Ep: 125: How to Kick Shiny Object Syndrome Out of Your Marketing | Guest Expert Caroline Crawford

This episode explores the importance of anchor content and how to achieve consistent marketing without feeling overwhelmed. The discussion includes strategies for avoiding shiny object syndrome, simplifying marketing efforts, and finding joy in content creation. 
• Understanding anchor content as a marketing strategy 
• The impact of shiny object syndrome on marketing efforts 
• Simplifying content efforts by focusing on strengths 
• Establishing a cadence for consistent output 
• The value of conducting regular marketing audits 
• Encouragement to embrace boring marketing for effective results 
• Taking time to identify what resonates personally in marketing 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome in Marketing
• 16:05 Simplifying Marketing Strategies for Success
• 28:20 Building Consistent Brand and Marketing Strategy
• 43:24 Growing the Tiny Marketing Community

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:47

Welcome to Tiny Marketing. This is Sarah Noelle Block, and this is a podcast that helps B2B service businesses do more with less. Learn lean, actionable, organic marketing strategies you can implement today. No fluff, just powerful growth tactics that work. Ready to scale smarter? Hit that subscribe button and start growing your business with tiny marketing growing your business with tiny marketing.

Speaker 2: 1:10

Hello, hello everyone. This is episode 125, and I'm Sarah Noelle Block. You're watching or listening to the Tiny Marketing Show. I want to thank you so much for being here today and cue you up for the topic we're talking about. So lately, inside of the Tiny Marketing Club, I've been getting a lot of questions about how I'm able to create so much content and I'm posting every day on LinkedIn. I have my weekly newsletter, I have my podcast, I have the YouTube show, and people that are not from my world they're not in marketing, they're solo consultants. They're solo in marketing, they're solo consultants, they're solo fractionals they're wondering how they can do the same thing. So I just wanted to let you in on a little secret I'm not doing that much.

Speaker 2: 2:05

What you really need to do if you want to show up consistently, you want to build your visibility, but it's only you, because for me, it is only me. So I am the one who's editing my podcast, I'm the one who's posting it on YouTube, I'm the one who is breaking it up into little teachable moments for emails and social media. And here's the secret on how to do it. When it's only you have an anchor content, you need to have one thing that you are willing to commit to creating on a regular basis, and that one thing will feed everything else. So it might seem like I'm doing a ton of work. From the outside it looks like that, but what I'm actually doing is committing to that one thing. I'm producing a show a week and that is that. From there, I take that show and break it down into little teaching moments that I'll share on LinkedIn, that I'll share in my email newsletter or I'll expand on it for a master class or a paid training. So that's what's really happening behind the scenes For anybody who is watching me and wondering how I'm doing it all and I get that comment a lot, and that's the reason I'm bringing it up, because from the inside it doesn't feel like I'm doing it all, but from the outside it does.

Speaker 2: 3:31

So I just want you to know I'm not. I'm not creating tons of content. I'm creating one thing and I am leveraging it to in as many possible ways that I can, and this is completely possible for you, and it doesn't have to look like a weekly show, like I can, and this is completely possible for you, and it doesn't have to look like a weekly show like I have. Maybe you have less time than that. It could look like a monthly training. It could look like a quarterly networking group. It can look a lot of different ways.

Speaker 2: 4:06

So I just want to cue this conversation up to help you understand that you don't have to chase what other people are doing. You don't have to chase what I'm doing because from the outside it looks different than it does from the inside, and you need to do what works best for you and that is what's going to get you ahead. The best marketing is boring marketing. It's consistency. You can do that. That is well within your reach, and I hope that this episode with Carolyn Crawford, where we're talking about creating anchor content, boring marketing and how to kick shiny object syndrome out of your marketing, helps you understand that it looks different from the outside than what's really happening on the inside, and what I'm doing is very possible for you too. I hope you enjoy this one. Hey, hey, hey, carolyn, can you introduce yourself to the audience?

