What’s Your Marketing REALLY Doing for You? 5 Outcomes

Judging by some posts I’ve seen and conversations I’ve been having, it looks like more business owners are finally waking up to this marketing lie: “You just need to show up consistently and showcase your personality: that’s what people are buying.”

I mean, who wouldn’t want to believe that?!

Not only does it sound easy as cherry pie: it’s even more of an ego boost than when passersby tell me they love my 80s outfits.

But as I’ve been saying for years: while it is a piece of the puzzle, it’s not enough on its own, especially with the current market and trust recession (unless you literally sell personal branding or social media popularity).

So, I’m sharing 5 different marketing outcomes with you.

If you feel like, given the value of your services and the time or money you’ve been investing in your marketing, you should get better results, this breakdown will uncover the actual problem or blind spot

And I’ll be honest: while the 5th one is what we should always aim for, I’ve been fluctuating between some of the other scenarios myself throughout the years, even as a marketing strategist. Why? It’s a tricky balance when we’re so close to our business and marketing, especially in certain situations (like a pivot).

But if when we don’t fix it, we’re left relying on sporadic referrals and a lot more effort and touchpoints than we’d like, to reach and sign the right clients.

Before we dive into it, though, a disclaimer: I believe there are no one-size-fits-all solutions in marketing. Everyone’s situation is unique, and there are additional scenarios too, like having the wrong-fit offers altogether.

However, these are the most common ones for profitable businesses.

5 most common marketing outcomes

1. Complete unknown

❌ Your ideal client doesn’t remember your name, face, or brand

❌ They don’t understand and remember what you do

❌ They don’t see themselves in your marketing

❌ They don’t believe you can help them solve their problem and achieve their main goal

Root cause: Your marketing is all over the place, too sporadic to stick, or your audience is genuinely too small (but this scenario is rare among the women in my world)

2. Familiar influencer or online friend

✅ Your ideal client remembers your name, face, or brand

❌ They don’t understand and remember what you do

❌ They don’t see themselves in your marketing

❌ They don’t believe you can help them solve their problem and achieve their main goal

Root cause: You’re consistent with your marketing but it either doesn’t actually feed into your services or your messaging is too vague and complicated, instead of matching your ideal clients’ language

(For example, a trainer mostly sharing personal branding content, photos, or inspirational emails or a coach using generic buzzwords like “I’ll help you overcome your blocks and unlock that next business level” rather than a clearer “We’ll work on the trauma and beliefs causing you to self-sabotage so you can double your revenue without burning out every few months”)

3. Interesting but not for me

✅ Your ideal client remembers your name, face, or brand

✅ They understand and remember what you do

❌ They don’t see themselves in your marketing

❌ They don’t believe you can help them solve their problem and achieve their main goal

Root cause: You are consistently talking about your area of expertise but not in a way that positions your services as the bridge between your specific ideal clients’ current challenges and their goals. So, your targeting and messaging is still off

(For example, SEOs who want to sign more retainer clients for their higher-ticket done-for-you services but the bulk of their marketing is SEO tips that resonate with industry peers or business owners still trying to DIY everything. Or coaches who want to target established, successful business owners but use low-vibe language like “You’re struggling” or “You’ve had yet another week without new leads”)

4. Compelling but unconvincing

✅ Your ideal client remembers your name, face, or brand

✅ They understand and remember what you do

✅ They see themselves in your marketing

❌ They don’t believe you can help them solve their problem and achieve their main goal

Root cause: You nailed your messaging but haven’t given your audience enough reasons to trust what you’re saying and promising

(For example, a copywriter who never shares actual client results, a consultant whose marketing doesn’t make you think “She actually made me look at this from a completely different perspective”, any service provider whose behaviour doesn’t match what they preach—like someone claiming they don’t care about the algorithm and then leaving 13 comments underneath their own posts—or a coach who shies away from actual promotional content or justifies it with “I don’t normally do sales posts buuuuut”, making you doubt whether or not she believes in her services herself)

5. THE authority

✅ Your ideal client remembers your name, face, or brand

✅ They understand and remember what you do

✅ They see themselves in your marketing

✅ They believe you can help them solve their problem and achieve their main goal

What gets you there: crystal-clear and magnetic messaging, shared with conviction through consistent marketing that shifts beliefs and builds both trust and authority

What marketing scenario matches your business situation right now?

I hope this breakdown was a valuable reflection opportunity for you and gave you some direction.

And if you’re a brilliant woman founder but your current marketing situation is NOT 5, here’s how we can change it together

The Trust Recession: How You Can Win Over Skeptical Clients

Our new potential clients are currently experiencing a trust recession, and I can’t blame them.

£20k masterminds positioned as “THE space for you, babe” but where they were treated like a number and perhaps even unfollowed by the host after paying the last invoice.

Online courses that promised the world but where the real value was gated behind a £997 upgrade. 

Agencies squeezing every penny out of small businesses that trusted them with their marketing, only to give them ChatGPT slop.

Coaches who won people over with their popular personal brands and high follower count but turned out to be all vibes and no delivery.

Or who broke confidentiality and rewrote your story in a way that portrayed you as an incompetent victim and them as your saviour, while taking credit for a sale you made without them even knowing about it (yep, this actually happened to me… with an ICF-certified coach!).

Fake Stripe notifications and screenshots.

No wonder there’s a trust recession, especially (but not only) in the marketing and coaching industries!

You’ve probably felt it too: new clients are more hesitant or take longer to invest.

It’s not “just” because of the market, tighter budgets, and cost-of-living crisis (or *cough cough* the world being on fire): 

overall, we’re fed up with hype marketing and got burnt before. But what does that mean for your service-based business? 

And what can you do about it, to keep signing the right clients more easily?

Here’s my take, as a marketing strategist who doesn’t believe in shortcuts and unethical practices.

If you’re an ethical service provider or founder, the current trust recession is both good and bad news for your business

You know you’re legit (and damn brilliant at delivering your services). Your past and current clients know this, too. But the potential ones who haven’t worked with you yet? They don’t.

And the worst part of the current trust recession?

Because of lots of unethical people and “bro/babe marketers”, capable and experienced service providers are now paying the price, too.

And on top of that, tactics and strategies that used to work like a charm are no longer as effective.

But there’s no point in crying about it: we can’t ignore the reality around us (like this trust recession) and continue to do more of the same and magically expect different results.

The good news?

If you’re prepared to make the right changes to your marketing, you can win over new clients more easily, even during the current trust recession.

And I’m about to show you how. Heads-up, though: 

I don’t sugarcoat things, and you might not like some of my advice. In fact, it probably goes against what you’re seeing in your feed (like "just be authentic, and clients will be drawn to you”).

But it’s also what allowed a coaching client to go from never selling her premium £3k offer (even though she was already “being authentic”) to selling it multiple times to people who had never invested in her before.

Or a designer to win a big project from her marketing, telling me she was surprised at how easy it was to sign them and how much she got to charge.

So, if you’re prepared to stop relying so heavily on sporadic referrals and endless touchpoints with undecided prospects, here’s what I recommend. 

