How to Market Your Business Successfully (Without Burning Out)

You’re excellent at delivering your services, but when it comes to marketing your business online? Eeeeeeeeeek!

Do you find yourself jumping from one strategy to the next, throwing marketing spaghetti at the wall and praying that something sticks? Still relying on unpredictable referrals and time-consuming outreach? 

YOU shouldn’t be the one doing all the heavy-lifting! Your marketing should actively work for you and bring you results. Regularly.

So, I’ll show you how to market your business online in a way that actually works for you.

Because it’s NOT about going on marketing sprees, getting overwhelmed, disappearing, and doing it again (and again).

You must be BOTH strategic and realistic when you market your business online. Here’s how!

Setting the right expectations when marketing your business online 

Most of my clients are women solopreneurs and founders of service-based businesses. And even though they work across all kinds of industries? I’ve encountered the same mistakes so far.

Maybe you’re still holding on to outdated marketing misconceptions. Perhaps you’ve been putting too much pressure on yourself—even though you’re just one person.

You see, I really want you to go into this with the right mindset and expectations. So, I’ll start by giving you the same tips I share with most of my clients.

You must market your business online consistently, NOT just when you need new clients

SO many business owners make this mistake.

They go all in with their marketing. Super pumped up! Two coffees and three Red Bulls in. They start posting on social media every day, sending a weekly newsletter, offering all kinds of free webinars… 

But then, as soon as they’re fully booked? POOF! They disappear.

And then guess what?

Months later, once they actually need new clients, they reappear as if nothing had happened.

That’s NOT how marketing works, especially if you want to rely on organic and inbound strategies (= getting your dream clients to come to YOU). Instead, you must be consistent and stay top of mind with your audience.

So, get in the mindset and habit of marketing your business regularly, EVEN when you’re fully booked and can’t take on new clients.

But don’t worry: you can do this at your OWN pace

Learning how to market your business online consistently doesn’t have to mean “posting on social media every day, jumping on every new trend, and hustling 24/7.”

In fact, that could actually backfire! 

If you force yourself to stick to a schedule that doesn’t work for you? You could easily end up being busy and churning out content just for the sake of it. And that WON’T move the needle.

So, remember:

when marketing your business online? Quality, consistency, and an actual strategy > quantity.

Find the right balance: not too little, not too much

I have two main tips (and it might sound like I’m contradicting myself, but bear with me):

• Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one basket – Some business owners seem to think that being on Instagram (or LinkedIn, or just having a website…) is enough to call it ‘marketing.’ Sorry to burst your bubble, but that ain’t gonna cut it. For example, what happens if the algorithm changes or you lose your account?

• Don’t spread yourself too thin – At the same time, you don’t have to be on every single platform, jump on every new trend, or have dozens of marketing tactics in place. You’d burn out! And you wouldn’t get the best results

So, you need to find the right balance for yourself.

This will look different depending on your business, audience, and personal preferences (as I keep saying: your plan and schedule must be realistic for you). That’s why I help my client with their marketing on a 1:1 basis.

But as you go through my list of ways to market your business online, you should be able to find a few that sound good and make you think “Yeah, I can see myself doing this.”

If in doubt, start small. You can always increase your marketing frequency or try new strategies ONCE you’ve mastered your initial ones (and only if you actually need to).

How to market your business online and get your dream clients to come to you

Full disclosure? There are so many other tactics and ways to market your business online! 

But would it be helpful to overwhelm you by listing every single one of them? Me thinks not.

Instead, I’ve decided to focus on the marketing tactics that I discuss the most with my clients (fellow women solopreneurs and founders of service-based business) and that’ll help you get inbound leads.

1. Get clear on your brand messaging

Before you send out a single newsletter or open a new social media account, WORK. ON. YOUR. MESSAGING.

What do I mean by that?

Your messaging is how you talk and write about your business and services. It’s what you focus on the most and how you convey your value proposition, mission, story, and personality to your target clients – across ALL your marketing channels.

Marketing is really about amplifying your core messaging. If YOU are not clear on it and on what sets you apart from your competitors? 

• You can’t expect your audience to get it

• Your marketing won’t work (or it’ll require a lot MORE hard work than it should)

For example, before working with me, some of my clients used to struggle to talk about their business in a way that made them stand out against their competitors. 

They used to position themselves as “just another option in their niche” (e.g. “I’m A business coach”), use vague buzzwords that confused their audience (e.g. “I’ll help you supercharge your business” or “I offer business solutions”), and they kept changing their wording (e.g. they were “a business coach for solopreneurs” on their website but a “passionate business consultant” on Instagram).

