Lisa Pascoe on small business marketing joys, challenges and regrets
2020 felt like a year to find any reason to celebrate the positives. It also provided many opportunities and inspiration to support others.
So when my third business birthday was looming, I decided to run a competition to celebrate.
My purpose in business is to be a force for good in the world (more on that here), and so I invited small businesses to tell me how they do good through their marketing. The prize was six months of marketing coaching with me.
The standard of entries blew me away, and I was genuinely touched by what small businesses do to bring about good in the world.
The winner of the competition was Lisa Pascoe, intuitive coach and host of the Bravehearts Rising podcast.
I started working with Lisa in January, but before I became her marketing coach, I chatted to Lisa about small business marketing.
How did you start marketing your small business?
When you first start a business, you tend to have shiny object syndrome or magpie syndrome, where you get distracted by all the things, courses, and books.
I looked at everybody else for a magical key. I’m still working on it and consciously have to remind myself that I know myself best. One recipe really doesn't work for everybody, and it's so important to take into account your own kind of capacity and what brings you joy.
For example, I know I enjoy connecting with people and building relationships. So for me it's important to have virtual cuppas with people or meet up in person when we are able to.
My podcast is the perfect place for me to meet new people, and for people to learn what I’m about and get a sense of whether they want to work with me.
My marketing is definitely more intuitive now. It still needs work, but I'm not looking for a magical answer any more.
Marketing regrets: I have a few
I really wish I had asked myself: “What do you want to achieve?”
Then I wouldn’t have spent lots of money on other people's solutions, before working out if that was the right solution for me. For example, I paid for list-building courses at a time when I didn't really have a list!
Instead I’d invest in doing and learning along the way while building relationships and getting testimonials and social proof, because ultimately that works so much better for me.
I probably would have done well to have found the right coach for me. Finding the right marketing coach is difficult, because many want to sell you a recipe and will tell you to do things that aren't in alignment with who you are.
Small business marketing challenges and success
One of the things I find most challenging about small business marketing is balancing, especially balancing energy levels and being visible and knowing the best way to do that for me.
When you haven't got a marketing plan in place that works for you, you can feel guilty about not posting for example when you don’t have the will or energy to show up in real time.
This is one of the biggest pressures on small businesses, this sense that you have to be permanently switched on. Spending seven or eight hours on your phone on social media can lead to burnout - and it’s easy to fall into that scrolling hole.
Marketing success is about having a marketing system that fits with your energy cycles and seasons. It’s flexible enough to continue working for you if you need to retreat and re-energise.
The joy of small business marketing
Successful marketing feels joyful, because ultimately you're having great conversations with people about something that you're passionate about and they're finding it really useful so it's a win-win all around.
I love getting to know other people, their vision for the world and how they want to have an impact. At their core, small businesses often have values around for example sustainability, reducing plastic waste, planting trees or bringing about justice.
There's a really amazing community of people out there and I believe together we can change the world in our own way. My absolute favourite thing about small business marketing is the relationships you build with others.
“Shoulds belong in the should shed.”
Image: FC1900 in Pixabay
Things to consider in small business marketing
Think what you actually want to achieve before investing in marketing solutions.
What has worked for you in the past?
What experience do you want to create for people and yourself?
How can you weave in elements of your personality and things that bring you joy into your business?
Show your fun, human side. You don't have to have this kind of shiny exterior; you can be yourself. The more “you” you are, the more you'll attract the people that really value who you are, what you stand for, and the things you sell.
Let go of the marketing ‘shoulds’ (they belong in the ‘should shed’). Create your own rules, with your vision and goals in mind.
Be mindful of what you're investing in - not just money but also time and attention. So think about how much time you spend on social media versus how much time you are creating.
Have a wellbeing plan. Get clear on what you need to stay well, what your support needs are as well as what your boundaries are. What are your absolute no-nos and what are your favourite marketing activities? Make sure you integrate this into your plan. Too often, people foget their own needs and end up exhausted in the process.
How would you spend a bonus £10,000 on your marketing?
A day with a professional photographer, doing lovely nourishing things together, having fun and taking photographs in the woods and a delightful coffee shop. I've changed a lot in the last five years, and I would really like a gorgeous set of photos to reflect who I am now and what my business represents today.
I’d also invest in a one-to-one VIP day with a marketing expert to really get underneath the surface of the business and get into the nuts and bolts of what really makes it me.
It would be really nice to meet in an amazing outdoor environment where we can dive deeper into the business and set powerful visions for the future with a practical marketing action plan.
This will be followed up by accountability, because it's so important to have a cheerleader by your side who can hold you in that slightly uncomfortable space outside of your comfort zone. That will ensure you keep showing up, even when you are feeling a bit nervous.
I would get transcripts for all my podcast episodes and hire someone to pull out quotable bits to share. I've got so many amazing topics hidden in my different podcast episodes, and I would love to have a Trello board full of building blocks for blog posts, articles and social media.
The rest I’d spend on PR to help me get into magazines and on radio shows. It would be so much fun and an amazing way to get the podcast out there, and talk about my work around wellbeing, helping others be kinder to themselves, experience more joy, and create powerful ripple effects in the world.