How to build trust with your marketing and win over new clients, even during the trust recession 

Avoid fake scarcity

We’ve all seen sales pages with “Normally £997, but you can get it for £97, just for the next 24h”... only to realise that the anxiety-inducing countdown timer reset itself every day.

Or “I only have 2 spots left”, except it was promised to you through a fully automated funnel that runs all year around.

This might have worked in 2020 (although it should have never been a thing, in my opinion). Not anymore.

Don’t forget that, as a service provider, you probably already have real scarcity because there are only so many clients you can work with in one go. Or perhaps you have an early-bird discount or offer that genuinely expires on a specific day. Do mention that, as it’s a great incentive!

But fake scarcity is a one-way ticket to losing your ideal clients’ trust. 

Share client stories and proof (regularly)

We’ve had enough of (fake) Stripe screenshots. Plus, anyone can share inflated claims or random statements, especially with AI.

So, if you want your audience to believe that you can take them from their current challenge to their ideal outcome through your services, the best way to build trust is to show them how you’ve already helped other real-life people who used to be in their shoes.

For example, this can include having case studies on your website, telling those stories in your marketing (like on socials and emails), and sprinkling additional proof in some of your content.

Share your unpolished story and mistakes (but without turning it into pity p*rn)

New clients are no longer trusting those who portray themselves as impeccable superhumans with the most polished Instagram feed. They’re skeptical because… they already got burnt by those very people!

So, consider sharing the most relevant parts of your story and new challenges you’ve faced behind the scenes, including some less glamorous bits.

However, while many people are telling you to share from the wound because it gets more engagement, I’m warning you: be mindful and tactical about it.

And not just because I believe you shouldn’t feel pressured to share anything you don’t want to share, but because I’ve seen it backfire, both in the sense that it destroyed someone’s credibility or it brought them wrong-fit clients.

For example, talking about how you regulated and led yourself as you went from “your business almost failing” to “hitting £8k months” might work well if you literally help clients regulate and lead themselves during challenging business phases. But if, for example, you only help with the strategy side of things, that narrative would bring you clients who are too desperate and dysregulated to implement and commit to your brilliant strategies. And if you do something else entirely (like done-for-you copywriting services)… well, it’d be pretty irrelevant to keep sharing that, wouldn’t it?

Or another example: I’m pretty sure most of us feel like we’re winging the running of our business sometimes. But if you were to share “Confession: I always feel like I’m winging my client work”, sorry but I’m not going to trust you with my money.

So, stick to relevant stories and challenges, and share them in a way that makes your ideal clients think “This person is real, honest, and legit, and I can trust them to lead me / deliver on their promise.”

Avoid unrealistic claims

As women, in particular, we tend to downplay the value we bring and the transformation we help our clients achieve. Don’t you dare do that!

But at the same time, don’t overpromise either.

Your ideal clients have heard it all before, like “I’ll 10x your results” or “Double your income in 2 weeks”. 

During the current trust recession, if something feels too good to be true, they’re not going to bother getting in touch.

(Also, how can someone promise to “10x my results” if they know nothing about my situation?!)

Don’t make it sound too good or easy 

Most of us don’t believe in silver bullets anymore, and those who do… well, they tend to be nightmare clients who expect you to save their entire business or life while they do next to nothing.

Would you rather work with better and more committed clients? Then, help them trust you by mentioning the ‘hard’ or less glamorous parts of your solution.

For example, if you coach, consult, or mentor your clients, talk about what they must be prepared for (like wobbles, time commitments to implement everything, or challenging and ‘stretchy’ moments). I always bang on about how, if someone isn’t fully prepared to change the way they do their marketing and commit to it to get different results, we wouldn’t be a good fit.

If you offer done-for-you services, don’t shy away from sharing why your onboarding or initial strategy phase takes longer than that Fiverr freelancer charging £30 per hour.

The right clients will value it and trust you for it!

Shift your ideal clients’ beliefs (and give them some bitter pills to swallow)

You can’t expect a complete stranger to trust you if all you share in your marketing is a mixture of personal branding content and “10 tips to do this and that”. 

Instead, offer a-ha moments to your specific ideal clients, helping them look at something from a different perspective—even (or better: especially) when it involves showing them the real cause behind their problems or why their current way of thinking/doing is working against them.

This will help them trust that, by hiring you, they will truly change their situation, not end up with yet another temporary patch. 

Freakin’ stand for something

Sticking to safe stances that everyone and their dogs can easily agree with (and then forget about)? Regurgitating what your industry peers are saying? 

Then, you can’t expect high-calibre clients to believe in your authority and trust you to change their situation for good.

Now, I’m not talking about being controversial for the sake of it or for click bait (I hate that, too).

But if you have a different approach or opinion compared to most of the people in your industry, do share it. Confidently. Without apologising for it or justifying it with “I hope I don’t offend anyone but” or “It feels scary to say this but”.

For example, everyone is talking about being magnetic to attract your ideal clients, but they’re conveniently forgetting that magnets don’t just attract: they repel, too. So, to be fully magnetic, you must be prepared to put off the wrong-fit people and potentially get less engagement on social media. Talking about this doesn’t make me particularly popular because most people don’t want to hear it. But it does help me connect with the right ones, including my ideal clients. So, I won’t shut up about it, even when I only get 5 likes.

Make sure your behaviour matches your stances

Nowadays, clients can smell a “do as I say, not as I do” approach, and it’ll break their trust while ruining your credibility. 

A photographer claiming you need professional photos to stand out and succeed with your business but never sharing them for themselves?

A content writer insisting your website needs a freshly updated blog but their latest article is from 7 months ago?

Someone saying they don’t care about the algorithm but then leaving 17 comments underneath their own posts, asking all kinds of irrelevant questions just to get random engagement and boost their reach?

People notice and remember it.

Deliver on your (micro)promises

I bet you do deliver on your promise when working with a client or delivering a project. Otherwise, you wouldn’t receive so many brilliant testimonials and referrals.

But to build trust during the current trust recession, this must start before someone becomes a paying client (and if you don’t deliver on those first micro-promises? They never will).

For example, if your freebie promises a specific outcome, make sure you don’t gate it behind an upsell. If your social media hook teases something, don’t let it be clickbait.

Keep your messaging consistent

Of course, your messaging will change eventually. It should evolve with your business! Just… not all the time.

For example, I’ve seen people go from “you should never build your entire business online” to “how to get clients by going all in on ONE platform”, or go from offering done-for-you services to becoming a coach in a completely different niche overnight.

So, if you’re tweaking your LinkedIn headline every other week, you slag a tactic for months and then position yourself as an expert in the same thing, you keep changing what you stand for, or you’re always churning out new offers without giving anything time to stick… your audience is going to start thinking you don’t actually know what you're doing.

If you’re not clear on your messaging and what to lead with in your marketing, or you can tell it’s not doing justice to the value of your services, we can fix it together in one week with Recalibrate. 

Show up with conviction

“I don’t normally talk about my services buuuuuuuuuuuuut…”

“Keep scrolling if you don’t like promotional posts.”

Never talking about your services or openly inviting your audience to book a call.

Continuing to complain because the algorithm is against you.

Adding endless padding whenever you dare to take a stance.

These (more or less) subtle behaviours are sending the signal that you care more about vanity metrics and validation than reaching and impacting the right people with your message and services.

So, it’s making it harder for the right clients—the ones looking for an authority they can trust with their time, energy, and money—to pick you.

Showing up as a trusted authority—and the only logical option for your ideal clients—uring the trust recession

Yes, most of these points require big mindset shifts and practical changes to how you show up and market your services. 

But as I said before: I don’t sugarcoat things.

We can either keep complaining that “It’s harder to sign new clients” and that “People are more reluctant to invest” or we can change something (and be patient while we give it time to stick).

If you’re prepared to do the latter but your current marketing isn’t doing justice to the value of your services or you’d benefit from the right systemised approach to keep it up (so you can regain hours, headspace, and control while working with more perfect-fit clients):

Shoot for the Moon, Land Among the Stars (to Sign Better Clients)

Do you prefer relying on bigger projects, high-ticket offers, or retainers but signing them feels like a fluke rather than your standard? Maybe they mostly come from unpredictable referrals, or most new clients tend to opt for your smallest offer and expect the world from it?

That’s a common situation for many of my clients (if you’re new here, I’m a marketing strategist and mentor for brilliant but undervalued women founders).

In most cases, we can change that. But there are objective realities and challenges to keep in mind.

For example, we’re going through a trust recession. While plenty of people and businesses do have the budget, they’re more hesitant to invest because they got burned before.

Which is why I don’t tell my clients “just keep showing up, raise your vibration, and trust that more of those high-level clients will find you” (even though that’d make me more popular on social media).

Instead, we usually do this:

My “shoot for the moon, land among the stars” approach to marketing. How does it work?

• We get crystal-clear on who their high-calibre clients are (beyond surface-level avatars like “purpose-led businesses”): those who actually need their bigger offers, have the budget, and are prepared to invest (and spoiler alert: they all realise they weren’t actually targeting them with their marketing)

• We stop seeing their smaller offers as “a cheaper one-off option for a separate client avatar who just hasn’t got the budget for more” (instead of continuing to wonder why so many clients expect the world from them or why not enough upgrade to bigger services afterwards)

• In the bulk of their marketing, we always talk to that high-calibre client. Always. We don’t keep switching from them to a lower-vibe version or a different avatar (read this again, as it’s one of the most common traps, and I fell for it myself, years ago)

What tends to happen to my clients after they adopt my “shoot for the moon, land among the stars” approach to marketing

• Even their new clients who opt for lower offers tend to be higher-vibe and more committed

• It’s easier for them to retain or turn some of these new clients into bigger projects after that initial trust is gained

• They also start getting more premium clients into their highest-ticket offers or bigger projects (for example, R., a brilliant coach, had never sold her £3k offer before working with me, and she has now sold it multiple times, and F. couldn’t believe how much she got to charge for a new project that came directly from her marketing)

Start aiming higher, strategically

The moral of the story?

You can’t just “trust that high-calibre clients will find you and start dropping £££ on your highest-ticket offer”, especially during the current trust recession. But if you’re strategic about it and implement the right changes, you can certainly give yourself the best chances of signing them more consistently.

Are you going to try my “shoot for the moon, land among the stars” approach?

And if this made you look at your marketing from a different perspective (and you’re serious about regaining hours, headspace, and control while working with more perfect-fit clients):

Use Your Personality to Get CLIENTS from Your Marketing (Not Engagement)

“Just be your authentic self, and your dream clients will be drawn to you.

“Your personality is the USP.”

Everyone’s telling you this, especially personal branding gurus selling you *cough cough* social media popularity disguised as authority and client attraction.

I get it: as women, in particular, it’s appealing because it reinforces the conditioning that we must be liked by everyone and the common desire to sell without looking like we’re selling.

And it all sounds super easy and (let’s be honest) flattering, too. “Just be yourself, and use your personality in your marketing. Literally just that.” Piece of cake, right?

So, anyone who wants to continue believing that: close this article right now (but don’t keep complaining about all those price objections, calls with undecided leads, and feeling under-recognised, okay?)

Would you rather work with more of the high-ticket, perfect-fit clients who energise you?

Keep reading.

I’ll show you how to use your personality in your marketing in a way that helps you do that.

The marketing myth of “just show your personality and be authentic”

Now, my stance isn’t as sexy as the gurus’.

I am however saying this as a marketing strategist with a background in an in-house marketing department and who’s been running her business for +6 years:

using your personality and being authentic is NOT enough to get high-level clients from your marketing consistently.

And I’m by no means saying you shouldn’t use your personality or be authentic, of course. But here’s the thing:

if you want them to pay you—not just praise you—your ideal clients must also see you as “the authority they can confidently trust with their time, energy, and money”.

Otherwise, you’ll keep attracting supportive social media fans who tell you “OMG, I looooove your vibe” but then drop thousands on your competitors instead.

How to use your personality in your marketing in a way that helps you get more paying clients

As I teased, it’s not about hiding our personality. Not at all! It’s about using it strategically.

So, here’s how my clients and I use our unique personality and background in our marketing.

We keep our personality but put the ego aside

Your ideal clients need to see themselves in your marketing and understand how you can help them go from their current problem to their happy ending.

If your messaging doesn’t lead with THAT… good luck retaining their attention and getting them to take action, in a saturated market and online space.

We focus on the most relevant parts of our life

My clients and I aren’t here to bare our entire soul to get engagement on social media or to confuse our target audience by jumping from one random topic to the next.

So, for example:

- Did you use to be in your ideal client’s shoes (and how did you overcome that challenge)?

- Do you believe in something they also care about?

- What’s a lesson from your past job that can build credibility now?

- Have you got engaging anecdotes or analogies that can feed into your services?

We take stances and share our fresh perspective instead of being vanilla

This isn’t about being controversial for the sake of it. But when everyone has a similar approach or believes the same stuff about our industry, whereas we believe the opposite?

We’re freakin’ vocal about it—even if someone might disagree in the comments—because we know the right clients will appreciate it, especially when we help them look at their situation from a different perspective.

We share our client stories and results

Any other competitor and AI can easily share “10 tips to do this and that” or a generic post about your industry. But nobody has got your client stories!

Plus, you can’t expect high-level clients to buy from you because of “vibes”: they also need to see that you’ve already helped someone who used to be in their shoes

We start leaning into that upgraded version of ourselves

The one who rejected the conditioning that, as women, we must shrink, be everything for everyone, and downplay our brilliance. The one who shares what she stands for, without worrying about “what if someone thinks I’m too much”.

Yes, it can feel uncomfortable at first. But once you commit to acting like that version, you then start feeling like her, too (and eventually become her).

What to keep in mind when using your personality in your marketing (beyond ‘just being authentic’)

By all means: keep being yourself and injecting your personality into your marketing (for example, I often sprinkle references to my Italian heritage, my obsession for 80s fashion, or the fact that I dance and write fiction on the side, and I talk about some of my challenges, too).

But if you’re serious about working with more high-ticket and perfect-fit clients who see you as the authority you are—before they even speak to you—be more intentional and strategic, too.

Personality, clear messaging, and authority must go together.

Start showing up and being seen as the authority you already are behind the scenes

Serious about going beyond sporadic word-of-mouth referrals and stop spending so much time and energy on scattered action and calls or touchpoints with “I’ll think about it” prospects?

