Are you a victim of Marketing Madness? Marketing madness is a disease that causes coaches to run around madly, chasing the next big marketing idea or marketing tool, and never really stand still long enough to appreciate the clients they already have in their business. I’ve been there. There is no shame in admitting it.
How to Cure Marketing Madness and Create Marketing Magic
When you suffer from marketing madness, it is intense. You see a great new marketing tool that promises more clients, more money, less time and you buy into it because you really do need those things. So you invest your time and money into learning how to use the tool until you realize that you need another tool to make that tool work more effectively and you invest in that and learn how to use that tool until you realize…. you get the picture. You may even follow a few different marketers to learn their secrets.
I’ve done this so many times over the years, that I should have been arrested several times for inappropriate use of time and money in my business.
Marketing Madness is a SYMPTOM of Something Much More Serious
When you find yourself chasing some new tool that promises to give you a solution of more money, more clients, less time, try to understand you are not really CHASING anything. The truth is you are running away from something much bigger. You are running away from YOU. You are running away from discovering the heart of your business. Marketing Madness keeps us from going deeper with our clients, discovering who they really are, and what really keeps them up at night. Marketing Madness is a disease that keeps you from the heart of what business is all about, connecting and communicating your value to people who deeply understand and desire the solutions you offer.
Simply speaking, Marketing Madness is a symptom of a subconscious fear of failure or fear of success. Fear of failure and fear of success are simply 2 sides of the same coin. The Coin called “Not Knowing Who You Are.” Not knowing who you are manifests as chasing or hiding, sometimes both.
I Understand, I’ve Been There.
We make life so much harder on ourselves than it has to be. Now when I get a sense that I’m struggling in any area of life, I ask myself, “How am I boxed in by the “Should’s” of others?”
This is really big for me. I like to learn from people who are the best in their industry. And when I’m learning from them, I watch how they run their business. I pay attention to the tools they are using to grow their business and I pay attention to how they market. And I emulate. If they said, “Send a 3-2-1 email.” I’d send it. If they suggested speaking, I’d speak. “Buy this new teleseminar tool”, I’d buy it! “Go with this email service”, that is who I’d choose. However, when I’ve done this in the past, it created A LOT of internal pressure. I was doing everything I thought I should do and I the internal pressure to do more only grew!
Like I shared this week in my newsletter, “The more I did, the more it was expected that I could do things for other people or in a way that was more suitable for others. No matter what I did, I felt pressure and the only way the pressure would go away was to do more. I was completely burnt out from the pressure to succeed and more importantly the pressure to fulfill the expectations of my family, my mentors, society, the coaching industry, you get the picture. ”
Take a Break
This year I took a break from a lot of things that intensified the pressure. You can see the short list here. These two posts are about the same thing, stopping the madness of external pressure to succeed and reconnecting to your true essence and gifts. It has been a long journey learning who I am in a way that feels authentic and not boxed in by the should’s of Business and Marketing.
I wouldn’t suggest taking a break when you are just starting out, I’d suggest starting out right. However if you have been in business for over 3 years and you haven’t figured out how to stop the pressure of Marketing Madness and start creating Marketing Magic, here are a few things that work for me to create Marketing Magic in your luminary business.
Connect to Who You REALLY Are
It seems like most coaches lose themselves to the disease of “Marketing Madness” when they start to market. I know did. It was fun for a while showing up with my marketing mindset on and totally forgetting who I was. I learned a lot about marketing over the years, but I am not a marketer, I am a coach and a luminary leader. Sometimes I’d forget to market my services because I was sharing the newest marketing tool. I doubt that anyone else had Marketing Madness as bad as I did. It was very confusing for my market and they just didn’t know how to refer me. Was I a marketer, or was I a business and life coach? Who knew!
Now when I find myself suffering from Marketing Madness, I ask myself, “Am I am marketer, or am I a highly gifted luminary leader who gets to joyfully market her programs?”
I am a gifted luminary leader!
Deeply Connect with Your Community
Let them know you are vulnerable to the same BS (Belief Systems) they are subject to. And share stories of how you overcame the obstacle to get what they want. Don’t be afraid to go deep and then go deeper.