Instead, I specialise in turning women entrepreneurs into THE go-to solution in the eyes of their dream clients.

And that’s what you should do before thinking about marketing your business online.

So, fine-tune your messaging first! You must always be able to tell us:

• Exactly what you do  / what type of business you run – Be clear and specific. For example, I’m a “messaging consultant and brand copywriter” (not a generic “copywriter” or “consultant”)

• Who for – When you try to speak to everyone, you end up connecting with… no one. So, if you want to market your business online successfully, you must be crystal clear on who your target clients are. Not only that: how you refer to them. For example, I work with both women solopreneurs and founders of service-based businesses, so I usually say “women entrepreneurs”

• How this benefits them – It’s not about features. It’s not about you being “passionate about your services.” Your core messaging should show your audience what you can do for them. Otherwise, we can’t expect them to care, can we? For example, I help my clients attract their audience organically and sell more easily by making their messaging and marketing magnetic

You must always be able to convey all this in one or two sentences and in a way that sets you apart from EVERYONE else.

For example: “I’m the messaging consultant and brand copywriter for women entrepreneurs. I’ll make your messaging and marketing magnetic so that you can get your dream audience to come to YOU and take them from 'prospects' to 'paying clients' more easily.”

So, brainstorm your core messaging, and start keeping it consistent across all your marketing materials.

2. Have a strategic business website

Don’t make the mistake of only relying on external platforms that you don’t own (*cough cough* social media). Plus, 56% of consumers don’t trust a business without a website—and I can’t blame them.

A business website can:

• Set the right tone from the beginning, positioning you as an actual professional and expert (not an amateur) 

• Attract your audience organically (more on that soon!)

• Take them from prospects to paying clients for you, even when you’re sleeping

But if you want it to do that, you can’t fill it with random words.

So, get strategic copy for your website: copy that amplifies your core brand messaging and story, speaks to your specific dream clients, and actually sells your services.

Keep going through my guide on how to market your business online, but consider bookmarking my article on how to write your own website copy (so that you can go back to it later).

And if you’d rather leave it to a professional, check out the 🧲Magnetic Message & Web Copy Makeover✨, my premium offer combining messaging, consulting, and done-for-you website copy.

BONUS TIPS!

Once you’ve got a business website:

• Create a Google Business Profile, too 

• Create listings on relevant directories (like Yell or industry-specific ones like TripAdvisor)

3. Optimise your website copy for SEO

Sure, you can always link to your website on social media or direct your audience to it.

But why miss out on…. err, AAAAAAAAAAAAALL the people who are actively looking for the types of services you offer (and don’t follow you on social media or know about you just yet)?

It’d be cray-cray, wouldn't it?

For example, some of my clients had never heard of me before but they found me because they were looking for “website copywriting services”.

So, use some keyword research tools to find out what your audience is googling and what words they use when talking about your services or type of business.

Then, include them in your website copy!

Psst. My 🧲Magnetic Message & Web Copy Makeover✨ includes keyword research and on-page SEO, too.

4. Blog on your business website

No, blogging isn’t dead, and it’s not about sharing random company updates (like that new award you won).

When done strategically, blogging on your business website has so many benefits, like:

• Reaching the 95% of your audience who are NOT ready to buy just yet

• Nurturing your audience and smoothening the sales funnel (so that, when they are ready to buy, they’ll think of YOU)

• Helping you rank for more keywords 

• Making your entire website rank higher, too (you can’t just optimise your main pages for SEO and never touch your website again! If you want it to rank on Google, you NEED to publish fresh content regularly)

• Positioning yourself as a thought leader

• Giving you high-quality content that you can repurpose and turn into newsletters, social media posts, and so on

• Bringing you more clients (businesses that blog regularly get a whopping 67% more inbound leads)

So, create unique and valuable blog content that answers your audience’s questions, shares a new perspective, and positions your services as the logical next step.

Oh, and optimise each blog post for SEO (whenever possible) to have the BEST chances of attracting your dream clients through Google.

Remember: most of your audience is still trying to understand their current problem and how to solve it.

So, for example, they’re not googling “business coach for solopreneurs” (yet!). They’re asking “why is my business not growing,” “why did my launch fail” or “do I need a business coach or a consultant?”

If YOU don’t answer their questions and get them to discover your brand through your blog, your competitors will. 

Not sure where to start?

I wrote a step-by-step guide to show you exactly how to blog on your business website in a way that grows your audience and brings you leads—even as a complete blogging beginner.

Or if you’d rather outsource it and save a tonne of time, I offer blog writing services and consultancy through the Blog Business Booster🚀

5. Be on a couple of social media platforms

Social media marketing will allow you to grow your brand, reach more people, and turn some of them into clients… when done right, at least!

So, here’s how to promote your business on social media strategically:

• Pick a couple of platforms – Honestly: you don’t need to be everywhere! I recommend choosing 2 platforms where your audience is active. Ideally, platforms you will enjoy using as well, otherwise you’ll struggle to be consistent (for example, I used to be on X back when it was still called Twitter, but we didn’t vibe. So, I closed it and never looked back)

• Optimise your profiles – Treat them as mini landing pages. As soon as someone lands on your profiles, they must be able to understand your core messaging. So, be clear and specific

• Create content for your specific dream clients – It sounds obvious, but I keep seeing the same mistakes: people posting just for the sake of posting or… creating content that’s actually more useful to their competitors than their target audience (like fellow copywriters giving “7 tips to become a better copywriter” or graphic designers sharing “How I started my freelance graphic design business, step-by-step”). Instead, if you want to learn how to promote your business on social media successfully, every single piece of content should speak to your dream clients

• Experiment with different formats and types of content – To figure out what actually resonates with your dream clients, you might have to experiment a bit first. Plus, it’s also important to consider what YOU actually enjoy creating and can commit to. For example, short-form video keeps on growing, especially on Instagram and TikTok. But if you’d really struggle to film and edit these videos (and haven’t got the budget to outsource them)? It’d make more sense to focus on carousels instead

• Engage with your audience – Don’t just post and ghost! Interact with your followers, reply to comments and DMs, and start conversations. That’s another reason why I recommend being realistic with your number of social media platforms: because it’s not just about scheduling content. You must engage with your audience, too

6. Have an email list (and don’t let it gather cobwebs)

Listen: I do like social media, but we need to be realistic.

YOU. DON’T. OWN. THEM.

If you’ve already been posting on at least one platform for a while, do you ever get frustrated because the algorithm hides your content?

And it’s not just that: your profiles aren’t really yours. They’re rented space.

You could get restricted or banned anytime. And before you say “It’s never going to happen to me,” trust me: I’ve seen it happen to so many people, and NOT just those who posted controversial or problematic content.

The irony? One of them was a lovely Instagram trainer… and Instagram deleted her profile! It took her a month and a half to get it back.

Honestly: I’m not saying this to scare or discourage you.

By all means, DO promote your business on social media. But don’t rely on those platforms alone. Focus on channels you own, too. And one of the best? Email marketing

• Come up with the right newsletter angle – Just like with the blog on your business website, your newsletter shouldn’t be about updates and news (even if it’s called ‘newsletter’). You must show up in your audience’s inboxes with content that’s insightful, useful, or entertaining (or all three) for them. For example, my newsletter includes advice and content prompts to help women entrepreneurs make their messaging and marketing magnetic 

• Choose a realistic schedule – I love emailing my list every Tuesday. Some people email theirs twice a week. But if that already sounds like a lot for you, don’t stretch yourself too thin. It’s better to stick to (say) a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter consistently than to send a few weekly issues, get overwhelmed, and disappear for months

7. Consider creating a lead magnet to get people on your list

When marketing your business online, your goal is to turn your followers, website visitors, blog readers, and lurkers into:

• Clients

• Newsletters subscribers (so that you can contact them directly and in a more personalised way, without losing them forever or worrying about algorithms)

And while having a newsletter is a fabulous start, make your life easier:

create a free lead magnet. This can be a PDF resource (like a checklist or guide), an eBook, an exclusive offer, a webinar, a quiz, and so on. Something that your audience would actually be interested in and that’s relevant to your services and goals.

Even better? Turn it into a simple funnel by having:

• A valuable lead magnet

• An automated email sequence that acts as a bridge between that free resource and your paid offer

8. Consider other marketing strategies—IF relevant and realistic

If you commit to it properly, everything I’ve covered so far will allow you to market your business online successfully and get dream clients to come to you. 