Speaker 3: 5:08

Yes, thank you. First of all, thank you so much for having me. My name is Carolyn Crawford. I'm the founder of Cultivate Communications. We are a company that helps businesses align their business objectives with their marketing through holistic marketing solutions. So a lot of businesses that feel like they are just being very much overlooked by their marketing or they're just nothing's really working for them, we're the place to go to really help kind of clear out anything blocking them and get them integrated in holistic marketing strategies that really align with their sales objectives.

Speaker 2: 5:46

Yeah, we speak the same language, definitely speak the same language. Definitely we're digging in real hard today on something that I talk about a lot, and that how to avoid shiny object syndrome when it comes to marketing. A lot of the people who listen to this show are factionals or consultants, they're solo businesses or one person marketing department and they have well, either they themselves are feeling this or they have presidents coming down at them and say I saw X doing this. Why aren't we doing that? Maybe you're on Instagram and you're seeing someone doing something You're like why aren't I doing that? It's so easy for us to chase, chase that and test something new out before ever seeing what's actually working for us in the first place, so I'm excited about it.

Speaker 3: 6:45

I'm so excited to dive into it because, to everything you were saying, like that was my entire career before starting Cultivate, and this is and that is why I started Cultivate because I was like this is a problem Like the one. The second, you said one person, marketing departments. I was like, oh my God.

Speaker 2: 7:02

Yeah me, that's me Exactly. Yeah, I feel you. That was me for seven years and it was a struggle. I had seven company presidents who are coming to me and seeing what other people are doing and asking me hey, can we test this out? But let's first talk about the pitfalls, when either someone is coming to us to do this or we start thinking that we need to be doing whatever else is doing, what can happen?

Speaker 3: 7:37

Oh gosh. Well, I think, like exactly what you were saying. Like we start to think that we should be doing something someone else is doing, like the shoulds are the killers. Like I should be doing this, I should be doing that, just because you see someone else do it and you see them're seeing them far down the line by the time you actually see them right as an example. Someone could have been doing something for years and finally it's taking off. So I think, like what the disconnect, especially if you're getting you're getting fire? Like people are breathing fire down your neck because they should.

Speaker 3: 8:31

You want, like the presidents of the companies want something, and like they're not patient with the results, like that's very difficult to explain.

Speaker 3: 8:40

It takes time and marketing takes time and people because of that, like people think that they're doing something wrong. So therefore they're like oh my gosh, I'm doing something wrong, let me try this or let me try that. So they constantly start pivoting and this is where the vicious cycle starts to come into play, because you're either constantly pivoting, so you don't really know what's working and what's not. You're just seeing, okay, you're just feeling like nothing is working, and when you're copying what someone else is doing like they could have a very different audience, they could have a different system set up when it comes to their sales process. There's actually a lot of factors that kind of come into play, and so the shoulds are really what spikes the cycle and it keeps you ungrounded in terms of what really is going to work for your business and therefore all the strategies that you create. You actually just throw out the strategy, throw the strategies out the window and you're just throwing spaghetti on the wall.

Speaker 2: 9:41

ultimately, is what happens yeah, I, I want to talk about that for a second, in that, when you are looking at what someone else is doing and you think that you need to be doing it too, you're. It's the iceberg perspective. You're seeing the tip of the iceberg. You're seeing what they allow you to see. You're not seeing the behind the scenes. The ad spend, the back-end strategies that we all have happening. You're only seeing seeing oh, look at that cool Instagram post or look at that ad or man, they get a lot of comments on LinkedIn or their podcast seems to be blowing up, but you're not seeing any of the back end that's making that actually work. So you're testing things from the iceberg perspective, where you're only seeing the parts they're allowing you to see.

Speaker 3: 10:37

A hundred percent. I couldn't have said it better myself because and it's true, like I would say too, especially on the ad send piece, right, like people see ads posted like this is a perfect example of like a vicious cycle. It's like you see ads posted, you see people showing their results from their ads even our marketers showing results from the ads and you don't see the failed ad spend something that's working, and you think like, okay and like and it's interesting. This is the challenge with marketing. Right, like it can feel like it's so simple, because, like it can be very logical and it's just okay, post on social media, post on this. But there really is a science to it and every business is different.