When my mentors told me to share my story, I thought, “I don’t have a story.” So I’d share other people’s stories. I shared the successes of my clients. The problem was I didn’t always share their struggles. I was simply thrilled to share the happy upside of working with me, and I love sharing my client’s successes. That may not be a huge problem except I was creating a connection between my clients and no connection with me. I may be over exaggerating a bit here to make a point. While I was trying to figure out my “branding story,” I wasn’t appreciating the amazing value of sharing the stories of what is going on with me right now. And I was missing the heart of my business, which is deeply rewarding connections with my community. Remember that email I sent out? I received so many heart felt responses to it, people told me what they were going through. Those responses gave me an opportunity too know my community more intimately. Sharing stories of what is currently or recently happening in my life creates deeper connections.
People relate to your vulnerabilities more than your successes. And if you are being completely honest with yourself, it doesn’t matter how amazing things look, you are growing and growing is all about vulnerability and new experiences. People want to engage with real people who share their feelings. They will share their stories with you, when you share yours.
Every story matters. Everyone at the end of the day wants to know if you saw them and heard them and that they matter. – Oprah
Show Them You Care
Make their lives easier for them and show them you care. I’m committed to creating coaching programs and teaching classes that make life easier for luminaries. It is hard being a luminary leader. We have families, we want to travel, we want to connect deeply, and we want our freedom all at the same time. There are a lot of people who want to help you and there are a lot of things they tell you you “should” do. It is easy to follow the white rabbit down the marketing tunnel and lose site of what is important, your relationship with their community- both current and future clients.
Communicate your vulnerabilities and share your solutions while helping your community in as many ways as you can. If you are launching a new free ebook or report, let your current clients know first and ask them if they have anything they would add. If they do, and it fits, add it to the ebook. Be a part of their lives if you can.
Several of my mentors have a policy of not letting their community bother them. They sit on a throne and act as gurus if you want to talk to them you have to pay lots of money for a short phone call. This just doesn’t work for me. I tried it. I would feel horrible when I was finished, like there was no soul to the work I was doing. Now I want people to call me if they think they are ready to work with me. I can help them decide which program is best for them. They may not be ready to create their own mastermind or activation group, and may benefit from a VIP day, or I might suggest they join my 12 Seeds of Wealth Activation Life Mastery program. If they are new to coaching or just want a refresher course on the best of personal development, I send them straight to my Women Think and Grow Rich book study course. I have lots of resources and a quick email or a phone call during normal business hours can really help people connect with the soulution that is best fit for them. I even share my birthday ritual a week before people’s birthday, if they sign up to get it. For my community of luminaries, being accessible is an important way I show them I care. This may change over time, however I really do care about my community of luminaries. There is a lot of good that we are bringing to the world and there is no reason to struggle in any way.
People need your solutions. They need to know what you ave to offer. Your community wants to know that you have products and services to help them with the things they struggle with most. They really want to know that you care and appreciate them.
Create Marketing Magic
Be creative! Creating Marketing Magic is deeply rewarding and it is not as hard as learning how to use a new marketing tool. If you can think of marketing in the most simplest terms it will help. Marketing is communicating and sharing how you can help and what you offer to the people you choose to serve. And how you CHOOSE to communicate to the people you choose to serve will let them know if you care or not, if you understand their pain, and if you have a solution for them. It really is simple. Stop doing things you think you should be doing and start connecting more deeply with the people you choose to serve.
Leave a comment and share your a-has, your opinions, and your advice on creating marketing magic in your business.
Until next time, “BE Grateful, Think BIG, Take INSPIRED Action, and ENJOY the Journey!”
Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline:
Dawn R Nocera, Success Mindset Mentor, mentors luminaries, coaches, and conscious entrepreneurs in over 7 countries to help them manifest their most authentic selves and build luminary empires that bring light to the world.
Article Source: http://wp.me/p3V96U-qa
A special note of gratitude and deep appreciation to the newest members of my community who are actively sharing these mindset tips with their personal & professional communities. Much love to you, and may you experience meaning and purpose in living truly abundant lives!