Are You Experiencing Marketing Overwhelm and Confusion?
I am living a bad dream of marketing overwhelm and confusion. Maybe you are, too? It seems there is a great deal of advice, experts and people ready to tell me the “right” way to market (for a price, of course).
Dan Kennedy tells me I need to know what my prospects want and offer those things if I want to make good money. That makes sense.
The folks over at Copyblogger suggest I need excellent, targeted copy and SEO (search engine optimization). That makes sense.
Over at the Third Tribe, they tell me to build a blog, affiliate market and “be cool,” which sort of makes sense.
Chris Brogan tells me he makes his money talking to Fortune 100 companies, but his blog speaks to small business folks. Um, OK.
Naomi Dunford at Itty Biz, just told me that connecting with others is a great way to market until there are too many others to connect with. That idea is not comforting.
And Seth Godin eloquently tells me to do my “emotional work,” “do my art” and “give gifts” to build my business. I love these ideas, but they don’t coordinate well with the other marketing experts I’m consulting.
My head hurts
I am living in marketing overwhelm and confusion. (Otherwise known as “marketing hell.”)
I need to get out of this place. I think I a choice must be made. I need to do marketing that feels right to me. No, I need to communicate with my clients and potential clients in an authentic way. I’m starting to dislike the word “marketing,” because at this point it doesn’t mean anything. It has all these loose definitions and so-called experts pulling me in different directions.
The thing is, I believe that ALL of their approaches work for them. But I now know that paying attention to all of their voices leaves me confused and unable to find my OWN voice.
My voice is most similar to Seth Godin’s. I want to share my art and give gifts and trust that those people to get my vibe and want to do work with me will find me, start a conversation and we’ll build something together.
There is not one right way to build a business, a movement or change the world. We each have a unique voice and we need to trust the right people will find us and say “hi.”
What this means to you
Enough about me, what about YOU? My suggestion is you start to seek your own voice in your business and ultimately in how you tell people about what you do (or “marketing” as some call it). As helping professionals we can’t be all sales-y and in people’s faces about the benefits of our services. We need to be genuine, helpful, compassionate, and a bit self-promotional to build a practice. To me, this is part art and part science. The science part is easy to learn, but it is the art of bringing yourself to the business-building that can be challenging. There is a significant part of it that is confusing and overwhelming. Which is OK and part of the process. I was able to figure that out with my practice a few years ago. Once I pulled together the science of marketing and my art, my practice thrived.
I want that experience for EVERY helping professional because you need to make decent living and there are so many people who need your help.
Let’s find our voice, collectively and individually. Let’s call it something other than “marketing,” and move out of confused overwhelm. The right people will find me and the right people will find you. And we will all be grateful to know each other.
If this post makes any sense to you, please leave a comment and say “hi.” We learn from each other best when we connect and share ideas.
I’m in the beginning stages of practice building and currently writing copy for my website…what I’ve really tried to keep in mind is being authentic. I want clients to HEAR “Welcome! I am a compassionate, mindful therapist who loves my job and can’t wait to work with you in a nonjudgmental way. Seeking out therapy can be scary- I recognize that and will join you on that process” WITHOUT actually writing those words- because I don’t feel as though the actual words sound authentic. I’ve been thinking about what led me to this field, why do I stay in it, what do I truly love about my job- and trying to get those feelings to come through in my copy. I’ve spent a modest amount of time looking at the marketing websites you’ve mentioned and while some of it resonates, much of it doesn’t seem to quite “fit” for marketing a therapy practice.
Robyn,
. Sometimes we just need to get it out there, run it by a few people and edit until it sounds right.
I hear what you are saying about the other marketing sites. I’m right there with you (hence this post). What I am finding is we do need to find our own voice and put it out there. How would you explain your practice or therapeutic style to a friend? Maybe get a free conference line (like http://www.freeconferencecall.com) have a friend get on there with you and chat about your ideas and goals for your practice. Then listen to the recording, maybe get it transcribed and pull the language out of it that pin points EXACTLY what you want your potential clients to hear and know about you. That is one easy way to find your voice…actually saying it in your voice
Susan, what a cool idea you gave to Robin!
I agree that authenticity (and those other adjectives) are what we want to communicate in our marketing, and that a lot of sales and marketing techniques seem to be kind of anti-authentic.
