Hi SOTGC community!
When it comes to promoting your business, the bad news first: It’s non-negotiable. If you want it to be a success, which I know you do, you’ve got to promote it—and not two years down the line, when you’ve launched your dream Mastermind and have hundreds of clients who can attest to how awesome your business is (although there are PR ops in there, too).
You need to start promoting it now.
As I like to say, if you have an incredible business that no one knows about, you don’t have a business. You have a hobby.
With that said, I know there’s a lot of mental chatter that pipes up when we think about promoting ourselves and our businesses. The most common blocks I see with my clients?
- “Promoting my business feels creepy, braggy, and overly sales-y.”
- “I seriously have no idea where to start.”
I’ll talk about numero uno in posts to come, but today I want to focus on issue number two.
If you’re like me, I feel like I can tackle pretty much anything if I have a roadmap. But without knowing how to take those first few steps, I feel frustrated, lost, and disempowered.
So, to give you a jumping off point, I created a free (!) guide that walks you through the first and most important thing you need to know—and own—before you promote anything; how to choose authentic, creepy-free opportunities for your business; how to write a pitch people will be excited (and relieved!) to read and 12 ways to start promoting that incredible business of yours.
You can download it here.
But if you’re looking for a baby step before that first big step, here are seven ways you can begin promoting your business this week, straight from my guide:
- Write a guest blog. Guest blogging is, hands down, my favorite way to promote your business and to position yourself as an expert on topics related to your brand. Just remember: the Huffington Post isn’t the only outlet that takes guest blogs!
- Get interviewed on a podcast. With podcasts growing in popularity, now is a great time to build relationships with the ones you know your audience tunes in to. The podcast producers will be grateful for a topic expert they can call on from time to time, and your brand visibility will grow as the podcast does. Added bonus: You can be interviewed from your living room, in your jammies.
- Reach out to local TV stations. It may not be the Today Show, but local stations are always looking for great local content and have loyal audiences. You can either pitch an interview about your business or an upcoming event you’re hosting, or you can offer your expertise on a subject you know they’re covering.
- Speak at an event. If you’ve never spoken at an event before, I wouldn’t recommend pitching TEDx straight out of the gate. Instead, first research local events and regional conferences where you can secure a few speaking gigs at.
- Host an event. Hosting an event can give your business great visibility because it gives you great visibility. Just make sure you invite your ideal clients (and not just people who love to party) and keep an eye on costs.
- Join or start a Facebook group. I’ve met business partners, clients, incredible networking contacts, and new friends through some of the Facebook groups I’ve joined. Just be mindful of the ones you join and be sure to not just promote your brand once you’re in there but to offer up some advice and expertise, too.
- Teach a class or workshop. This is another great way to introduce people to your business and get them familiar with how you can help them. Keep in mind that in addition to teaching in-person classes, you can also teach classes online (if interested, check out Skillshare). And don’t be afraid to charge!
Like most things, promoting your business can feel totally overwhelming—until you open the kimono and start to understand how it all works. Then, it’s just one foot in front of the other.
I promise.
