Brandmerry Blog Archives
3 Ways to Become a Better Marketer for Your Small Business
Social media just isn't sustainable and so many entrepreneurs find themselves burnt out and no further along trying to keep up with the hustle of social media. That's why today's episode is so important and if you're an entrepreneur, which I guess you are, you are going to want to tune in.
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
Marketing is a non-negotiable for business owners. That is if you plan to make money!
In all seriousness we've got two big players: Branding and Marketing. While Branding, is typically done at the beginning of your business set up and revisited from time to time, the work behind the scenes is not ongoing.
Marketing is very different. Marketing requires consistency (whatever that looks like for you), creating valuable content and reaching your ideal customer to ultimately attract them to your paid offers and services.
It's like freaking magic.
And since, it's one of the most important parts of running your online business, I thought I'd share three of my must-have tips so you can become a better marketer!
In today's episode, of The Brandmerry Podcast, you'll learn:
Why consistency is so dang important and not just a buzz word!
How and why you should incorporate the power of storytelling into your marketing strategy to improve client attraction and connection.
Why after your customer buys is a continuation of your marketing work and how to take better care of your clients.
Tune in now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. A great way to master your marketing and take the pressure off of social media is to join Brandmerry Academy. Inside, we're teaching a holistic and sustainable approach to marketing your business! Learn more at brandmerry.com/academy and get an entire year of marketing courses and support!
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
Why Marketers Should Stop Relying on Social Media
Social media just isn't sustainable and so many entrepreneurs find themselves burnt out and no further along trying to keep up with the hustle of social media. That's why today's episode is so important and if you're an entrepreneur, which I guess you are, you are going to want to tune in.
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
Time and time again I see entrepreneurs believe that in order to market their business they MUST use social media.
Now don't get me wrong, I love spending my time on Instagram and with the addition of Instagram Reels I'm loving it.
But, the reality is most entrepreneurs don't have countless hours to spend on social media, not to mention enough brain power to create new content every single day.
Social media just isn't sustainable and so many entrepreneurs find themselves burnt out and no further along trying to keep up with the hustle of social media.
That's why today's episode is so important and if you're an entrepreneur, which I guess you are, you are going to want to tune in.
In today's episode you'll learn:
Why relying on social media at the top of your funnel, and ultimately how you create brand awareness, is not the best strategy.
The other platforms I recommend to not only evergreen your content (more in the episode) but to also bring in consistent leads to your business.
How to streamline your content, using other platforms, and still show up on social media for FUN! Yep, Instagram can be fun, I promise.
Tune in now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. A great way to learn all these amazing marketing platforms and take the pressure off of social media is to join Brandmerry Academy. Inside, we're teaching a holistic and sustainable approach to marketing your business! Learn more at brandmerry.com/academy and get an entire year of marketing courses and support!
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
Facebook Group Marketing: Why I Don’t Recommend it and What to do Instead
Feeling overwhelmed with the constant need to post in Facebook Groups to “hopefully” build your email list and increase revenue? You’re not alone. Read the blog to learn why I don’t recommend this marketing strategy and what to do instead.
Facebook Group marketing used to work, and for some people with endless amounts of time and serious patience, it could possibly work.
But, here’s the thing business and marketing shouldn’t be hard and it definitely shouldn’t be that time-consuming.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with the need to come up with fresh content daily and schedule 10-15 minutes to engage in Facebook Groups.
Struggle to find Facebook Groups where your ideal client is genuinely engaging and not just there to pitch their services as well.
Feel a bit defeated that the strategy that seems to work for so many ISN’T working for you.
Keep reading because I’m about to save you so much time and energy.
FACEBOOK GROUP MARKETING
Back in 2016, I started my first Facebook Group. I wanted it to be a place for my ideal customers to come together, share my content and expertise, build trust, and of course sign clients.
I freaking loved it, but in 2020 I closed my group due to changes in marketing and the new and more advanced platforms available to me.
Plus, even though I started my Facebook Group in 2016, as a way to build the community I didn’t neglect my email list. They grew together in size and as I started to pay more and more attention to conversions I saw that my email list converted better than the group AND didn’t take as much of my precious time.
Facebook Groups (i.e. having your own as a way to build and form a community) still works, but don’t neglect to build your email list as well.
But, having your own Facebook Group is not what this is about - it’s about plopping yourself in other Facebook Groups, owned typically by entrepreneurs or organizations, and pushing your content out.
CLIENT ATTRACTION MARKETING
The reason this marketing strategy doesn’t work comes down to two reasons.
Reason #1: Facebook Groups have changed. While you use to be able to engage, post your own content with links to your website, share your videos and your freebies, it’s typically not allowed anymore.
You find yourself creating content to build trust in a community that really isn’t there for you, posting your freebies and offers on a Share thread every week in the hopes someone might message you, click your profile, and land on your website.
