Your Most Burning Marketing Questions Answered - Christine Kane

ezine_march4Marketing your business has never been easier.  Every possible marketing tactic is now at your fingertips, and it’s cheaper than ever.

However, these infinite possibilities bring with them a whole bunch of very real questions. In fact, if you’re a business owner, one or more of the following questions may – even as you read this – be hanging out in your head, longing for someone to come along and answer it”¦

  • Should my emails be long or short?
  • Are ezines really dead”¦ should I bother starting one?
  • This coach over here told me you have to be “ubiquitous,” and be active on every social media – channel, is that true?
  • Is it better to self-publish my book or try to get a publisher?
  • They say that ugly marketing sells better than nice graphics”¦ does that mean I should have an ugly website?
  • A direct mail campaign worked for this company over here. Should I try a postcard mailing?
  • I met a copywriter who writes blogs for seven different businesses. Should I keep writing my own blog posts – or just hire her?
  • I want to build my mailing list, should I offer a free video series or an eBook?

Don’t see your question here?  Go ahead and add it to this list because I’m about to give you the answer.

Really Christine?  How can you give me the answer to my marketing question when it’s different from all of these questions?

Well, because the answer to each and every one of these questions (and probably to yours) is fairly simple.

The answer?

“It depends.”

Every single thing in your business depends on the following three things:

1 – WHO your client or customer is

2 – WHAT you offer

3 – WHERE you want to go in your business

Clarity in these three areas will dictate your choices in such a way that marketing becomes simple and profoundly effective.  Yes, you still have to know what to do and how to do it. But you’ll no longer get freaked out when the newest bright shiny object comes along to tell you about the millions you’re losing because you aren’t doing this one thing.  You can calmly rely on your clarity to guide you to keep your marketing simple. (And most marketing IS simple and doable”¦and maybe even a little boring!  You just have to DO IT.)

In my Uplevel Your Business program, the first four modules is a deep dive into total clarity in these three areas of your business and your offer.   Not until we’ve built this foundation do we go into marketing and selling.  (The final six modules.)  The reason for this is that people get better results when they know who they’re marketing to and communicating with – and what kind of value they bring to the world.

So now, go back and choose one of the questions above”¦ just one. And look at it through the filter of your ideal client, of what you offer and of where you want to go.  See if this doesn’t bring a clear answer to you.  If you don’t have clarity in the WHO WHAT WHERE of your business – then THAT is where you must begin to focus.

Let’s talk here”¦Â  does this make sense to you?  If not, what is your resistance?  If so, which of those three areas do you most need clarity in?

12 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • Alle L’Eveille

    I like the clarity in the article. I always counsel my clients, when they are wondering about whether something is appropriate for their brand, to go back and measure whether it supports their brand personality and value. Every project should have an identified goal so if get off track, you can return by asking how it supports the goal. The WHO, WHAT, WHERE is a good touchstone for us to use to see whether we are doing the right thing when we market ourselves. Than should get put on a giant post-it on the wall!

  • Reshleman

    After just reading Christine’s newsletters, short video segments, working with her Cash Flow Decoder Map, and e-viewing her “Wine & Cheese with Christine” web event last month, I have added 24 new clients and in the last two months have made more than double my entire annual gross income from my former downer of a job last year. I know – if I read this posted by someone else, I would be skeptical too. The fact is that the only way that any program – “generic” or personalized – can work for you is if you buy in to the program and truly open your mind to the concepts being presented. Christine provides great tools, but it is up to each of us to adapt those tools to work for our specific purpose.
    Working through the Cash Flow Decoder Map, I forced myself to consider each concept and brainstorm as many different viable ways that I could possibly make that concept work to improve my business, and you know what? It was fun! The process was and is exciting when we stop making excuses, or saying, “Well, that won’t work for me and my business” and we start saying, “How am I going to make that work for me and my business?” That’s where I started, and the ideas just started flowing.

    I have UpLeveled my business beyond what I could even imagine just two months ago, and as Jennifer mentions above, I am building a great foundation, so that when I am able to participate more formally in Christine’s UYB or other programs, I will have my ducks in a row, and my eyes on the prize.

  • A. E. Starkey

    Puttin’ myself out here a bit, but what if you feel that no one is interested in your “stuff” (be it counseling, art, paintings, legal services, etc.)? And not in a boohoo mindset way (though that may be part of it), but mostly in a “I am certain someone would be interested–but I don’t know how to figure out who they are.”

    Using myself as an example, my “stuff” is stories. I offer fiction, and I’d like to live off my writing, completing books and touring giving humorous speeches related to my stories (so, I’m pretty clear on two and three). But I am unsure how to promote my type of fiction or figure out who likes it. I recognize this is mostly because I don’t have much feedback–I have a lone little website in cyberspace.

