This blog possibly may be controversial, or you might even think I’m being a little harsh.

But let me start with a story!

So, I saw a post in a Facebook group recently that said something like, “Just wondering if anyone sells on eBay and what it’s like – I need more sales and wondered if eBay is the place to be?”

When I initially read this post, because I know this business person and I don’t rate them particularly highly, my first thought was, “no, you just need to stop looking for the silver bullet and market your business better”.

Now, there’s a lot of privilege in what I thought to myself. I am a marketer and therefore know how to market (although always learning), so my business is serving me well and is profitable.

But it got me pondering – do you need to DO MORE or just be BETTER at it?

Is doing MORE really the answer?  More posts, more blogs, more products, more emails?

I can tell you now – NO it really is NOT the answer.

No one is going to save you.  No platform, no Facebook group, no single external factor.

However, what WILL save you is looking at what’s working and what’s not and making some really, sometimes hard, strategic decisions.

The answer is getting better at what you do.

The answer is having a marketing strategy, a marketing plan rather than just posting buy this, buy this, buy this all the time.

I am ALL for, don’t get me wrong, going where your starving audience is.  If you aren’t sure what a starving audience is, listen to episode 131 of my podcast – it’s a great one too! 

I am all for multi-channel marketing.  Not just expecting people to find you but being on other people’s platforms – a platform where your audience is already but adding more and more of them – that is what I am saying is a no, and frankly, you need to STOP and think about your marketing.  Get some targeted help.  Get someone else to give you some tips, tricks, and help.  And not just general “follow them on Instagram and practice their general advice” but booking in with someone who knows their stuff to look at YOUR business and YOUR marketing specifically.

Now – back to the person who asked the question I referred to earlier. I know they are on at least 3 other channels for sales. And from my experience, I know that adding another isn’t going to help bring in more sales because the thing that is broken isn’t reaching more people – it’s the marketing.

If you are posting on social media consistently, and emailing consistently – if you are on other platforms such as Etsy, Spend With Us, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and so on, and you are not making sales, then I will say it is NOT the audience. You have the reach.  Your audience is there – they have to be – they are the biggest platforms in the world.  They just perhaps can’t find you because it’s so noisy and you aren’t standing out from the crowd.

So if you are looking at your marketing and you say to me that “Jenn, I’m doing all the things, posting, emailing!” But if I look at your marketing and everything I read from you is “BUY THIS NOW”, I am no longer interested.

You can’t shout at people to buy from you all the time.  It doesn’t work like that.

And, just for good measure, if you are crap at customer service, then your ability to have repeat customers (what really makes a business thrive) is very very low to probably non-existent because who loves crap service? I’ll tell you – NO ONE!

So, what’s the solution if it’s not doing more of everything?  What’s the solution if there’s no silver bullet in business?

Again, there’s no one solution.

Below is my checklist to be better at your marketing:

• Know who your customer is
• Know where that customer hangs out (because that’s where you need to be marketing)
• Know what you want to be famous for
• Have a wholesale marketing strategy. This is a strategy that encompasses growth, lead generation, sales, engagement and brand awareness – not just “BUY THIS NOW”
• Get some help – help specific to you and your business (so yes, you may need to pay for this)

And one big thing to do is AUDIT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

• What’s working
• What’s not

Then make decisions based on what you find.

But, and this is a big but, if something is not working, you cannot blame external factors.

For example, if posting into a Facebook group isn’t working, then don’t automatically think it’s Facebook’s fault, or the group admin’s fault, or the few hundred thousand people in that group’s fault.

It’s not the algorithm, it’s not the economy, etc etc.

You need to really think what’s at fault – why the marketing YOU are doing isn’t working?

Is it because you have used the same photo and the same script for 2 years and people just scroll by?

Maybe it’s a combination of everything I mentioned in the checklist. So you need to look at what can YOU change – test, measure, polish, repeat to help yourself – because, again, and I am sorry, no one is coming to save you.