Reason #2: Facebook Group marketing is a push strategy, rather than a pull strategy.
Push means blasting your information, your story, and your expertise onto people. People who may or may not be your ideal customer. It’s like casting a line into the ocean and hoping you catch the right fish that will pay you for your services - the odds aren’t great.
Pull strategy (or client attraction marketing) is about pulling in the people searching for your services, products, and expertise. Not only do you experience a higher conversion rate, but it’s easier on you!
4 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY
So what do you do, if you’re not posting multiple times a week in a Facebook Group and carving out 10-15 minutes daily to engage, how do you grow your email list?
Here are 4 things to consider when choosing your marketing strategy:
1. FOCUS ON GETTING IN FRONT OF YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
As with all marketing you want to make sure you’re putting your efforts (i.e. content) in front of your ideal customer. This is why ideal client work is so important and one of the key pillars I teach inside of Roadmap to Freedom.
Choosing your platforms for marketing is about where your audience is hanging out. And I don’t mean just where they are looking for your services, more on that later. I mean where do they spend their time? With the right strategies, you can reach them!This is why I love Pinterest. Pinterest has 416 million active monthly users on its platform and while most people are using it for fun, it’s one of my favorite ways to land content in front of my ideal customer.
Pinterest counts for 90% of my website traffic and last month that was $18k individuals.
2. GO WHERE THEY ARE SEEKING YOUR SUPPORT
Another thing to consider is where people are looking for tips and tools as it relates to your industry. This is why it’s so important to put your content on a search engine optimized platform (think Google/ Blogging, Pinterest, and even YouTube).
When people are searching for your information, it means they are further along in the buying process. They understand they have a problem and are in the process of exploring options to fix the problem.
This is why every entrepreneur needs to be showing up on a search engine optimized platform!
3. DON’T NEGLECT THOSE READY TO BUY
Speaking of the buying process, do you have marketing measures in place to get in front of people seeking our services specifically?
If not you are missing out! This is where sitewide SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes into play and is necessary for every single business, no matter what you sell.
When you correctly optimize SEO you’re able to rank on page one for your industry and your products, therefore bringing in people who are ready to purchase.
Google ranking is the reason my 1:1 services have been booked for an entire year and why I teach my clients how to do it as well inside of Roadmap to Freedom.
4. BUILD STRONGER BRAND AWARENESS
Aside from the amazing tips above, most of which revolve around search engine platforms, it’s important to take into account brand awareness and longevity.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have content that expires too quickly. You’re lucky if your content shows up in the feed after 24 hours, and if we’re talking Facebook Groups it’s more like 15 minutes.
When you’re taking the time and energy to create content, don’t you want it to last?
When you focus on the platforms I’m sharing below, your content can last years!
Seriously, I have blogs that are still getting consistent traffic from Pinterest and Google since 2017.
In order to create a sustainable business, you need to think about the longevity of content.
MY TOP 4 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST AND INCREASE REVENUE
Maybe you’ve already caught on to my absolute favorite marketing platforms, but let’s recap.
Google (SEO + Blogging): Your site needs to be set up and optimized for the Google search engine as a way to attract ideal customers who are further along in the buying process. The beautiful thing is with site-wide SEO you don’t need to keep updating it!
Pinterest (Blogging): This combination is my favorite, seriously I’m in love. Writing a weekly high-value blog post and sharing it on Pinterest is a great marketing strategy. Not to mention it takes less time and energy than posting daily in groups or on social media.
Youtube: As I mentioned before Youtube is a search engine platform featuring videos. If you’re a video person, using Youtube to get in front of your ideal customer can be huge for business. Don’t forget as with all these strategies optimizing for search is essential, you have to know what titles, keywords, descriptions, and more work to see a return.
Instagram Video: I couldn’t do a blog on marketing and not speak about the awesome changes to Instagram within the last year. Now, while I don’t recommend Instagram being your main platform, it’s an awesome way to build brand awareness, specifically with video. Video content (think IGTV, Stories, and Reels) has a longer lifespan with the algorithm, and with Instagram’s desire to increase watch time, more likely to end up on the Explore page or be discovered via hashtags.
CONCLUSION
If you’re not already using one of these platforms it’s time.
If you’re currently feeling overwhelmed with content creation, growing your list and marketing in general...it’s time.
And the good news is you don’t have to do it alone. You can learn all of these strategies, the tech and how-to’s inside of my signature program Roadmap to Freedom.
Learn more at brandmerry.com/freedom!
PS: Roadmap to Freedom doors are opening soon! This live group program will help you create an online business that allows you to create a life of abundant experiences and impact.