    The only ideas I have right now are to try and give talks at the library for free with a clipboard at the back of the room for people to sign up for an e-newsletter that doesn’t exist yet, or at least with stickers or something with my web address on it. My stories feature a lot of animals, so I’ve also thought about commenting on cat blogs or trying to speak for free with humane organizations. Is this . . . possible? When I talk to people about my writing, what do I look for on their faces? How do I know, “Oh, they’re interested, they’d like what I have to offer” or conversely, “These people like cats, but they don’t like reading about them, and I should try elsewhere”?

    I know that’s very nuts-and-bolts-level of specific, but that’s my question: What sort of actions or experiments can I run to recognize when I’ve met my ideal reader and then find more of them?

    • Christine Kane

      Hey there A.E. –

      It’s just like when you start doing music – you have to just put yourself out there for free! And yeah, I think you’re on the right track with your idea of free seminars, etc. In my experience, there’s a bit of a “ring of fire” that you have to walk through when you’re finding your voice and your “peeps” in this way. Go for it!

  • Constance DeWitt

    Hi Christine, After lying dormant for nearly a year (my web site was inactive for months) and feeling for the first time in my life that I had truly “wasted” my time and resources on this business endeavor, I’ve “let it go” and have started over.
    I would like to know how to set up a survey to ask questions of my friends to help me focus on what they are most interested in. I realize that my interest in sustainable, environmentally conscious, socially responsible products for interiors may be too broad to start with, so I need to find out what women want to know about those things first. Any ideas on how to go about that?
    Some times I am an impossibly slow learner, and at other times I amaze myself. Your course is helping me see with new eyes. Your compassion and transparency are what make me want to follow your lead.
    With gratitude!

  • Vicki

    Awesome article thank you Christine. I think my biggest issue is getting clear on what I offer. I am a pregnancy photographer and I am finding it hard to attract my ideal client. I know she is out there. I think getting clear on what I offer will help and I can see it is tied up with self esteem issues too. Hmm… Thanks for the pondering! Xx

  • vivi

    Hi Christine,

    I join your Up-Level your Life program 2 years ago, and it made my life brighter (I was depressed and looking for job) and confidence. After 3 jobs that made me not satisfied, I decided to take charge and decided to get the life that I want – I am start my own business – “a love hotel”.
    I share your sentiment that I need a business coach, however a generic program like Up Level Your Business will not cut (I tried similar one in my town, Toronto). Do you have a suggestion about who or what program should I join?

    Thanks a lot.

    vivi

    • Jennifer Blumenthal

      Oh my, Vivi, you just told Christine Kane that her Uplevel Your Business program is generic and won’t work, and then you expect her to give you advice??

      Be very careful what message you’re putting out there in the world even when you ask questions.

      I’m not an affiliate of Christine’s, but I AM a coaching client having gone through Uplevel Your Business (and going on my second time now of going through the modules because Christine gives lifetime access and there’s always more clarity to get) AND I am in her Gold Academy program. I can assure you that her programs are not “generic.” She’s a very focused coach who intuitively and experientially understands the undercurrents and nuances of building a successful business, and she’s very good at teaching and motivating you to do the same thing. What you learn in UYB – what she talks about above – are the foundational things that are necessary if you want to succeed in ANY business, along with a lot of strategy to get you going. There’s not a business in this world that doesn’t need what she teaches in UYB.

      I hope that you find what you’re looking for in a coach no matter who that is, but remember that you have to have a strong foundation before you can build a house or it won’t stand for very long.

    • Christine Kane

      Hi Vivi –

      I agree with Jennifer! 🙂 Uplevel your Business isn’t generic at all…

      AND one of the most common things I hear from solo business owners is the all-too-common belief that “i’m different” “my business is different” “that won’t work for MY service.” And what it tends to be is a way to seal yourself off from ever taking the necessary steps to succeed. It’s fear disguised as “logic.” Of course, I don’t know you (though I remember you in Uplevel Your Life – and I seem to recall a similar theme in some of your questions at first in UYL – am i right on that?) … but see if that feels true at all.

      Anyway, you liked Uplevel Your Life and got results from it – then I’m thinking that Uplevel Your Business would most likely be a different experience from the business training you attempted in Toronto – especially now that you know my style.

      With that said, I’ll bet there are people who will see this comment and perhaps contact you! I am very much a firm believer in saving your money and doing a program like UYB rather than getting a one-on-one business coach because it will show you exactly what you need to do – and that way, once you get a coach who works privately – you’ll have more to present and get help with!

      Hope that helps!

  • e’Layne Koenigsberg

    What about the “why” we do what we do…I’ve worked to get clear on my “why” and it helps me a lot in defining what I do…and what “whats” to sell…I know I will be a heck of a lot clearer now that I’m working with you!!! I haven’t read Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why…but wanted your feedback on the “why” of our business. thanks so much…see you next week…sooooo excited…no snow, please…Florida gal, e’Layne

    • Christine Kane

      e’Layne –

      Absolutely – your WHY matters – but in my experience it’s the driving force behind everything — not necessarily limited to being a factor in marketing strategies when it comes to questions like this – though it certainly drives the voice and content of your marketing and your services. (And I do think that your “why” is included in the third question… where you want to go.)