Speaker 2: 11:26

Yeah, and they are also filtering completely. So while they're telling you the successes that happened from it, yeah, they're not talking about the same as yours. They're only telling you their revenue numbers every single time, so it makes you feel like you're failing when you're not.

Speaker 3: 11:58

For sure, and it's like a one-upmanship, essentially. That starts to happen. It's crazy, it's crazy. So, yes, I would say that those are the pitfalls, I mean, and there's probably more. But I think, like, when you are caught up in the shoulds, you are very vulnerable to a lot of gimmicks because you're going to get bombarded with people who say I can give you X leads in so many days, or I can make you X amount of followers, or whatever, whatever it is, and that's like that's just the evolution of the industry right now. There's so many templates, so many proven strategies and it, it, it ends up kind of doing a lot more harm than good, even though, like, yes, it's in, it was invented to help people and and and boost people up and kind of like, take some of the load off. But, at the end of the day, if you're doing it from a place where you're just like I should be doing this, you're not actually focusing on what is right for your business.

Speaker 2: 13:03

Yeah, yeah. And I just want to grab onto one more thing that you said before we move on to the next point and that if you are trying something out and then bouncing to the next thing and you're not taking enough time to actually see if it works, I use a rule of thumb on that and that I allow myself to experiment with one thing. A quarter gives me 90 days to test it out. It's enough time to see if, like, the trajectory is going the right way. I could immediately see it's not.

Speaker 2: 13:36

But I've been through that full 90 days to see what direction I see it going in the future and honestly, some things take years to see the true value of it, like this podcast, for example. The first two years all of the value that I got from my podcast was the people that I met, the biz, dev opportunities because it's an interview style podcast and referral partners, like people who I became friends with and turned into referral partners. But I had next to no listeners for a long time. I could get like 30 an episode and it took years for me to build enough momentum with my show for it to eventually turn into a nurture content where people were coming to my sales call and saying, hey, I've been listening to the show and then eventually it became a discovery type of content where people learned I existed in the first place because of it.

Speaker 2: 14:39

But it takes a long time to see something through and see if it's working For sure A hundred percent. So let's say you're one of those people who are chasing what other people are doing and you're getting super excited and you're like, yay, I'm going to try this. And now you're overwhelmed. What's the first thing that you should do when you start to feel overwhelmed with your marketing.

Speaker 3: 15:05

Yeah, first thing is to stop marketing, which a lot of people don't like the answer for. But it is true, like you, when I'm overwhelmed, for instance, powering through and getting into more of a vicious cycle just makes me more overwhelmed. It's just like that snowball effect, right? So when I'm overwhelmed, I need to take a second and I need to say, okay, what's really going on? How can I simplify this? Because when you're overwhelmed like overwhelmed starts because you just have so much that you feel that you have to do that you're just like then it starts to get you into analysis, paralysis, so you have to. The only way to to get out of that is not necessarily to power through. Sometimes you can, depending on what it is Right. Sometimes it's like there's a piece of your mind that's like OK, this feels like a lot, and you can talk yourself out of it and be like actually it's not, but that's like a skill set to kind of nurture.

Speaker 3: 16:05

But ultimately, when someone's so overwhelmed with their marketing and they're like nothing is working, I'm putting all my energy, I'm on every freaking platform, I'm doing all the things Right they. The only way to really get clear is to stop, take a break, take a breather, not saying do it for long, but like, just stop. It's OK to stop. And then do an, be real with yourself, do an audit what is not working for you, what is working and what's kind of you want it to work, but it's just not really hitting the point right now or it's just not really getting the results that you want. Really identify and be very, very honest with yourself. Where are you putting your time, money and energy into? What are you getting back in return? Is there any benefit? Even if the benefit of is I just like doing it, that's a great benefit. You know any.

Speaker 3: 17:06

Just really really being honest with yourself and what do you hate doing? That's also a big one, because people I do, I've done this Right, exactly. There are so many things that I'm like I just I don't like doing this. Why am I doing it? And then I had to cut it and so and people are afraid to cut things. So when you're overwhelmed with marketing, first step is to take a step back. Be really real. Find out what, what's not, what do you like, what do you hate, and then cut. Like cut, be vicious in your cutting? I do not, because here's the thing if you are doing too much and you don't like it, like you're basically half-assing all these things.

Speaker 3: 17:49

Why not focus on things that you really, really want to see get off the ground? So your podcast is a perfect example. I would imagine, if you're anything like me, because I have had this feeling with your podcast at some point, especially in those early days, you were like, why am I doing this? Is this really working out? Is this really like I'm only getting 30 people listening, like it's not really benefiting, like whatever. But you stuck with it. If I had to make an assumption, because you there was a part of you that really loved it and loved doing, or you saw a bigger purpose for whatever, right all these stuck with it because I saw the early benefits.

Speaker 2: 18:26

Like this is a great way to meet people exactly that and that's a great benefit.

Speaker 3: 18:33

Right, and that's a perfect example, because it's not so. You were expanding your network, but it wasn't directly tying back to sales, right, or potentially not.

Speaker 2: 18:43

Yeah, I mean it did tie back to sales, but it was through referrals with the guests rather than right now, so not right.

Speaker 3: 18:54

Right, exactly, and obviously people started because they're like OK, I want more, I want these listeners to buy from me.

Speaker 2: 19:01

Right, not always.

Speaker 3: 19:02

That's not always how like the snowball effect works. It's oh, it's kind of it's through someone else's network and then eventually it starts to be a machine for you. But perfect example, right, like it was a great way for you to meet people, it was not harming you, you liked it enough to do it and you could repurpose the content and have it fuel other things. And I think that's what people need to pay attention to is what can I do that? I really enjoy doing that. Maybe it takes a little bit of time like producing a podcast takes time every week but how much it gives to other things that could help your marketing is a really good benefit. So I think that's really where you just start to kind of dissect, saying okay, I really like I had a client once. She was on everything. She was defeated by marketing and she, by the time I met with her, she was just so. She really was just depleted. She was like I'm on everything, my business is just failing. I know I'm doing emails, I'm on Twitter, I'm on Instagram, I'm on LinkedIn all of the social media platform, like, like all of the things. This is back when Twitter was Twitter, not X, but I and she was writing blogs and like also producing blogs for like outside publications, things like that.

Speaker 3: 20:22

And I said and she was very frustrated and so during our session I was like, what do you actually like to do? She's like, well, I really like I like writing articles. I mean, I came from journalism and I really love writing articles. I'm like, okay, then we're going to cut everything else. And then I said what do you? What kind of platform do you like to be on most? Like what? Which one are you naturally on? She said Instagram. I said, okay, that's your social media platform. You're going to cut everything else out. Then I said for she has an email list, but not wasn't getting any upticks. I'm like you're going to repurpose the blog into emails and then into your social media posts. Within one month she literally cut her market. At first she was very overwhelmed because she was. She was like how can I cut things? Because people are so afraid to cut things. And within one month she cut her marketing by 50 percent at least and then immediately started seeing an uptick in her engagement.

Speaker 2: 22:24

Well, she could actually produce something worthwhile because she had the time, and that blog or guest bloggingging, whatever she ended up going with is her anchor. And exactly, little content babies that see the other things that exactly we love the content baby. Oh my gosh, this, this show is my. Yes, little content babies, totally.

Speaker 3: 22:51

A hundred percent, yeah, and she started to enjoy it too, and I think that really made a difference. And then, because she was doing things that were very intentional, it created more brand consistency.

Speaker 2: 23:05

Yeah, that makes sense. And because she was just creating the one thing and then making it work for the other, like repurposing it so it worked for the other platforms, her messaging is going to be the same across everything. It's a matter of reformatting it so it works for that platform. I'm with you, I'm all on, all right there. I'm saying yes, yes, yes, nothing along, okay. So last thing, what is the strategy that works when you have a limited bandwidth? Let's say you're a solo entrepreneur.

Speaker 3: 23:49

I would say keep it simple, right? Exactly what we were just talking about. What's going to produce content? Babies, you know, make them babies, right? And for some and it's going to vary, right, there are some people who go double down on Instagram because, and like, they love it and it works out for them. There are others who hate Instagram and that's not the approach for you, right? So it's like, don't feel like you have to do something because you know it can be successful. So, just, I would start simple and really determine OK, what is realistic for me to execute, given my limited resources, whether that's time, money or energy, and then what's going to be what's going to have a lot more longevity to it. So, again, going back to a podcast, you can literally start a podcast with no money if you really wanted to.

Speaker 3: 24:40

All you need is a computer and Zoom and like the cost of a Zoom membership, if you really want or voice notes in your phone, whatever, like if you really want to be scrappy about it, like there are ways to start a podcast as an example.

Speaker 2: 24:53

Right Jenna Kutcher's podcast. Originally she was just recording on her phone.

Speaker 3: 24:59

That's yeah, exactly, exactly. So I, you can, I think it's a matter I would say keep it simple and keep that in mind across the board. Simple and keep that in mind across the board. But then, when it comes to figuring out specifically, like what is it that I should do Pay attention to when you feel most confident talking about your business or the things that you talk about? So, for instance, I personally prefer to chat with people.

Speaker 3: 25:29

So, that's why I started my own podcast, because I can talk with people. I can talk to people all day long about marketing. It's like a whole situation. So I was like that's a really natural initiative for me to take from my brand. Obviously, here are all the other benefits that can come with it, but this was this was a medium that I felt comfortable.

Speaker 3: 25:47

In the case of that client, right, she didn't feel comfortable. She was. She was doing YouTube videos but had to read off of the script because she was uncomfortable with her video. She was uncomfortable videotaping herself. Yeah, I said that's not a medium you should do that. You should work on right now, like maybe later, you never know, but like right now. No, so writing was what was comfortable for her. So you have to determine, like, how do you best communicate? And it does vary by person. Not everyone wants you. Don't need to hop on reels every single day if that's not something you're comfortable with. It's worse to do something that goes so against your natural rhythm and force yourself to do it because, people, it's just not natural and it's not engaging for the person listening or watching or reading yeah, the other person can feel that this doesn't feel right to you, that it feels totally to you one thousand percent.

Speaker 3: 26:43

One thousand percent. So I would say understand how you best communicate. What makes makes you excited, what makes you comfortable. If you want to speak, start a podcast or be on podcast or whatever you know, whatever that looks like for you, the only way to do it is by really understanding who you are, what you like to do, what feels comfortable, even if it's a little scary at first. There's a difference, like there's a difference between it?

Speaker 3: 27:18

Yeah, Everything is scary. So, like sure, Even if you're comfortable with like speaking and writing, like when I first launched my podcast, it was very, very scary. I was like what am I doing?

Speaker 2: 27:28

You should see my early videos.

Speaker 3: 27:33

Oh, my my god, I can only imagine right like look, they're all findable, I love it. Yeah, no, I'm. Then I'm gonna go back, far back to the early days of tiny marketing that was like.

Speaker 2: 27:44

My secret is that whenever I feel bad about my content, I look at creators that are doing amazing things, and I look at their earliest stuff Smart, top two at one time that is actually so smart when you're having like a down day, just again, like that iceberg.

Speaker 3: 28:02

Like, yeah, that's part of their iceberg. Like, yeah, maybe they have a top podcast now, but before they maybe got two hits a week, yeah.

Speaker 2: 28:10

It really does make me feel better. I'm like okay, well, I'm them at that point, that's okay. They're, it is okay it is okay.