You might be a good fit to become The Intentional Authority with me.

During this 90-day 1:1 programme, you’ll boost your authority and implement more efficient, structured, high-impact marketing, gaining back hours and headspace every week while attracting more of the high-ticket, perfect-fit clients who energise you ⚡

The Year We Go Analogue: Will This Impact Your Client Acquisition?

Your friends’ Instagram feeds that haven’t been updated for months. Someone announcing they got a physical planner for the first time in years. More mentions of vinyl, Polaroids, and spending time in nature without phones.

You’ve probably felt this shift even before all those pretty carousels announced (ironically, on social media) that 2026 is the year we go analogue. But I’m not here to add to them.

As the marketing strategist for talented but under-recognised women founders, I’m encouraging you to consider the aspect of this off-line resurgence that’s most relevant to your service-based business (and that I still haven’t seen anyone else talk about), especially if you got a little too comfortable relying on unpredictable word-of-mouth referrals and social media:

since people are spending less time scrolling, how will ‘the year we go analogue’ affect your lead generation and client acquisition?

And mind you: this goes beyond what could end up being just a trend, because our online behaviour #has already been changing, and there’s another challenge to take into account—and these are facts, not predictions.

So, let’s look into the offline and analogue resurgence together, so you can make the right adjustments and keep thriving (instead of seeing your lead generation and revenue go down with organic social media reach).

Is 2026 the age of analogue? 

Yes, 2026 is already considered the year we go analogue, and it might very well end up being the start of a much bigger and longer shift, although I most definitely do not believe it’s going to be as drastic as some make it out to be.

But overall:

• People are experiencing digital burnout after years of endless scrolling, inflated promises that didn’t deliver (like “Buy my online course so you can start working only 3h a day”), and influencers showcasing their perfectly curated lives

• As a result, they’re now craving phone detoxes and more meaningful off-line experiences, like owning some physical media (instead of relying entirely on subscriptions), reading books in cafes, planning fun activities with friends, or going for walks in nature without endless pings

So, if people—and statistically, that’s bound to include some of your ideal clients—are spending LESS time online, especially on social media, what does that mean for your visibility and client acquisition?

My thoughts as a marketing strategist (who’s already seen all kinds of trends and drastic statements)

I used to work in a marketing department, and I’ve been running my own business since 2019. 

So, as a marketer, I’ve already seen plenty of bold statements about trends and tactics that were meant to be the next big thing (anyone remembers NFTs?) or, on the contrary, being dead (“SEO is dead”, “Email marketing is dead”, “Blogging is dead”—and yet you’re still reading).

And that’s why I take them with a pinch of salt. So, when it comes to 2026 being the year we go analogue, let me be clear:

• No, I don’t believe everyone will ditch social media, phones, and the online space

• Yes, there will be a shift in how people engage online. In fact, it’s already started. Overall, we are becoming more mindful about how, when, with whom, and why we engage online

If you want to keep thriving, you must make changes to your marketing… and not just because it’s the year we go analogue

I wouldn’t be writing this blog post for you if it was just a temporary trend.

Sure, some people being so vocal about the year we go analogue might very well be a trend. But these are facts:

• We’ve already been spending less and less time on social media – Social media usage peaked in 2022 and has been going down slowly but steadily since then

• Organic reach on social media is harder than ever – In 2025, in particular, did you often feel like “Nobody is seeing my posts”, even though you used to be able to reach 10x more people? It wasn’t just you. For example, during Q3 in 2025, LinkedIn reach was down 65% from its peak. This is due to a variety of factors, but especially users becoming more mindful with their engagement, and social media platforms focusing on a pay-to-play model (= they’re making organic reach harder so that you start paying for ads to reach more people. Cheeky, I know)

• People are tired of impersonal, AI-generated content – They were already becoming more mindful with how they used social media. Now that so many business owners and content creators are relying so heavily on AI? I’ve lost count of how many conversations I’ve had or how many posts I’ve seen where people are complaining that “Everyone in my feed sounds the same. I’m thinking of leaving this platform”

So, the moral of the story?

People are experiencing digital burnout and are no longer engaging in the same way they did years ago. So, if you want your business to keep thriving and reaching your ideal clients consistently, you must adapt. 

Relying on unpredictable word-of-mouth referrals or putting all your eggs in the social media basket has always been a risky game. I’ve been a broken record about this for years. Now, during the year we go analogue and with those additional challenges, it’d be more reckless than offering me pineapple on pizza (context: I’m Italian).

Marketing your services during the year we go analogue (and beyond): how to keep reaching and signing the right clients consistently 

I want you to read this with the right expectations: 

• This isn’t an exhaustive list – There are other options, of course. With my clients, we focus on personalised strategies based on their unique situation, strengths, challenges, and goals. But these are some excellent starting points 

• Be realistic: you can’t implement all these steps and tactics – You’re running a business, first and foremost. Your marketing and the actions you take regularly should be there to help you do it more smoothly and keep signing new clients, not to overwhelm you or turn you into a content creator or influencer. Secondly, you don’t even need to do ‘everything’, anyway (although you do need to go beyond word of mouth and social media, if you want to sign clients more predictably)

• I don’t do all these things myself – On top of everything I’ve just shared, I’m autistic. So, for example, I really struggle to ‘build relationships’, and don’t even get me started on coffee chats. However, I still included points that don’t work for me but might very well play to your strengths, too (and vice versa)

Now, let’s get into the key steps to “future-proof” your marketing during the age of analogue and trickier social media reach. Or…

if you’d rather do this with the right 1:1 support (without getting overwhelmed or second-guessing yourself), check out The Intentional Authority

Clarify your messaging, and be memorable for your ideal clients

It’s not 2021 anymore: gone are the days when “just showing up consistently” and “being a generic service provider for everyone” was enough to get clients. 

Markets are becoming more saturated, and your audience has heard the same buzzwords a thousand times, especially during the boom of new online businesses during the pandemic. 

So, if you want to be THE ONE they think of, even during the year they go analogue:

• Clarify your positioning and messaging, and make them magnetic for your specific ideal clients – Position your services as the obvious bridge between their problems and goals, something tangible and specific (not a vague “I’ll supercharge your business” or “Live your truth”).
  In your marketing, keep focusing on your ideal clients. After all, if you want them to keep noticing it and engaging with it, even now that they’re using their phones and social media more mindfully, it must immediately grab their attention and make them think “OMG, it’s like she wrote this about ME!”