For some, admittedly, getting 1:1 coaching seems out of reach. Many don’t set aside money in their budget for it or think other things are more important.

And I get that, the coaching I give my clients is not cheap – other great coaches aren’t cheap either.  But there are often cheaper solutions if you look.

For instance, I work for Melbourne Innovation Centre as a contractor – as a mentor for small business owners.  They have the Digital Solutions Program, and for $44.00 you can get 3 hours of professional business mentoring by over 50 mentors – and I am one of them!  So, for $44 you can get 3 hours of my time.  You have to live in Victoria for this program – but there’s other programs in other states that offer the same, and I am sure there are mentors that are just as great in those states.

Just do some googling and see what’s available.

Because what I will say is that a $44 investment in a professional business mentor that can help you in your business, and give you specific advice to where you are and what you need, is a much better use of your time than scrolling TikTok or Instagram and learning to dance, sing and point!

Of course, I’d love you to work with me – even if not through a program and if you would like to discuss what I can do for you, then reach out.

But the purpose of this blog post is to help you see that doing MORE will not always help you GROW or be more profitable.

In fact, doing less but doing it STRATEGICALLY could be what you need.

A well-planned out marketing strategy is perhaps what you need.

And I’ll add, that a well-planned out marketing strategy can’t be done in an afternoon. A draft can, but it does take work, and it’s a liquid document – meaning that it’s never actually done! A marketing strategy is done to a point of test and measure, but then you need to periodically review it to polish, reset, measure and put it back out there for some more polishing, testing and measuring!

So, if you are about to throw your device as you’re thinking “Jenn, I just don’t have time”, then I am afraid you won’t like my answer because if your marketing isn’t working, your business isn’t growing or supporting you in the way you want it to – then it’s your responsibility to find that time.

It’s time to work ON your business and not IN your business.

4 out of 5 small businesses, they say, fail in the first five years, but my honest opinion is that no one fails in business.  They simply burn out.

They burn out because they didn’t have a marketing strategy.

And therefore, they couldn’t get enough customers to come through the doors or enough repeat clients to make being in business profitable or worth it – so they close up shop and enter the workforce as an employee.

If you are struggling in business, (a) get help and (b) don’t just do more.

Thinking that more is NOT the answer.

Having a strategy tailored to YOUR business is the answer.

I seriously do not want anyone, especially you, to be a small business statistic.

I am a lover and dreamer of small business, and that’s why I have a the Spend With Us – Buy From A Bush Business Marketplace that supports rural and regional small businesses for rates cheaper than the big guys.

That is why I work with programs such as the Digital Solutions program I mentioned above.

And of course, it’s also why I have amazing private coaching clients who are ready to play a bigger game!

I feel so passionately about this that I am not sure exactly how to end this blog other than to say, YOU DO HAVE THIS.

Small business isn’t easy; otherwise, everyone would do it, but it should be simple or at least simpler – hence where this podcast got its name!

If you want to chat about how you can be better at your marketing, then let’s chat.  Book a discovery call with me http://bit.ly/Discoverwithjenn!

And, I would love it if you came and joined in my community on Facebook called Like Minded Business Owners Group. 

Or, let’s hang out and get social on social – you’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook and my fave LinkedIn.

CONTACT JENN:

Don’t forget, you can book a free discovery call with me to talk about how I can help you with your marketing strategy! Simply click the link and grab a spot!

My Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group is also a great community to join – full of awesome people in small business.

Or you can DM me on Instagram or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.  Jenn’s an expert marketing coach and mentor from rural NSW. She is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.  The Founder of Buy From a Bush Business, Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace and host of the very popular podcasts Small Business Made Simple and Stories from the Bush. Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!  H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk! Jenn’s online community is over 320,000 with her famous Facebook Group currently at almost 370,000 members and still growing every day.  She’s the mayor of her own little online city!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram – @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Jenn Donovan

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan