This blog is part one of two about my business focuses for 2022.
Early on in my efforts to build an email list, I struck gold. Or so I thought.
I had joined a large Facebook group with a membership that allows you to pay to promote. One day, I put up my first promotional post offering my free Canva templates.
It exploded with more than 4,500 comments.
Within two days, my list went from about 60 people to over 2,000.
While the growth was exciting, I did have a nagging feeling in my stomach that this would come with certain challenges.
It did.
For one, my email open rates tanked after that.
Two, my freebie wasn’t really connected to my core message about what problems I solve. So, I ended up with a lot of people who weren’t my target market and had no interest in what I had to say.
In short, I broke a lot of my own rules.
I was rewarded with growth, but maybe not the kind of growth that would really move the needle in my business or help me serve those I was meant to serve.
I ended up deleting half of the subscribers I gained off of my list and have spent some time getting back on track.
As I look back on this past year, there were other things I did that were more focused on vanity metrics and marketing tactics than on the person on the other side of the equation.
Late 2020 was when I was making a shift from solely one-to-one services to offering digital products. That side of marketing was new and felt cutthroat early on. What I’m realizing is, it doesn’t have to be.
I am coming back to the one-to-one model in my marketing that served me well when I was solely a done-for-you service provider, even as I continue to offer digital projects like a course.
At the end of the day, it’s easy to forget that when you market, you are marketing to human beings. They are people with real problems, real concerns and real goals.
This past year has been a good reminder of that.
In my efforts to make a change, I started a Facebook group in September dedicated to service providers. Although it takes time and effort, my goal was to connect one-to-one with as many new members as I could.
The time is worth it. I have learned more about my community in a few short months than I have in years from my Instagram account.
I talked to women who are single moms and are running a business to try to change the future for their family.
I talked to new service providers who struggle with putting themselves out there.
I messaged women who have big goals. Women like me.
I want to do more of this in 2022.
It is easy to forget about our target market in the middle of trying to sell them something. The irony is, when you do, selling doesn’t work as well.
My goal is to focus on serving first.
At the end of the day, online business can be lonely. There are millions of us out there doing it, and yet, somehow it can feel like we are doing it alone.
In that spirit, let’s stop and connect. What is your focus for 2022? Send me a DM on Instagram and let me know.