• Keep it consistent… and be a broken record – We need to see the same message multiple times in order to absorb it. So, if you want your ideal clients to remember you (and most importantly, how you can help them), you can’t keep jumping from one topic to the next or tweaking your headlines and website copy every month

• Share what only you can share – Personally, I don’t care about whether or not you’re using AI. But if your marketing content could be entirely written by AI (or a competitor), you won’t stand out during the year we go analogue, let alone be remembered.
  Instead, include your perspective, client stories and social proof, relevant personal stories, and so on. Stand for something. And help your ideal clients look at their situation from a different perspective, instead of telling them what they already know or are getting from ChatGPT

• Show up as an actual authority and business owner (while still being yourself, of course) – Over the past few years, gurus and self-proclaimed personal branding experts have been saying that you must “always give value” and that “as long as you’re authentic, clients will want to work with you”. As if!
  But as a consequence, many solopreneurs and founders have been showing up as more of a free resource, online friend, or influencer. Basically, as someone their audience likes and supports… but isn’t even thinking of paying. And that’s why their marketing doesn’t feel worth the time and energy they’re putting into it: it mostly brings them likes, engagement, and undecided leads rather than enough ideal clients.
  So, don’t ever forget why you’re here and what your business depends on. Instead of focusing on vanity metrics and content that makes you feel popular, lead with your unique message and tie it back to your services

That way, it doesn’t matter if your ideal clients have missed your latest social media post or are enjoying a phone-free walk in the woods when they realise they’re ready to solve their problem or achieve their goal: you will be the one who comes to mind.

Use social media more mindfully

I’m by no means telling you that “social media is dead” or that you shouldn’t be on it. But… 

• Depend less on social media – Don’t put all your marketing eggs in this basket, and don’t spread yourself thin by trying to be active on every platform. That’s not the best use of your time, energy, or money, especially now that social media usage is going down and people are engaging differently!

• Use these platforms strategically, and stay focused – Start seeing social media as one part of your marketing and client acquisition strategy (especially as a way to reach new people and stay top of mind, while still inviting them to take action regularly), not to feel popular with influencer-style content and then complain when you don’t get as much engagement

And for the record, you’re not imagining it: when you post a picture of your cat or talk about pineapple on pizza, you are getting more engagement… but that’s because you’re sharing light-hearted content that everyone and their dog can easily have an opinion on. 

The kind of magnetic content that activates your ideal clients will probably get less engagement. From the outside, it might look like ‘it bombed’… even though it brought you actual leads.

For example, my client Rita’s social media “got me a lot of reactions, comments, followers and irrelevant DMs, but no clients.” And after we changed her messaging and overall strategy together: “My relevant network is growing at quite a pace as well, with 32 new connections in just 7 days since I started using my new brand messaging, all from my ideal audience. I started getting my first organic enquiries on social media within the first month.” 

So, remember: are you here to get cheap dopamine or to connect with your ideal clients?

Get people away from your social media feeds

Most of my clients come to me complaining that “Hardly anyone sees my posts!”

And while there are some tweaks we make to improve their chances of reaching more of the right people, I always tell them the same thing: we can’t control the algorithm, but what we do have control over is our actions and strategy.

So, instead of continuing to do more of the same and magically expecting different results (which sounds an awful lot like the definition of insanity, but I know it’s easy to fall into this trap when “posting on socials” has become a familiar habit), focus on turning your social media followers and eyeballs into “someone you can stay in touch with, without an algorithm getting in the way”. 

For example, grow an email list (without letting it gather dust), a Telegram group, or a low-ticket community.

Reach your ideal clients online but in different and more strategic ways 

Yes, it’s the year we go analogue, and people are more selective with how they engage online, but they’re still consuming content!

So, instead of continuing to rely so heavily on social media or spray-and-pray tactics, prioritise other ways to keep reaching your clients.

For example (and mind you: you can’t expect overnight results with most of these tactics, but they will be worth it in the long run, and unlike social media posts with a short shelf-life, they’ll keep working in the background for you):

• Optimise your website for SEO, and write blog posts to be found on Google and through AI

• Appear on the podcasts your ideal clients listen to in their spare time

• Plan collaborations with complementary service providers 

• Do some PR with online publications

And no matter what you do, remember: the goal isn’t ‘visibility for the sake of it’. You must also direct your ideal clients to channels you own, so you can stay in touch or make the next step a no-brainer.

Consider some offline activities, too 

Use ‘the year we go analogue’ to your advantage by physically showing up in front of your target audience or giving them something they can use offline.

For example:

• Attend networking and relevant events 

• Speak at those events

• Organise your own 

• Write a book 

• Do some PR with offline publications

And once again, always have a strategy to stay in touch with your ideal clients afterwards.

Be more proactive

Personally, I prefer inbound marketing, but that doesn’t mean we can always afford to get lazy with our lead generation and client acquisition, especially if you have specific targets (like wanting to sign x new clients before you go on holiday). 

So, consider reaching out to your ideal clients:

• Cold and warm outreach 

• Building relationships (for example, in the DMs)

I’ll be completely honest: being autistic, that’s one of the things I really struggle with. So, I stopped feeling guilty for not doing coffee chats or starting 20 ‘casual’ chats in my DMs every day.

However, if I think I might be able to help someone, I do occasionally start strategic conversations. Personally, I prefer being more upfront about it rather than pretending we’re having a casual chat. Some love this because they appreciate my transparency and the fact that I save them time by getting straight to the point in a no-pressure way, some others hate it—and that’s okay. 

Find what works for you.

Don’t sleep on client retention

It’s not just about finding new clients.

In fact, did you know you have a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, compared to only 5-20% for a new prospect? 

It makes sense when you think about it, especially as a service provider: past clients already got to experience your genius. And yet we often forget about them, even though I’m sure you can help them again.

So, find the right way to stay in touch, keep them in your world, or offer them something new to re-activate them.

For example, I encouraged several of my clients to reach out to their past clients or create exclusive offers, and that brought in new sales and cash they weren’t expecting. 

And if you’d rather implement all this with the right guidance and a bespoke strategy that plays to your strenghts, check out The Intentional Authority

Keep thriving during the year we go analogue and beyond: implement the right marketing strategy and authority-boosting plan for you

Don’t be fooled: this is bigger than a few people switching to old cameras and vinyl. ‘The year we go analogue’ isn’t a trend. It’s a sign that our online habits have already been changing.

So, if you want to keep working with your ideal clients (without panicking or getting frustrated whenever word of mouth goes quiet or your reach and engagement go down), your marketing must adapt.

Remember, though: you don’t need to try and do everything or spread yourself thin. Craft the right strategy for you and keep taking action without getting distracted or going off-track.

If you’re serious about starting to do that while also avoiding wasting months on scattered action and second-guessing yourself, I’d love to support you. 

During my 90-day 1:1 programme, you will: 

• Clarify your messaging, positioning yourself as the obvious choice for your ideal clients and knowing exactly what to lead with and repeat in your marketing to truly connect with them 

• Implement more efficient and structured marketing, so that you only use your time and energy for high-impact tactics and action that feed into your business goals and that actually help you sign high-level clients (not “posting more on social media and complaining because the algorithm is hiding your content”) 

• Boost your authority and conviction, stepping things up without trying to be someone you’re not, and finally owning your brilliance and expertise instead of downplaying them 

So, if you’re serious about gaining back hours and headspace every week while attracting more of the high-ticket, perfect-fit clients who energise you (during the year we go analogue and beyond)...

“Why Is My Marketing NOT Working?" 7 Reasons & Solutions for Service Providers

You’ve been in business for a while, your clients LOVE what you do, and you are getting referrals.

But then why is your marketing not working? Why aren’t many ideal clients coming to you despite all the time and effort you’ve been putting into it?

It’s usually due to a combination of problems and common mistakes. But guess what?