This high-touch program helps you simplify the process so you can make more money on your terms. And, the 2023 cohort is going to be better than ever with updated content, lifetime access, new bonus content, and more! Join the waitlist and be the first to join in January 2023.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
3 Ways to Get Paying Clients in 2022 (without posting on Instagram or Facebook)
Facebook Groups are so 2017. I’m telling you there is a better way to get paying clients into your service-based business and I’m sharing them on the blog today.
3 Ways to Get Paying Clients in 2022
(without posting on Instagram or Facebook)
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
Since the start of my business, in 2016, I've been offering one on one services (aka private coaching). In fact, it was the very first thing that I did to make money.
I started my business with the idea that I wanted to leave my nine to five to be home with my son, but I didn't come into being an online entrepreneur with any knowledge of being an online entrepreneur.
I didn’t know all about courses and group programs at the time, but I could wrap my head around 1:1 services.
I also learned pretty quickly that the fastest way for me to grow, because I was starting from scratch with no email list and no following, was to start taking high-level one on one clients.
I used this method to not only gain experience and testimonials but to ultimately build my framework which I now teach inside all of my programs.
FILLING MY 1:1 IN 2017
You can probably relate to some of these old school ways of marketing your services. I did them all and while they might have worked in 2017, they don’t work the same way today.
Yet, so many coaches, mentors and course creators are still teaching them. Now, don’t get me wrong if you’re open to posting 15-30 minutes every day they might still work for you, but I’d reached a place in my life and business where I knew there had to be a better way than me living on social media.
In 2017, I would spend a few hours (typically three) at the beginning of the week planning out and writing my content. Then every day I would spend 15-30 minutes posting in Facebook Groups and engaging.
Some of these groups allowed me to post links and some didn’t, but the end goal was the same - try and find my ideal customer and provide enough value that they are intrigued enough to reach out.
And don’t get me started on friending people from groups and messaging them.
If you’re struggling with these strategies in 2021, or maybe just getting started and don’t want to spend your time in Facebook Groups or social media daily, I promise there is another way.
THE CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS
The consumer buying process is made up of six stages:
Problem Recognition
Information Search
Evaluation of Alternatives
Purchase Decision
Purchase
Post-Purchase Evaluation
The majority of strategies being taught online, in courses and programs focus on selling at the Program Recognition stage. While you absolutely can make a sale at this stage, it’s a lot of freaking work.
What entrepreneurs should be focused on is signing clients who are at the Information Search or Evaluation of Alternatives stage. I share more about this in this video here.
The strategies I’m sharing below focus on attracting people who are ready to invest and searching for the solution to the problem your products and services solve, typically on Google.
THREE STRATEGIES TO GET PAYING 1:1 CLIENTS
1. SITE-WIDE SEO AND GOOGLE RANKING
Now, I’m separating Blogging (SEO) from Site-Wide SEO because they attract people at different stages of the buying process.
Site-Wide SEO is for people searching for your products and services and possibly even your title. It’s the SEO you want to create for your website as a whole and your homepage.
This requires some research to find what people are looking for as it relates to your business and location if you are local.
Here’s another blog post on three ways to improve SEO on your website.
This simple change has brought in the most “ready-to-pay” clients to my business over the past two years and requires little to no energy on my part.
Remember, SEO for your site doesn’t need to be updated often, it’s an awesome set-it strategy and the results of your ideal customers, looking for your specific offer, ready to buy is amazing for business. SEO is so powerful it’s one of the strategies I teach inside my membership Brandmerry Academy.
2. BLOGGING AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Another strategy I love is serious blogging. Now, why do I say serious?
Because I’ve been blogging since 2016 when I started my business, but it wasn’t until I took the time to do my research on topics, titles and keywords that my blogs started working for me and my business.
Blogging is an awesome tool to bring in clients looking for tips, tricks and solutions to their problem and while they might now know they need your service right now, they are eager to learn more.
By creating high-quality blogs you’re able to showcase your expertise and build trust with your ideal customer.
Optimizing your blogs requires three things:
Optimizing for SEO (so you begin to show up in Google searches)
Optimizing it for Pinterest (more on that in a minute)
Optimizing it for email subscribers
Optimizing for SEO requires you to do research BEFORE you write your blog. Choosing a title and keywords that people are searching for is how you’ll rank higher on Google and drive more traffic. This research stage is crucial and many entrepreneurs go about it the wrong way. It’s just another training available inside Brandmerry Academy and clients love it!
Optimizing for email subscribers means that every single blog post has a way for someone to join your email list. This is typically a freebie or lead magnet and that they get in exchange for their name and email.
This is crucial because if someone is finding your content and they aren’t ready to buy, they at least get to hear more from you and you have an opportunity to build trust for when they are ready.
