The First Step of Marketing

My 3-year-old eats sand sometimes.

At the beginning of our new Covid Life, I was real proud of myself for building a sand box for our older daughter (don't be too impressed - I bought a kit from WayFair so all I had to do was bust out the power drill. Like the color-by-numbers of home improvement projects). 

Which is AWESOME except for one thing: apparently our sandbox is an enticing snack to my little angel nugget.

And that, friend, is how pinworms happen which we won't talk about right now (and whatever you do, DO NOT Google it).

Point is: that pile o' sand is a veritable magnet for her grubby paws to dig in and chow down.

Ew. That backfired.

And I'm here to tell ya: the first step in the 5 steps of getting new clients is making yourself like a sandbox to a 3-year-old. 

IRRESISTABLE.

...that's step #1: ATTRACT

• How can you get in front of new potential clients? (these are folks who haven't heard of you before)

  • Mistake: a lot of peeps try and use social media to attract in new potential clients

  • Fix: social media plays a different role which comes later in this process (stay tuned to step #3)

  • Mistake: thinking you need a big ass audience to get clients

  • Fix: don't reinvent the wheel; leverage OPA (Other People's Audiences) to get in front of new potential clients and don't forget to reach out to YOUR existing network of humans

To ATTRACT in new clients try:

• reaching out to past clients (you can even offer them an incentive for giving a referral)

• straight up emailing your friends/family (you'd be surprised how many people don't fully understand what you do but once you tell them, have a connection for you)

• pitching yourself as a guest on podcasts

• engaging in Facebook groups

• speaking/teaching to groups

• blogging/writing guests posts for other platforms

My suggestion? Pick ONE and double-down on it for the next 30 days and see what results you get.

BONUS: it's really hard to attract in the right people if you can't C-L-E-A-R-L-Y communicate what you do. To become as magnetic as a sandbox, be sure you've crafted your ONE sentence value statement. Fill in these blanks:

I do ___ [this thing] for ____ [these people / type of person] so that they can ___ [see this result]

Need an example? Here's mine:

"As a messaging strategist and copywriter I help coaches, consultants and creatives grow their business with personality-packed words and a crystal clear message."

Now go off. Be like the sand, my friend.

...just don't get eaten by a 3-year-old.