They’re all fixable!

So, let’s look into it together to find out exactly why your marketing isn’t working (yet) and how to change that.

First things first: are you marketing the right services?

I promise: we are going to look at the main reasons why your marketing isn’t working, but we need to (hopefully) rule something out first because…

The best marketing won’t sell a bad or wrong offer.

Soooooo:

Have you got the right offers and services for your target clients?

If you’ve already sold them (for example, through referrals or cold outreach), that usually means you do. Pheew!

If it’s a new offer, on the other hand, you might want to conduct more market research first.

Are you providing a good service?

I need to be clear: being good at what you do isn’t enough to sell your services. That’s where your marketing comes into play.

Buuuut if your services are disappointing, your ideal clients might be able to tell (for example, when looking at your portfolio as a photographer, graphic designer, or copywriter, or by contacting some of your previous clients and then hearing some horror stories).

Honestly, I’m not trying to trigger your imposter syndrome! So, I’m just going to ask you: are most of your past and current clients beyond satisfied when they work with you? Do they give you good reviews and referrals? That means you’re incredible at what you do!

So, as long as you’ve got these foundations in place (if you haven’t, work on those first), it’s clear that your problem isn’t with your offers and how you deliver them: it’s how you’ve been promoting them.

7 reasons why your marketing isn’t working and how to fix them

1. Your ideal clients aren’t clear on your core brand message because… neither are you!

If I were to bump into you right now (hello!), would you be able to sum up your entire business in a compelling elevator pitch? And if I were to read the first section of your home page and your social media bios, would I find the exact same message?

If the answer is “Errrrrrrrrrrrrr”, it means your brand messaging (or lack thereof) has been sabotaging you from the inside.

You see:

your core brand message is how you deliver your value proposition and articulate the value of your business in a way that connects with your ideal clients. So, if you are not clear on that (or if you keep changing it), you can’t expect them to get it.

For example, if your website copy says “I’m a graphic designer on a mission” but your social media bios are “I offer graphic design services for solopreneurs who use Canva” and your LinkedIn headline says “I’ve completed +100 graphic design projects and social media templates for my clients”... that’s pretty confusing. Plus, none of that tells me why I should care and, most importantly, why I should pick you!

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

Get clear on how to convey exactly what you do / what type of business you run, who for, and how it benefits them, and package it in a way that sets you apart from every other competitor.

You don’t want to be “just another”: you want to be “THE” (= the obvious solution for a specific type of client looking to solve a specific problem and achieve a specific goal).

For example, “I’m the Canva graphic designer for solopreneurs. Get your bespoke, on-brand, and repeatable social media templates so that you can attract and impress your target audience without wasting +4h fiddling with Canva every week.” 

2. Your marketing is mostly about you and your business

“But Giada, it’s my business and brand! Who else should it be about?”

Your ideal clients. 

I mean, I get it: you are passionate about your business, and you are excited about your offers. But if that’s what you keep focusing on, that’s probably why your marketing isn’t working.

Your ideal clients are BOMBARDED with 6,000-10,000 marketing messages every day. So, if you want them to notice and absorb yours, you need to make it about them.

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

• Start seeing your ideal clients as the protagonists of your brand story – “What about me?” Easy: you’re the helpful expert who will take them from their current pain point to their happy ending  

• Make all your marketing content relevant for them – If in doubt: put yourself in their shoes, read (or watch, listen to, etc.) what you just crafted, and ask yourself, “So what? What’s in it for me? Why should I care?” If you can’t answer it, go back to the drawing board

• Don’t make the mistake of talking to your industry peers – This is a similar and super common pitfall (I was guilty of that too, in the past!): creating marketing content that’s more useful to our competitors than our ideal clients. For example, brand photographers sharing “7 tips to become a better brand photographer”, copywriters talking about famous marketers that only other copywriters know (and care) about, and so on. Instead, always start with your ideal clients in mind

3. Your marketing isn’t hooking your ideal clients

As seen before, your audience is exposed to THOUSAND of marketing messages on a daily basis. Everyone is competing for their attention online!

So, if your ideal clients can’t immediately tell that your content is for/about them?

You can’t expect them to notice it and engage with it.

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

Work on your hooks, which are the very first thing your audience sees (or hears) when they interact with your marketing content. 

This really depends on where you’ve been promoting your business and how, but for example, it could be your:

• First line of a LinkedIn post

• Carousel/reel cover on Instagram

• First few seconds of your videos

• Email subject line and first paragraph

• Blog post title

If possible, address your ideal clients directly (for example, “How you can grow your LinkedIn following as a web designer” rather than just “How to grow your LinkedIn following”).

If not, just make sure they can instantly tell: “This is about me!” (for example, “So, you’ve been posting on Instagram every day but not getting traction?”).

4. Your marketing messages aren’t sticking

Are you conveying the value of your services in a way that connects with your ideal clients and activates them? Can they understand what you’re telling them? And do they actually care? 

Because here’s the thing…

you’re so close to your business and services that you might think something is a given. To someone who isn’t familiar with your industry or has never worked with you, though? It might not be that obvious at all!

For example, if a business coach were to tell me “I’ll supercharge your business”, it wouldn’t mean anything to me (and I hear that A LOT online!).

But if they were to say “Slugging your guts out every day and not earning as much as you’d like? Together, we’ll redesign your offer suite in 3 weeks so that you can work less, earn more, and fall back in love with your business”... NOW we’re talking!

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

• Simplify your marketing messages – Get rid of vague words, jargon, and buzzwords. Start prioritising clarity instead

• Talk about your industry, business, and services in a way that’s relevant to your ideal clients – Once again, make it about them (their pain points, needs, current situation, goals, and so on). For example, focus on the benefits of your services, not their features or what you personally care about

5. You’re covering too many topics

There are some people I’ve been following on LinkedIn for years, they have a strong personal brand, and I always recognise them… and yet I would NOT be able to tell you what they actually do in practice! Why?

Because their marketing is all over the place, and they’re always talking about different things.

If that’s you too, I don’t blame you: it’s a common pitfall. You’ve probably been made to feel that you should create new content from scratch every time, always talk about something new, and reinvent the wheel.

On the contrary, that means you might get a lot of engagement but not many clients from your marketing because… they don’t know what to associate you with!

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

From your promotional posts to informational newsletters and so on: every single piece of content you put out there must plant or water the seed that “This is the perfect person to solve my problem and achieve my goal!”

• Get clear on around 3 messaging pillars

• Amplify them through your marketing

• Instead of thinking “What should I share/post about?”, start from “How can I find new ways of sharing the same messages?”

6. Your marketing isn’t feeding into your services

Don’t get me wrong: visibility is also important. You need to reach new people and get more eyeballs on your services, and that’s why content marketing can be so beneficial.

But views, likes, comments, and online traffic alone DON’T pay the bills!

If this content isn’t actually positioning your services as the obvious next step, how can you expect to get clients from it?

(You can’t)

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

As well as sharing valuable content:

• Do talk about your offers and services REGULARLY 

• Include compelling calls to action telling your ideal clients what to do next

I know a lot of fellow women entrepreneurs in particular struggle with this: we’ve been conditioned into thinking we must always “give, give, give” and never “ask”. So, we’re often afraid we’ll come across as salesy.