Speaker 3: 28:20

Here's the thing to also remember when you're growing a business and when you're building a brand. Brand is about repetition. So the and like you can't just like launch something tomorrow and let that be it. The brands out there, we're good, it's. It doesn't work like that it's. You have to constantly hit people over the head with what you, what you're about, what you're selling, and the offers may evolve as usual, but you know, or not at all, it's totally up to you. But you have to continuously hit people over the head with your messaging, what you're about, who you are, and that is brand building. And so that it really all the only way to grow is through the snowball effect. Yeah, some people accelerate their path because maybe they have their venture backed or just have limited, unlimited resources or connections, whatever it may be, and you just you have to cut that part out. Like you can't think about building your brand in comparison to some, to those types of people, because it's going to just make you feel like you're doing something wrong when you're not.

Speaker 3: 29:29

Ultimately, marketing is about you can yell across the street to someone. That's marketing you and I talking right now is basically marketing right, like, yeah, it doesn't. I think that's why I like going back to, like, my first point. Like, when it comes to your strategy, just keep it super simple, as long as you're communicating your brand, who you are, what you do, how people can reach out to you. Yeah, there are tactics that work better than others, but just remembering that core principle and then determining what works best for you and then starting small, because how you scale up is by establishing your baseline what's feasible to do for the least amount of budget, time, energy, whatever that looks like for you, and then, once you feel like you're in a good groove, expand on that.

Speaker 3: 30:16

Ok, maybe we're. Maybe go from voice notes recording to a video podcast you know what I mean. Like that as one example to expand. Or maybe go from posting on LinkedIn to getting on TikTok, like there. Again, it's going to vary, but there that's how you start to expand and then build your strategy. But start small, keep it simple, determine what's going to have the most longevity and be that anchor, or I like to call it a content driver, for to deliver those content babies, you know, and and again, it's just what can, what can you keep going in repetition and what can you have fun with.

Speaker 2: 30:54

Yeah, I want to add on that, when you're first starting this journey, choose the cadence that you can be consistent with and it's okay if you're choosing like your anchor is going to be once a quarter or once a month. Once you get in the groove of it, you can expand it. Like this podcast was bi-weekly for years and then, as I started to get my footing and understand what I was doing, I moved it up to weekly and then again, as I was getting my groove with that, I moved it up and added like the video component of it. But I didn't do it all at once, I just I said I do bi-weekly and I committed to that until I was able to expand.

Speaker 3: 31:44

Yeah, exactly, that's a great point too, too, yeah, one hundred percent, one hundred percent. Do what feels, do what is most realistic, and even if that's, like you said, twice a month, maybe even monthly, if you really got to do it like don't go starting out like every single day I'm going to be posted on social media. When you have a post, it like if you have no other resources to support you with that, you know, like post once a week. Yeah, consistency really is key with marketing and that's because that's how the repetition happens, and so whatever you know you can be consistent with is the most important.

Speaker 2: 32:21

Yeah, and once you've chosen that cadence, pick a medium, that or format that would work for that cadence. Like I said, once a quarter, you couldn't do a podcast once a quarter, so don't pick that. But you could do a secret podcast where it's like a capsule of podcast episodes that you're delivering at one time. So the cadence needs to match the format.

Speaker 3: 33:03

So the cadence needs to match the format, but that's every single day to really see a lot of traction. Instagram you have a little bit more flexibility and wiggle room because of just the way the algorithm works. Granted, I haven't been on X in a while because that's not my preferred platform, but that you know, just as one example of like, or like a monthly newsletter or you know, just I just I don't know. I love, I love the idea of like. You know, just I just I don't know, I love I love the idea of like.

