Your marketing spark sounds like a crazy phrase. Surely you either do marketing or you don’t? It is either effective or it isn’t.
In my experience it is not as simple as that.
When you do marketing without any “spark” or life in it it rarely achieves the results you look for. The spark, the edge, the conviction, the confidence provides the missing ingredient. It turns a random conversation into a sale, and enables you to write and speak up for your business in an easy and appealing way.
Most of my clients care very much about what they do. The trouble is when it all becomes too intense we can get too needy for results, validation or ego strokes. And that stops the listener, the viewer or the reader from feeling confident that what you have is right for them.
Your relationship with marketing your business is like any other relationship. You want to go into it with an open mind, some confidence in yourself, but not with an empty begging bowl that can only be filled by the other.
The more you need marketing to save you or change everything, the less it seems to work. Just like a normal human relationship.
So what does it mean to have marketing spark?
Your marketing spark is not something that is a given. An entrepreneur’s life is full of highs and lows, ups and downs successes and failures. Rather than being defined by these events the right attitude will keep your marketing spark alive. There are a number of factors which go to keep your marketing spark alive.
You have purpose and connect to the bigger picture
Your marketing spark is connected to the bigger intangible stuff, and everything has clarity and purpose. You know why you want to do it as well as the open rate of your email. The vision, the purpose, the mission, the values in your business are all infused into what you do.
You know who you love to work with
The type of people, what they do and how they live their life. Your solution genuinely helps, and you enjoy helping. This quality infuses everything you write and say and speaks to your ideal client.
You can meet them where they are
All your knowledge and wisdom collected over many years, as well as any jargon you have picked up along the way can be a barrier when your potential clients just need to know that you “get” them. So you talk in the language they use. Even if you were once your own customer your ideal clients may now talk about it all in different language. Emotions don’t change but the words and phrases may be different.
You are happy to experiment and try different approaches
All the gurus in the world cannot run your business. So while you may take ideas from many different place (including here!) it is more important to try things out for yourself.
When you do an activity in the spirit of open mindedness it all becomes more of an experiment. And the more experiments the better you will get at them. Nobody does it perfectly first time. i had a client who literally put her fingers in her ears and said she wouldn’t listen when I suggested video for the second time! A week later she had done her first video and got over a big hurdle. It may not have been perfect, but she became interested in getting better, rather than resisting taking action.
You keep an eye on the numbers
Even if your numbers are low you still need to know them. You don’t collapse in horror if they are dreadful – it is all interesting. And if you are starting out – or starting out again – the only way is up!
What can kill your marketing spark?
The worst thing that can make you lose your marketing spark is simply not getting through to your ideal client. I have found that very often highly experienced professionals find it difficult to put themselves in their client’s shoes. I once worked with a woman who was a brilliant dentist who said to me in astonishment ” You have written from my patients’ point of view!”
Being hard on yourself.
Failures happen. It doesn’t make you a bad person or unfit to have a business. There are no small business police to put you in jail if you don’t have success. The people who are right for your business are right for you. There will be lots of others who definitely are not right.
Too much structure so your spark feels stifled.
Some structure and rhythm in your business can help you get more done more easily. But If you find yourself fighting the structure you (or someone else) has established it is time for a re-think.
Doing everything yourself
It is easier in the short term to do everything yourself, and in the beginning that may be your reality. But if it gets to a stage where you don’t trust others, or are not open to new ideas the spark can flicker and die. Even having some help at home or work can make a massive difference. Whether it is to do a task or to have the opinion of someone you trust about the direction you want to go.
Not taking time off to relax or get a new perspective
Your best ideas are unlikely to develop when you are slaving over a hot laptop. Give yourself regular time off each week to nourish yourself. Your hobbies and interests are important, and social conversations are vital for your well being.
Reducing the hours you work is a great way to get things done more quickly! Don’t forget Parkinson’s Law which says “Work expands to fill the time available.”
Some “out and about” time during the working week often leads to new ideas. A conversation with a client, going to a different venue, reading a great book or seeing how other industries work can easily lead to new insights.
We have been living in a time of chronic stress even if we have not personally had Covid-19 or known people who have had it. It is especially important to look after ourselves during these times as our spark for life can definitely be dimmed. Being trapped at home and unable to see friends and family has taken a massive toll on our mental health.
When you are a small business owner you have to be your best employer so build in additional resources that give you time and space. Your brain may not be working as normal so don’t put yourself under any further pressure
Not having a plan
It is easy to buy products or courses that are not directly relevant to where you are now. To think that because the results are not flooding in that the approach is wrong. I find my clients want to do it all – naturally – but when we stick to a 3 month plan it becomes much easier to create success.
We all go through peaks and troughs in our business, but the more you can be interested in it all the more likely you are to get results, and ultimately nourish your marketing spark.