3. PINTEREST TO PAYING CLIENT
My favorite strategy by far and results in the most traffic to my website every single month. About 90% of my monthly traffic (average 20k visitors) comes from Pinterest.
I seriously think it’s the secret weapon for online entrepreneurs and one I teach inside of my program Brandmerry Academy because it is so powerful!
Pinterest pulls it all together, utilizing the power of SEO and giving your blogs some where to go and be seen.
If you’re blogging you need to be using Pinterest because this platform will allow you to extend the life of your content (I have blogs driving traffic to my site from 2016) and help with your Google ranking because of the consistent traffic.
I’m not going to lie, Pinterest can be tricky and more entrepreneurs don’t know what they are doing, but when you get the hang of it, it’s magic.
You’ll learn all you need inside of Brandmerry Academy, but if you’re wanting to get started on your own here are some tips:
Blog at least once a week
Make sure each blog post has at least one Pinterest Image
Optimize the image, title and description for Pinterest (this might be different than Google)
Create 5 additional pins and link them to your blog post through Pinterest. Schedule those posts using a tool like Tailwind.
CONCLUSION
I’m booked every month and in advance for my 1:1 services because I’ve fully embraced these three strategies above.
I love them because not only do they save me a ton of time, but they also result in more growth of my email list (via organic traffic) and sales for my other courses and programs.
If you already have a brand and a foundation for your business, but ready to master your marketing, I invite you to check out Brandmerry Academy. Doors are opening soon.
If you’re just starting out, I see you! You want to focus your energy on setting a strong brand foundation all your marketing efforts work for you! You can learn more about building a better brand with my free pdf download 👇
Watch the entire video training of this blog + some additional tips below.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
What to do When You Feel Stuck and Don't Know What to Email Your List
What to do When You Feel Stuck and Don't Know What to Email Your List {Video Inside}
Before we dive in, I want to invite you to my upcoming masterclass: 5 Steps to Create an Authentic Brand. This is going to be way different than any webinar you've been to before because, let's be honest, I hate webinars. So I'm changing the game and bringing you this masterclass that is packed full of valuable information and giving you 5 actionable steps to create your own authentic brand. Join me here: Brandmerry.com/authenticbrand
Okay, now back to what to do when you feel stuck and don't know what to email your list or post on social media. How many times have you gone to email your list and sat in front of that blank email, unsure of what to share with your community? How many times have you done it for a Facebook post? An Instagram caption? Am I starting to see a theme?
In November of 2017, it felt like I had lost every idea in my mind. I was really struggling to come up with content. I was struggling to email my list and post in Authentic Brand Builders. So I came up with a process to get unstuck, and that's what I'm sharing with you today. Life happens, I get it. So even if you're not feeling this way now, this information may be good to keep in the back of your mind, so when something does come up, you can still show up for your community and overcome the slump. If you've ever felt this way before, comment below and share your story! I love to read your comments.
Why are you feeling stuck
We really want to pinpoint why you're feeling this way. It's not because you ran out of ideas. We always have ideas. Something else is blocking you and keeping you stuck. For myself, I was feeling a severe lack of confidence in November. Had I gone and posted to or emailed my community, it probably wouldn't even resonate with my audience because I wasn't inspired, and I wasn't confident. Ask yourself why? What is blocking you and why?
Make sure you know your audience
Check in with yourself and make sure you know your audience well. If you know your audience, it's much easier to come up with ideas and often times when we feel stuck it's because we don't know who we are talking to. We feel like we're talking to everyone. When we are trying to talk to too many people, we talk to no one. When you go to write that email or that social media post, it's really, really important you know who you're talking to.
Follow these 3 steps to get unstuck
1. Write an email about that very moment (your why to being stuck from number 1).
Write about your current situation and what you're going through right now (or at that moment of feeling stuck). Make sure it gives value to your audience. This will help you build trust with your audience, it will help you relate with your audience and it will give you something to talk about.
2. Have a brain dump
Be open to receiving the ideas and write everything that you can possibly think of down. If you haven't corrected the barrier of ideas flowing out, you won't be able to have the ideas flow in. You have to be open to receiving the ideas otherwise they won't come. But as soon as they do come, they won't stop. Sit down with a notebook and write down all of the ideas.
3. Pull from the archives
The archives are your story. Anything that has happened in the past. We can pull from the archives and share those stories in a way that give value to your community. You can give tips to your audience who may be going through the same thing. This is so, so powerful. This is why I believe storytelling is the basis for every successful entrepreneur. Storytelling is about you being comfortable sharing your truth in a way that resonates with your audience and gives value.
BONUS TIP: If fear is blocking you...
Think about the person you want to attract to your brand. The person you want to respond to your message. Write to them. Write to that person. Break through the noise, speak your truth, get over the fear and just do it.
You can watch the video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ facebook.com/brandmerrycoaching
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>