Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Hi there. Welcome back to the Confessions in the Home Office. I'm Wendy Hill, and if you've ever stared at your marketing to do list and thought, this cannot possibly be normal, this episode is for you. Let's be honest. Marketing can get complicated very quickly.
[00:00:23] One minute you're posting on social media, and the Next, you have 17 tabs open on your laptop trying to learn a new automation tool that you saw on Instagram.
[00:00:33] You have a newsletter you need to write, you have a new idea you're wanting to test, and you have clients waiting on things from you.
[00:00:40] And then you all of a sudden start to think, does any of this really matter?
[00:00:45] I've been there, believe me, many times over the years. And here's the thing. Most of the time, the problem isn't that you're bad at marketing. It's just that you're trying to do too much at once.
[00:00:57] So. So today we're going to talk about simplifying. I'm going to answer five questions that I hear off and on. I probably don't get asked these very often, but I think when people really start feeling that overwhelm, these are the things that they're asking me about. And they'll help you kind of stop over complicating your marketing and so you can focus on what will move your business forward. So let's get started.
[00:01:22] Here's one of the questions that I've heard. Am I trying to do too much at once?
[00:01:27] This is a really big one. If you feel like you're constantly working on your marketing, working on it, and you're never seeing any results, it might not be the effort that's really missing. It might just be focus.
[00:01:37] And I know we all have a lot of things going on all the time, the way the digital world is, and just everybody crams everything into their schedules.
[00:01:46] But think about it. So here's really what happens. You start with one plan, and then you see someone else doing something else. Cool. We've talked about on other episodes, staying in your lane. Stay focused, keep the blinders on.
[00:01:58] But you end up adding that, too. So you're like, oh, I'm going to start a blog. Oh, I'm going to start a podcast. Oh, I'm going to do a newsletter. Oh, I need a YouTube channel. And suddenly your marketing looks like the buffet plate at Thanksgiving or maybe your local golden corral.
[00:02:14] So when everything's competing for your attention, nothing gets done. Well, think about your home life or your pets or if you worked for someone years ago. When everything's going on, you can't focus on it. It's just. You're just in survival mode. So here's my rule. I want you to think about focusing on one primary marketing channel and one supporting channel until you've built consistency.
[00:02:41] So, for example, maybe your Main channel is LinkedIn. Your supporting channel might be email, an email newsletter.
[00:02:48] Your main channel is a podcast, so your supporting channel will be Instagram.
[00:02:53] If your main channel is SEO, maybe your supporting channel is a Google business profile.
[00:02:59] And that's it. You don't need to be everywhere to be effective. I know you think you do, but you really don't. And then once you're good at that, you can start adding other things and adding other things.
[00:03:09] But for now, let's focus on one. And if you need a gut check, I want you to ask, is this new thing really helping my business reach the right people, or is it just really distracting me from what's already working? Because here's the truth. Consistency beats creativity every time.
[00:03:27] Here's question number two. Do I even know what I'm trying to achieve? I've heard that in the past month, a lot of the overwhelm with marketing comes with chasing goals that aren't even really clear.
[00:03:38] If your goal is just to get more visibility, that's too vague. Visibility for what, with whom, and why?
[00:03:46] Every piece of marketing should have a purpose. When you post, when you email, when you create something, you should be able to answer, what do I want people to do because of this?
[00:03:56] Is it to reach out? Is it to sign up?
[00:03:59] Is it to remember you exist?
[00:04:02] You want them to take that next step? If you can't answer that, it's probably not worth doing. At least not right now. Don't throw that idea away. Just put it in a folder somewhere.
[00:04:12] So here's a tip. Write down one marketing goal for the next 30, 60 days. Make it measurable, make it realistic, but make it specific. Don't just throw, I want to do this. I want to do this.
[00:04:22] Be really specific.
[00:04:24] Maybe it's, I want to book a call to talk with 10 prospects.
[00:04:30] I want to add 50 subscribers to my list.
[00:04:34] I'm going to post consistently on my social media channel for eight weeks.
[00:04:40] Then every time you think about starting something new, say, does this move me closer to the goal? And if not, put it in that folder. You can always come back to it later. I have notebooks full of folders. Notebooks.
[00:04:52] So simplifying isn't about doing less just to do less. It's about focusing on what matters most Right now.
[00:05:01] So question number three.
[00:05:03] This one's kind of an odd one, but once I start talking about this one, you'll see it. What's already working that I'm ignoring.
[00:05:12] So business owners are notorious for chasing shiny objects while ignoring what's quietly already working.
