serve, and why you’re doing it.”
Steve Sanduski, CFP, is the founder of Belay Advisor; the CEO of ROL Advisor, a discovery process technology system; a New York Times bestselling author; host of the Between Now and Success podcast and a financial advisor business coach.