My (novice) approach is to give away information, and try to ensure that the way I write and the information I give away convey a sense of who I am. How right Robin is that one can’t just say, “Come see me! I’m supportive and authentic!”
Anne, you are so right. By giving away high quality information and content, using our own voice and being authentic in our marketing we show our willingness and ability to be supportive and authentic. That’s why I am such a fan of blogs–it give us a great forum to communicate with our current and potential clients professionally, ethically and authentically.
i’m trying really hard not to adopt negativity when it comes to marketing. i guess i’m reframing so that it doesn’t seem so sleazy. i did get a bit freaked out when one of your recent posts mentioned the endless marketing cycle, and how when caseload is high, we tend to forget marketing side. i think all businesses are this way, though. i think therapists could definetely benefit from thinking more like business people…
Linda, Yes, the reality is a practice is a business. Once we accept that fact, all of this is so much easier to accept and work through. If we do not want to run a business, we are best to work in another setting. I always say no work setting is “right” or “wrong,” but if we want to simply see clients and not manage a business we are best to not go the private practice route. Marketing does not need to be sleazy. This blog is part of my marketing for my coaching practice. Does it seem sleazy to you? I hope it is helpful, informative and gives people some ideas to work on. Those who are interested in learning more personalized information contact me for coaching or buy my products. But anyone can read for free and I’m happy for that, as well. This is how I market my private practice and it has paid off so well! I never have to wonder where my next client will come from and I can be helpful to people around the world (literally, I get email from folks in Africa, Australia, Canada, UK).
I respect the advice from everyone you mentioned in this post, and I relate to feeling overwhelmed.
I think your advice is great – I need to decide how I feel most comfortable expressing myself and ignore everything else.
Hi Susan,
So nice to see that all of the marketing tips we learned with Sandy Martini are helping our businesses to grow and helping those we seek to help be able to find us.
I think of marketing as the ways that we reach out and touch others, our target market, our potential cross-marketing partners, the media, etc. What good are our gifts, if we don’t share them with the world?!
If we speak in any voice other than our own, then we are not being authentic and people see right through that. By standing in the power of who you truly are, you attract those who need you and will value what you bring to offer.
So happy to see that things are going well for you!
All the best,
Lisa C. Decker, CDFA
http://www.DivorceMoneyMatters.com
PS…I recommend http://www.freeconferencecalling.com. What a difference the “ing” makes! There is a world of difference in the ease of this site over the other.
@Hashim…so nice to see you here! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, all of these marketers are brilliant people and I learn from each, but I’m still learning to pull the bits that are relevant to my tribe and speak to my style of communicating. It’s always a work in progress!
@Lisa Hi! Thanks so much for stopping by! Totally agree with, “What good are our gifts, if we don’t share them with the world?!” Why keep them to ourselves, indeed…And thanks for the tip on freeconferencecalling.com. Will check them out! Hope things are well with you
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hi susan–
in response to your comment, i don’t find your website the least bit sleazy–in fact, since i found it a few months ago, i have been incorporating many of your suggestions, and innovative ideas…it’s been amazing for me, in that you’ve opened so many doors to explore…thanks a lot!
Linda, Awesome! That is why I have the blog. The reason I asked is because this forum is my marketing. We can use this format for any service business. If this doesn’t feel sleazy, but is indeed helpful, how do you use the model to market YOUR business?
awesome things i’ve gleaned from your site:
–for starters, i decided to post a blog. originally it was only going to be psycho-educational, but then i decided to incorporate products that i could eventually sell. workbooks, video, ebooks.
–i’ve tried to follow your lead re: thinking innovatively. putting more brain power into ways to reach people who are not interested in the traditional 1:1 model, but want to feel better, nonetheless.
–also,there is no ‘everyone.’ b/c of this, i just decided to be super authentic when creating the blog. i tend to be very direct and honest, and honestly, many people do not respond to that.
–i published a few articles on ezinearticle.com
–found some really great resources (i.e., naomi dunford’s–love her!)
had i not stumbled upon your website, i would continue to add more therapy clients without realizing that we don’t always need to work more office hours to make a decent living.
so again susan, a big fat THANK YOU!!
Linda, you GO! Keep up the great work! Being honest and direct is good…that is how your ideal clients will find you and those that are not a good fit will find someone else. Nothing wrong with that. Look how well it’s worked out for Naomi
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