[00:05:18] I've done it too. You get bored of doing the same thing over and over, so you assume it's stale. But here's the truth. Your audience doesn't get bored as fast as you do. Believe me. They are not just focused on you. They have a lot of things that can get their attention. Things move quickly. They see something from you, they forget about it.
[00:05:37] Maybe you've been getting steady leads from LinkedIn or from referrals, but because it feels too easy, you're like, I gotta move on to something else. I gotta do something else. I'm gonna crack the code. I'm gonna get to the next level.
[00:05:48] I call this marketing amnesia.
[00:05:52] You forgot what's producing results because it's not new anymore.
[00:05:57] Here's your homework.
[00:05:59] I want you to pull up your last five clients or customers that you got and ask yourself, how did they find me?
[00:06:06] What made them reach out? What did I do that worked?
[00:06:11] You might find that the things driving results aren't the things you're spending time on right now.
[00:06:16] And when you double down on what's already working, you simplify your workload and increase your impact.
[00:06:23] So think about that one.
[00:06:25] Question number four. Where can I simplify my tools or tech?
[00:06:30] So I have a lot of friends that say, I use this tool. I use this tool. I bought this tool. Not really using this tool, but I pay for it. So if your marketing stack feels like a mess, maybe you have five different apps for scheduling, content creation, and analytics. It's really time for detox.
[00:06:50] Um, I had a client that was using three different systems for emails for different segments, two different scheduling platforms for social media posts, and two different things for graphics. And they were spending more time managing the tools than creating the marketing and paying for all all those subscription fees on top of that, which becomes astronomical.
[00:07:12] You don't need the fanciest tools. You need the ones that save you time.
[00:07:17] So here's a quick audit to simplify your tech. What do I use every day or a couple times a week? What's actually helping me create or sell?
[00:07:26] What can I automate or combine?
[00:07:29] And if a tool doesn't save you time, make you money, or just overall make your life easier, just unsubscribe. Don't pay for it anymore. Don't use it. And remember, sometimes a shared Google sheet is the best thing you can use.
[00:07:42] And a Canva template, that's. That's super easy too.
[00:07:46] So simplify your tools that will help simplify your thinking, calm the chaos, calm your brain.
[00:07:53] And here's question number five.
[00:07:55] How do I know when it's good enough to launch?
[00:07:59] Perfectionism is one of the biggest barriers to marketing momentum. We tweak, we edit, we overthink, we show it to somebody, we think it's ready to go, we sleep on it and we come back and we say, no, I can do better.
[00:08:11] And so we wait until the plan, the logo, the sales funnel, the website, or the post just feels really perfect. And then a month passes and nothing's out there.
[00:08:22] So here's the truth. Your audience can engage with what they never see. They don't read your mind. They have no idea what could be coming.
[00:08:30] You have to tell them.
[00:08:32] So done is better than perfect, especially in marketing and especially since we don't do a lot in print anymore. This is in digital. If you see something you need to change, just go change it.
[00:08:42] I used to work in ad agencies. When you sent the proof off or the ad went out, that was it. And you had to make sure it was perfect. And it's good to make sure there's no errors in what you have now, but you can change things up if you need to.
[00:08:54] Your first version is not going to be perfect, but it will teach what you need to fix for the second version.
[00:09:00] And every campaign or post or email that gives you data. And that's where the real magic happens. So the next time you're sitting on an idea because you're not sure if it's ready, just ask yourself, what's the worst thing that can happen if I just put this out there? And usually the answer is, nothing really bad is going to happen. You learn, you adjust, you improve, you make it better.
[00:09:20] Marketing's a process. It's not just a presentation.
[00:09:24] So here is a quick recap. I want you to focus on fewer things done better. I want you to know your goal before you hit publish. Don't just have an idea. Know your goal. You're not just doing this for fun.
[00:09:37] Stick with with what's working, even if it feels boring. I want you to simplify your tech and your time. There's no need to have things very complicated. And don't wait for perfect. Just launch, learn, repeat.
[00:09:50] So if you're feeling overwhelmed or over complicating your marketing, this is your sign to take a breath, simplify, and focus on what matters.
[00:09:58] And if you want help turning your chaos into clarity, that's exactly what I do inside my Accelerate program.
[00:10:05] It's just a 60 day intensive where we build your marketing systems, get everything simplified, get you back in control of your marketing programs.
[00:10:13] So thanks for hanging out with me today on Confessions from the Home Office. That's it for today.
[00:10:19] And I just want you to remember that marketing doesn't have to be messy to be effective. And sometimes simple is really what works. So I'll see you next week.