But if we want our ideal clients to know about our services, remember them, and actually invest in them, we DO need to talk about them often! 

And as long as your message is relevant for them, it won’t feel icky. In fact, try this mindset shift: “My ideal clients are struggling with a pesky pain point, and I have the perfect solution for it. Why would I not want to help them take action?!”

Also, for the best results, don’t expect your ideal clients to jump on a call with you after reading your content (that’s a BIG ask) or DM you without having any deets.

Instead, direct them to a sales page that answers their questions, does the selling for you, and helps you get more enquiries from your ideal clients (and less from wrong-fit prospects).

7. Your marketing isn’t consistent

This can mean two things: you’re not marketing your business often enough, or you are but your messaging is all over the place (or both at the same time).

Your audience needs to hear your same message multiple times to absorb it and feel compelled enough to take action.

So, if you only show up when you feel like it or if your message changes every time, you’re making things harder for them.

Now, I’m not saying you must post on every single social media platform every day, email your list every other day, blog weekly, record new podcast episodes every month and—Oof, that sounds stressful!

But you do need to be consistent with your marketing and messaging.

How to fix this reason why your marketing isn’t working

• Get in the habit of marketing your business consistently, even when you’re fully booked with client work. In fact, why not put it in your calendar until it becomes a habit?

• Focus on amplifying your core messages, NOT churning content out just for the sake of posting

Let’s make your messaging magnetic so that your marketing starts working

As you now know, you could have the best services (and I’m sure you already do), but if you’re not articulating it in a way that connects with your ideal clients, THEY. WON’T. GET IT.

So, start by fixing your core brand messages first and then amplify them with your marketing.

Would you rather do that with the help of an expert?

I’m Giada, the marketing message mentor and strategist for service-based women entrepreneurs. I can help you attract your ideal clients in 2 main ways.

If you’re ready to stop wasting time, energy, or money on marketing that isn’t actually helping you atttract enough perfect-fit, ready-to-start clients…

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

Why It’s Risky to Rely on Referrals in Business (& What to Do)

You’ve been running your service-based business for a while and have built a network of enthusiastic clients (go, you!). So, you know they’re always going to send their friends and peers your way. It’s a foolproof system, isn’t it?

Well, not really. 

Relying on referrals in business is a DANGEROUS “strategy”. And I used the inverted commas because… it’s not a strategy at all. It’s more of a crossing-your-fingers-and-hoping-for-the-best kind of decision.

Here’s why and, most importantly, what you should do instead to make your business more sustainable, grow it, and be in control.

What exactly do I mean by referrals in business?

By referrals in business, I simply mean word of mouth. A client you worked with recommends you to one of their friends or peers who’s looking for your types of services.

A LOT of service providers—from coaches to photographers and more—tend to rely on referrals in business.

So, you can be excused for thinking it’s a good idea. But here’s why it can backfire and sabotage your income, systems, and growth.

8 reasons why you should STOP relying on referrals in business

1. Referrals are unpredictable and outside your control 

Relying on referrals in business would be like trusting the sky to keep you dry during your daily walk instead of taking the matter in your own hands, like wearing a waterproof coat. Sure, it could be sunny all day… or it could rain like hell. 

YOU have ZERO control over that. And that’s the same with client referrals. 

You could end up being fully booked for months thanks to word of mouth. You never know when it’s going to die down, though. And if you RELY on referrals, you also have no idea where your next client is coming from and… if they’re coming at all!

2. Referred prospects are not necessarily your ideal clients 

Just because they were sent to you by a client who was the right fit, it doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for the actual referral.

Maybe this past client referred them to you because they’re friends and they know this prospect is a lovely person. But being a lovely person doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be a good client, too. Or a good client for your specific services, business, and preferences.

After all, you know next to nothing about them!

Are they experiencing the pain point you solve with your services? Do they share your values? Are they willing to trust your expertise? Have they got the right budget to work with you?

3. You’re starting from scratch 

Just like you know next to nothing about them, these prospects know next-to-nothing about you.

All these referred prospects know is that their friend or peer recommended you, and they probably have a vague idea of the services you offer. Usually, that’s about it.

They haven’t been consuming your content for a while and aren’t familiar with your brand and offer suite. This becomes an even BIGGER problem if you can’t send them to the clearest and strongest website copy!

So, in most cases, you have to start from scratch, over-explain things that your ideal clients would already be aware of, and win them over.

(= time and effort)

4. Client referrals often expect to bypass your process 

Hopefully, you don’t jump on free calls with EVERYONE who gets in touch, do you? When you are the business, it’s important to protect your time and energy.

Maybe you usually ask them some strategic questions via email or DM? Or you require all your prospects to complete a contact/application form so that you can pre-qualify them properly? 

Unfortunately, when they find out about you through someone else, many prospects seem to think they can just ignore your process.

“Hi, I think I might need a coach, and Julia mentioned you. Can we jump on Zoom to see if we’re the right fit?”

For example, a while ago, a lovely web designer tried to send a potential website copywriting client my way. For context: for that type of project, I always start with an application and, if I genuinely think we could be a good fit, a paid consultation. But this was part of the message I received:

While I appreciated that this web designer thought of me, this was a big NO. 

I have all kinds of free content answering those very questions. If someone isn’t happy to go through it and, instead, they expect me to use my limited time to educate them for free and maybe even share free value on a 1:1 basis and create a free proposal… we would NOT be the right fit. 

And personally, I’d rather miss out on that potential sale than bend over backwards to follow someone else’s lead (especially when my ideal clients are actually happy to pay for my time and expertise).

What about you? Do you really want to keep wasting hours on so many directionless free calls with random referrals?

If the answer is a loud “NO” or even an undecided “Mmh, now that you put it this way, it doesn’t sound very productive,” keep reading—especially the following point.

5. You have to take whatever comes your way  

If you rely on referrals in business, you can’t really afford to be picky.

After all, you don’t know when and where the next client will come from!

So, I wouldn’t be surprised if you often ignore red flags or your gut feeling just because you need that sale, regret it later, tell yourself “Never again!” and then… do the same with another client referral.

6. Referrals in business give you a false sense of security

You could easily find yourself being fully booked for months and thinking “This is fantastic! I don’t have to worry about finding new clients.”

But then those projects end, a couple of clients drop you, and still… no referrals have magically come through. But because you were expecting them, you didn’t market your business consistently over the previous months either.

So, what exactly are you going to do next?

Try and remove the cobwebs from the email list you neglected for a full quarter? Reappear on social media out of the blue with a post along the lines of “Remember me? I’m open to work, now!”? 

Err, good luck with that.

If you only show up for your audience when you need sales, it’s too late by then.

So, realistically, your solution would probably be spending hours on cold outreach to find new clients (and miss out on sales in the meantime).

7. Relying on referrals in business makes it hard to grow it

As seen before: if you have the capacity to take on new clients but you just keep waiting or leave it until it’s too late? You’ll miss out on sales and money.

Sure, client referrals can certainly keep you going for a while. But what if you want to do better than just ‘keep going’? What if you want to grow and thrive, not just get by or run a stagnant business?