For example, at this stage, I get my own clients through:

• My strategic and SEO-friendly website copy

• The blog on my website

• LinkedIn and Instagram

• My lead magnet and email sequence

• My newsletter

However, if you want to try different tactics too (as long as you actually have the capacity for them), here’s what you can consider:

• Start a podcast – Much like your blog or social media content, a podcast can attract your dream clients, get them to engage with your brand, and grow your audience

• Paid ads – Most of the marketing strategies we looked at so far are about the long-term game. If you need new clients fast, it might make sense to invest in paid ads on Google or social media

• Run webinars and lives – Offer some free (or paid) training to your audience, and help them familiarise themselves with you and your offers

• Collaborate with other experts – Did you ‘click’ with someone who targets your same audience, perhaps because they offer complementary services? Help each other out by collaborating! For example, you could run a webinar or event together

• Consider influencer collaborations – Depending on the types of services you offer, you could even partner with an influencer who’s followed by your dream clients

• Write guest posts – Choose relevant publications (hint hint: those that are read by your audience) and pitch them an article idea that would be beneficial to their readers while positioning you as an expert

• Appear on other people’s podcasts – Different format, same logic 

• Join online groups and communities – Find groups where your dream clients are active (like Facebook groups for women in business or LinkedIn groups for people who are interested in mindfulness), and engage with them there, too

9. Create a realistic marketing plan

Oooooooooof, that was A LOT! So, how can you bring it all together without getting overwhelmed?

• Is there anything you can outsource? – A professional website, new copy for it, your blog, your social media… If you have the budget for it, it makes sense to invest in your business by hiring an expert to take care of some of your marketing

• If it’s just you, be both strategic and realistic – As we said before: quality, consistency, and an actual strategy > quantity

Learning how to market your business online is also about coming up with a plan to keep it up regularly without burning out.

Sure, some strategies are more evergreen, like your website copy, lead magnet, and email sequence.

But as for your ongoing marketing, ask yourself (and be honest!): what can you actually commit to?

For example, you could try writing a monthly blog post, a bi-weekly newsletter, and posting on two social media platforms 3 times a week while engaging almost every day. Or a different combination altogether! 

Once again: start small. You can always increase your frequency later down the line.

And when you’ve picked the right plan and schedule for you:

• Put your own marketing in your calendar or project management platform – Otherwise, we both know it’s not going to happen!

• Batch your content – Ultimately, this comes down to personal preference. Some people would rather come up with new ideas on the spot. But personally? I think it’s a huuuuuuuuge waste of your time and energy! And you might end up posting content just for the sake of it instead of focusing on your overall strategy. So, I recommend setting some time aside for batching it every week (or biweekly, monthly, etc.)

• Repurpose your content – Work smarter, not harder! You don’t have to create new content for every single platform every time. For example, you could turn one blog post into two newsletters, a carousel, and 5 or 6 social media posts. And I promise: it’s ok to repurpose or even reshare your best-performing pieces every once in a while! Not everyone has seen them the first time

• Keep your messaging and focus consistent – Jumping from one topic to another every day? Describing your services in completely different ways every time? You can’t expect your dream clients to associate you with the problem they want to solve and the outcome they want to achieve. So, refer to your messaging and pillars when planning your content. You might think you’re being repetitive, but trust me: the opposite is true! Your audience needs to see the same message multiple times to actually understand it and take action. So, find new creative ways of talking about the same core topics

Make your messaging and marketing magnetic, and get a custom plan during a 1:1 strategy day 🧲

I hope my guide on how to market your business online was helpful! 

But here’s an uncomfortable truth: most people read all kinds of how-to content and then… not take action. It becomes yet another task that gets buried underneath their to-do list.

Are YOU serious about starting to market your business online successfully and ASAP? And to do so in a way that feels manageable so that you don’t get overwhelmed?

And to also:

• Get the 1:1 help of a messaging and marketing expert

• Receive both accountability and support

• Explore strategies that are tailored to your unique situation

• Have all your questions answered

• Get proven frameworks and a custom marketing plan

Then, guess what?

We can take your messaging from ‘messy’ to ‘magnetic’ and make your marketing easier and more effective together—in one day (+ 2 weeks of 1:1 support).

My online marketing strategy days are perfect for women entrepreneurs who have the right offers for their dream clients but struggling to convey it or see results from their marketing.

So, they’ve mainly been relying on:

• Unpredictable referrals

• Time-consuming cold outreach

• Loooooots of discovery calls with prospects who often ghost them

If that sounds like you, we can fix it together.

Ready to become THE go-to solution in the eyes of your dream clients and actually enjoy your marketing? 

Then, let’s create a plan to get your dream audience to come to YOU and take them from 'prospects' to 'paying clients' more easily.

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