Speaker 3: 33:27

You know, a capsule thing, like if you're going to do something quarterly, what does that really look like? And so if you're going to do it, go out with a bang. If you're going to do it at that cadence, you know, like save your energy. Let's just say you want to deliver report every quarter, white paper every quarter, ok, most of your energy is going to go into creating that piece of content. That's long form, but that piece of content can feed everything else for the next quarter. So and that's another, just one other example, right where that capsule podcast, like you said, which is an awesome idea for anyone who wants to take that it is, you know it can feed other things or not, if you really choose not to, but like, don't, like, like exactly this point of you know pick what, pick the format that's really going to work and be realistic about it and see how, again, you can stretch that as best as possible without adding too much more to your plate. Stretch that as best as possible without adding too much more to your plate.

Speaker 2: 34:26

Yeah, and with all of these examples that we've talked about, that are more like quarterly, they're also lead generators. So what you're choosing is helping you on multiple levels, like top to bottom of funnel. Because one you're choosing a cadence where you know you're doing like, let's see, say, the secret podcast, for example. Anytime you have a secret podcast, someone has to enter their email in order to access it. So you're getting leads that way and that would feed your email list where your newsletter is going out. And if you're doing a capsule podcast, let's say you have six episodes in there on a certain topic all of those you can find little micro teaching moments that you can expand on in social media or in your emails, that will feed directly back to that secret podcast where you're getting more subscribers. So it all plays together.

Speaker 3: 35:24

For sure A hundred percent.

Speaker 2: 35:28

So real quick, before we wrap up. Before we were talking about overwhelm and you were. You mentioned a client that you had that was just like frustrated because their marketing wasn't working for them and they they didn't know what to do. They felt like their business was failing. So there was definitely points in my career that I have felt that way and what I did is I started tracking. I just put an air table together and all of the connection calls I'd have I'd track. Where did those conversations start, how did I meet them and what did they turn into. So then eventually I did it. For like 30 days I had a report that told me what was my most profitable channels these are the ones that are turning into sales and then I just hung out there.

Speaker 3: 36:19

I love that. Yeah, that's a great idea, for sure, yeah it's definitely keep track.

Speaker 2: 36:29

Great idea, for sure. Yeah, it's like definitely keep track, and then you know how, like what channels, equal money.

Speaker 3: 36:32

Mm, hmm, for sure. And the direct correlation I love that. That's a fantastic idea. I think I'm a huge believer, like I love a good audit every single quarter. I mean again, like you could do an audit however frequently, but I prefer to do them on like a quarterly basis as like an all encompassing one. Like I do this for my clients, I do this for myself like every single quarter. Do that audit and, like you know, keep track of like maybe it doesn't again for 30 days, to keep track of something like that. That's really beneficial.

Speaker 3: 37:01

That may be challenging to do on a quarterly basis kind of thing, because that's a lot, but even just that alone, even if you did it for a week, you know, just seeing like where am I seeing some upticks? Or even paying attention to, like your patterns of like, how am I when I, when I feel, when do I feel most inspired? I say this to a lot of people when you struggle to create content, for instance, because they're just they don't know what to talk about. I'm like how do you feel after a client call? Or how do you feel after you're talking on a podcast or someone else in marketing where there's like the pressure is off. Yeah, drop, use Airtable. Take those notes. And I have like, for instance, I have an Airtable because I've. I struggle with the same things that other businesses struggle, because it's hard when you're in it for yourself, right.

Speaker 2: 37:49

Yeah, it's really hard, exactly when it's you. It's so hard.

Speaker 3: 37:56

And this is the benefit of like having outsourced help or just hiring some sort of help to kind of be that sort of third party perspective for you. But I would say you know like it, all these challenges are very common but for me, like I realized, I struggled with like maintaining consistency with what am I posting on a regular basis? What do I feel like even talking about? Like I'll just get in my head about it, right, I started keeping track from an air table of all, or like even my apple notes or whatever, all these random ideas that I would have because I'd have them after conversations or randomly at two in the morning or whatever. I looked at my air table recently and I have enough, for if I posted every single day for the next year, I have enough content.

Speaker 2: 38:45

That's because I don't post.

Speaker 3: 38:51

That's another issue I'm working through, but that's where I'm like okay, how do I keep it simple?

Speaker 2: 38:57

Yeah, and you said like, take note of when you're feeling most creative or inspired, just batch it all at that time. I almost always write all of my social media posts at the same time and then just schedule them out throughout the week, so it looks like I'm always on, but I'm not Totally.

Speaker 3: 39:15

A hundred percent. Yeah, exactly, automated schedulers are like the best. Automations are a game changer. Systems and processes are a huge game changer in marketing as well. Even though it feels very complicated, it's really not, and especially if you leverage, outsource team members like, uh, like, virtual assistants, for instance, that it's a great way, like getting systems and processes set up to where you can dump your inspiration. They can expand on it, um, or put, or at least organize it for you. You, you finish up whatever that looks like, assuming you have the resources to do so or if you're solo, you know, you you batch it all, take a second, go back to it, fine tune it and then post it. You know like there's so many ways to go about it, and that's one of the reasons why I love marketing, because there are just so many ways to communicate and and take these ideas in your head and and get them out in the world.

Speaker 2: 40:12

Yeah, marketing is fun.

Speaker 3: 40:15

Frustrating some days, but mostly fun.

Speaker 2: 40:20

So you have an offer for the audience. Can you tell them what it is? I do.

Speaker 3: 40:24

Yes, so I would love to offer your audience a steep discounts over 60% discount on my marketing momentum session. So this is essentially 90 minutes and you walk away with a 90 day marketing plan. Essentially, what this does is we really drill down like what are the core blocks preventing you from being consistent with your marketing? And this is perfect for the solo business owner, because they that is really where you get so overwhelmed. Sometimes the blocks are not a marketing problem, sometimes they're an operational problem, sometimes they're a mindset problem.

Speaker 3: 41:02

There's so many ways that it can like impact you, especially when you're on your own, and so this is going to clear all of that out and really set up those systems and processes in place, give you that creative motivation and ideas and basically a content plan. If that's what comes out of it, it really varies person by person, so it's really a high touch. What is going to make the most impact for you for the next 90 days? And I'd love to offer your audience that discount of over 60% for $1.99 total for that single session, and just use the discount code TINY24.

Speaker 2: 41:42

That is a no-brainer, so go and do that. That is a no brainer, so go and do that. We'll put the link in the show notes along with that promo code, so no one forgets. Thank you Amazing. Thank you so much. This is so fun.

Speaker 3: 41:59

And you mentioned Instagram, so is that your channel of choice in? But I'm this month I, because, again I I had to clear my own blocks and set up my own systems and processes for marketing. So in November we're reactivating, um, our new, our, our, um oh my gosh our Instagram account. So that's going to be most active now okay, there you go.

Speaker 2: 42:21

Go follow her on Instagram, because this is going out a munch a little yeah, by then I'll have contact so thanks, and I'll put her link for LinkedIn too, just in case she's still active over there.

Speaker 2: 42:36

All right, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to hear mine and Caroline's conversation about how to stop chasing shiny object syndrome and choose boring marketing over comparing yourself to everyone else on the outside, because, remember, you're only seeing what they want you to see. There's a whole lot going on behind the scenes that no one wants you to see, so don't compare yourself to anyone else. You're only getting the shiny bits. You're only getting the filtered version. You do you and you create marketing that feels good to you and just leverage the shit out of it. That's all you need to do. I love you. I love you. I love you. Thank you for tuning into my show and spending 40 minutes with me. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, subscribe and comment, and let your friends know about the Tiny Marketing Show. Every time you mention it, you tag me in it. It makes my day, but it also adds new listeners and viewers to this tiny show. That could every single week, and I appreciate you. I'll see you next week.

Speaker 1: 43:58

You love all things tiny marketing. Head down to the show notes page and sign up for the wait list to join the Tiny marketing club, where you get to work one-on-one with me with trainings, feedback and pop-up coaching that will help you scale your marketing as a B2B service business. So I'll see you over in the club.