All Your Digital Marketing Should Include These 3 Things

At first it’s gonna sound like a Backstreet Boys song, but all of your marketing should include:

Who you are - your business and you personally

Why you’re here - why you offer your service or product

What it is - the benefit your offerings bring

Without knowing who you are, people won’t be able to trust you because trust is built on intimacy. They won’t understand where to go to find you or how credible you are.

Without knowing your why, people won’t be able to connect with what you do. It’s that simple. It’s why Simon Sinek wrote Start With Why, without knowing your why, you can’t make the magic happen that you see inspiring entrepreneurs creating.

Without knowing the benefit of your products or services, people don’t have anything to say yes to, or even a way to say yes. These are such important, foundational principles that I’m going to write more in depth posts about them. Look out for upcoming posts on how to take action on each of these. For now, simply knowing what happens without these principles can help you avoid years of repeating the same mistakes. Take these to heart.

1. Who you are

I knew a musician who wanted to be taken seriously and despite my protests thought it was a good idea to create a mysterious brand where they posted very little about themselves on their website, included no pictures, and somehow wanted people to find them, like their vibe and secretly pass it to their friends. That only works if you already know 100,000 people and you’re handing out free drugs at your secret shows.

What I realized is that mostly people think ego is boasting. But I’ve learned that an equally harmful ego is hiding. I learned from Marie Forleo that I’m not too good to pick up a penny on the street. Free money is free money and I welcome in all abundance. Same goes with marketing. Even if it’s only to a small audience to start, make sure to have your photos, videos, logo, tagline, quotes, etc clearly on your material. If you’re doing a guest video, introduce yourself and what you do.

Don’t be shy, just go for it. You’ll get more powerful and subtle over time. The key is practice. Give people the 6-20 repetitions they need to remember you!

2. Why you’re here

My why is: to inspire others to be fearless.

It’s what I’ve struggled the most with in my life because I value it so highly. I often cry when I witness real bravery and the vulnerability underneath it. Out of all the experiences in life, bravery is the most moving to me. So it would make sense that I’ve become obsessed with breaking through the constraints in my life, whether internal fears or external pressures.

I’ve become enamored with profound and inspiring people, folks who are willing break through their constraints to question the ways we think, move, work, love, and live. My why has been the same my whole life. You can trace it back to the bravery I needed to get through being ripped away from my childhood country at 8 years old and plopped into an unfamiliar world. You can find it in the reverent wonder I felt towards inventors as I drew rockets and dreamed of space.

I believe the same is true of you.

Your why has been the same your whole life, underlying the ups and downs and the different phases of your life. If you can show your why in your marketing, you’ll capture the attention of your people. It’s your enthusiasm and creativity that people latch onto and say, “I want to be a part of that thing.” It doesn’t matter whether you sell lime zesters or life coaching, your why is why people are drawn to it.

3. What it is

It's easier to just say what we do, put our head in the sand and hope people will show up.

"I'm a yoga teacher! Come practice with me."

"I make handmade cutting boards. Buy them!"

I see this all the time and am guilty of having done this many times. Aren't we all?

But that kind of marketing, you know shouting stuff at people's faces, is not effective. It's like trying to hammer in a nail with a kitchen table. Way too much force and effort to be effective. Instead dive in to understanding the benefits your people get from your services or products, and then the important part → speak to them!

If you're a yoga teacher, tell people why your specific style of Ashtanga flow is extremely good for building upper body strength, staying emotionally grounded in difficult situations, developing regular discipline, and getting in shape. Each of those things are actual things people want. I know this because that's the kind of yoga I've taught for years on the side.

In Conclusion

I hope these tips are helpful background as you go about marketing your amazing business! As always, feel free to drop me or my team a line or ask a marketing question in the comments below.