Then, you must take full control of your lead generation (more on that soon!).

8. Client referrals are usually looking for “a”, not “THE” 

In most cases, a referred prospect was simply looking for A graphic designer, A business coach, A consultant, and so on.

In fact, I bet they literally asked your past client “Do you happen to know A graphic designer / A business coach / A consultant…?” And I doubt they only spoke about it with them. They probably asked around and got recommendations from a few more people.

So, when you start talking to this referred prospect, you’re usually competing against a bunch of business owners.

And because these prospects know next-to-nothing about you, they don’t usually see you as THE go-to solution. They’re not like those ideal clients who’ve been following you for a while and are beyond excited to work with YOU and you only!

So, you could waste your precious time on calls and proposals that lead to… tumbleweed.

So, are referrals in business bad?

No, not necessarily. Referrals in business can be good news. 

First of all, if you get many referrals, it means you’re doing a fabulous job and leaving your clients more satisfied than my morning oat latte. And of course, some types of referrals in business can turn into actual work.

So, I’m not denying the importance of referrals in business… to a certain extent. Overall, I’d say client referrals are bad in business when:

• You rely on them

• You haven’t got a strong strategy to pre-qualify them and boost your chances of turning them into clients (without wasting a tonne of time on random calls)

What to do instead of relying on referrals in business

Are you ready to leave all this effort and uncertainty behind and be in control of who you work with? 

Then start seeing client referrals as a nice to have—not a given or something you expect and rely on—and focus on the following.

Prioritise your marketing, even when you’re fully booked

This is one of the most common mistakes among service providers: only marketing your business when you need clients. But by then, as we’ve seen before, it’s too late.

Organic marketing is a long-term strategy, and it must be consistent for it to work.

This isn’t to say that you MUST show up daily if that wouldn’t be sustainable for you. But it is important to build your online presence and turn marketing into a proper habit (yes, even when you’re so busy that you couldn’t possibly take on any new clients).

Are you serious about taking control of your lead generation?

Then, you must keep creating content for your specific target audience, engaging with them, and nurturing your relationship. In other words, position yourself as the only logical next step and stay top of mind.

(More on that soon! For now, just get in the mindset of marketing your business regularly) 

Fine tune your brand messaging: become “THE”, not “a” 

Tired of wasting time on lots of discovery calls with people who’re looking around for A graphic designer, A business coach, A consultant, and so on? Then stop showing up as “just another option.” 

Position yourself as THE go-to solution in the eyes of a specific ideal client. That way, even with someone who’s only just found out about you (or that was sent your way by a friend or past client), you’ll set the right expectations FROM. THE. BEGINNING. How?

A strong brand message is key. It should be your solid foundation, and you can then amplify it through your content marketing.

Without that foundation, though? You’d be building your marketing on shaky pillars of sand.

(And that’s why, with my 1:1 programme, The One They Want, we start with the brand messaging side of things)

Take control of your lead generation

Stop expecting new prospects to come to you through unpredictable referrals in business. Start attracting them, instead.

There are so many options, but here’s a basic funnel idea:

• Make your website copy SEO-friendly, and blog on your website to attract your ideal audience through Google

• Show up on different platforms or channels, creating content and engaging with your ideal audience to attract them organically

• Have a lead magnet that solves a small problem for them

• Direct your social media followers and online audience to your lead magnet and newsletter, too

• Target them with an automated email sequence to turn some of them into clients

• Keep emailing the rest regularly, building trust and staying top of mind until they’re ready to invest in your services

Of course, it’s all about finding the right lead generation and marketing option for you and your audience. That’s one of the things we can cover together during The One They Want.

Keep sharing magnetic content that attracts your ideal clients and puts off the wrong-fit prospects

Your marketing shouldn’t be all about yourself (sorry!) or just… shouting about your offers.

It should be built around your target audience. In fact, think of your content as a magnet!

It will:

• Attract your ideal clients

• Repel the wrong-fit prospects, saving even more of your time and energy (bye bye, endless discovery calls that lead to nothing)

• Bring you enquiries from prospects who are pretty much sold by the time they get in touch with you

For example:

• What are their pain points?

• How are they affecting them, specifically?

• What have they already tried to do to solve them?

• Why did it not work?

• Why are you the best possible person to help them?

• Who is and isn’t a good fit for your services?

• What’s stopping them from investing in you right now?

• How would their life/business change if they were to solve that problem with your help

and so on.

You probably guessed it by now, but… only ‘giving value’ and sharing how-to content and tips? That won’t cut the mustard either. If you want to attract your ideal clients instead of relying on unpredictable referrals in business, you must get strategic.

(During The One They Want, we cover exactly what type of content you should focus on to turn this into your new reality)

Make your website copy clear and strategic

By now, you know that… jumping on a call with every Tom and Vik who were sent to you by Harry? That’d be so time-consuming and energy-intensive. 

Instead, direct new prospects and client referrals to your website, and let the latter do the heavy-lifting for you. That way, THEY will be able to tell if your services are what they’re actually looking for and if they can afford your prices. 

If that’s a yes, that’s great news.

If it’s a no, guess what? That’s great news, too! It’s much, much better to find this out straightaway than after spending hours talking to a referred prospect.

Plus, when you rely on strategic website copy, it’ll also help you:

• Attract more of your ideal audience through Google

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

The most important things to keep in mind to run your service-based business more sustainably and thrive

Overall, if you want to get more clients, save time and make your life easier, you must focus on:

• Attracting your target audience

• Helping wrong-fit prospects disqualify themselves so that you don’t keep wasting a tonne of time with them

• Getting your ideal clients to see you as THE go-to solution 

The second and third point, in particular, must apply regardless of whether someone found you organically or through a referral.

And remember:

referrals in business should only be a nice-to-have, NOT something you rely on.

How I can help you attract your ideal clients without relying on referrals in business

I’m Giada, the marketing message mentor and strategist for women entrepreneurs. Specifically? Those who provide the best services but, to get clients, are still relying on unpredictable word of mouth and a lot more effort than they’d like—and who are ready to change that.

If that’s you…

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

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).

If you’d rather do all this with the right personalised guidance, you might be a good fit to become The Intentional Authority. During this 90-day 1:1 programme, we’ll implement the right systemised marketing approach to sign new perfect-fit clients more easily while getting back control, headspace, and hours every week. Check if it’s for you

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 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? Book a 1:1 session to start blogging with clarity, confidence, and a proper strategy

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? I always tell my clients that, foundations aside, the best marketing strategy is… they one you will actually commit to. So:

• 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

Or if you’ve had enough of throwing marketing spaghetti at the wall and you’d rather do all this with the right guidance, you might be a good fit to become The Intentional Authority over the next 90 days

Recalibrate your marketing in 90 days with the right 1:1 guidance

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 don’t take action. It becomes yet another task buried underneath their to-do list, or they get side-tracked… again.

Instead, are you serious about marketing your business online successfully (asap, not “one day”) in a way that feels manageable, so you don’t get overwhelmed or revert to your old ways after a few weeks?

Together, we can implement a systemised marketing approach that actually helps you sign new perfect-fit clients more easily while giving you back control, headspace, and hours every week

More #crafty blog posts on this topic: