Episode Transcript
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Janice Hostager (00:05):
I'm Janice
Hostager.
After three decades in themarketing business and many
years of being an entrepreneur,I've learned a thing or two
about marketing.
Join me as we talk aboutmarketing, small business and
life in between.
Welcome to my Weekly Marketing.
Can I let you in on a secretthat I've noticed?
(00:34):
Most of the time, it's not agiant overhaul of your marketing
or a big, expensive marketingcampaign that changes a business
.
It's the tiny shifts, thelittle tweaks that, bit by bit,
make things click.
Marketing can feel overwhelming.
We feel like we need to do itall and do it perfectly, but
sometimes just changing the wayyou phrase something, the way
that you show up or the way thatyou connect with your customers
(00:57):
can completely change yourresults.
So today I want to share seventiny marketing shifts that can
be absolute game changers foryour business.
These are simple, doable thingsthat you can start applying
right away.
And stick with me to the end,because I'm going to give you a
free tool to help you see whichshift will make the biggest
difference in your businessright now.
(01:18):
Okay, shift number one fromtalking about you to talking
about them.
One of the most powerful shiftsyou can make in your marketing
is realizing that you are notthe hero of the story, your
customer is.
Too often we step into thespotlight and lead with our
credentials or our process orour experience, but our
(01:39):
customers are really living intheir own story, with their own
challenges and their own goals.
What they need is a guide,someone that understands where
they are, knows the path aheadand can walk with them to the
outcome that they want.
Think about movies like StarWars with Luke Skywalker.
He has Yoda, right?
And Harry Potter has Dumbledore.
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You're not meant to be the oneslaying the dragon.
You're the one handing yourcustomer the sword and giving
them the tools.
But so often our marketingstarts with us.
I'm a business coach.
I have 20 years of experience.
Here's my process, and that canbe important to add down the
road.
But people don't buy because ofyour resume.
(02:20):
They buy because they believeyou understand their problem.
So, instead of leading with whoyou are, lead with what they
need.
For example, instead of sayingI offer bookkeeping services,
try I help small business ownersstop stressing about their
numbers to finally paythemselves consistently, which
one makes you lean in a littlemore, the second one right.
(02:42):
Or instead of saying I'm acertified life coach who helps
clients set life goals.
You could say something morespecific, like I help women who
feel lost after their childrenleave the nest and get them on a
clear purpose to move forward.
Tiny shifts in wording butcompletely changes how a
potential client hears it.
(03:03):
Having this change in youremails or on your homepage or
anywhere that you're addressinga cold audience can be an
immediate game changer.
This tiny shift makes yourcustomer feel seen and when they
feel seen, they're much morelikely to trust you.
Okay, shift number two fromposting randomly to posting with
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a purpose.
How many times have you staredat your phone and thought I
should post something today andthen just slapped something
together?
I think, if we're really beinghonest, I think we've all done
this.
That's posting randomly.
It checks the box but doesn'tmove people forward.
First let me say I get it.
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Social media can be a black holein our productivity and it's so
discouraging to spend an hourdoing a post only to have two or
three likes.
But if you try posting with apurpose, every post will have a
clear job and your audience willsee that as well.
So you want to post something.
That number one builds trust inyour expertise.
(04:03):
Show them what you know andeven share a free lead magnet
for them.
Or build connection, show themyou're confident sharing your
offer.
And if you're a personal brand,work to move past the fear of
showing up in front of thecamera.
I get it, I don't love to be infront of the camera either, but
it just takes practice and yourbrand will grow because of it.
(04:24):
Or share a client story ortestimonials.
Or maybe how you can overcomeobjections and move them closer
to the sale.
Know your ideal customer wellenough that you know what
objections they might have.
Or turn that trust into sales.
Don't be afraid to promote youroffer on social media.
So before you post, askyourself what job is this doing?
(04:48):
That one tiny shift cancompletely change your content
and completely change yoursocial media results.
Shift number three from afreebie factory to one strategic
lead magnet.
Here's a big one I see all thetime.
Creating a freebie factory.
I've been guilty of this too.
So what I mean by that is thatyou've probably been creating
(05:12):
multiple freebies.
A checklist here or a guidethere, or maybe a template you
whipped up because somebody saidit would grow your list.
Before long you've got six,seven, 15 or 20 lead magnets
floating around, or maybe evenmore.
But here's the problem.
Most of those freebies don'tactually lead anywhere.
They collect dust on yourwebsite or they get downloaded
to people who may never becomeyour customers.
(05:33):
You might gain them as atemporary email subscriber, but
they'll probably never buybecause it's not aligned with
your offer.
So what's the point of payingfor them to be in your email
system?
A tiny but powerful shift is afocus on one strategic lead
magnet, the one that acts as abridge straight to your offer.
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Think of it this way yourfreebie should be the first
stepping stone on the path toworking with you.
If your course helps women loseweight, then your freebie
should solve one tiny part ofthat problem and naturally point
them towards your biggersolution.
For example, I have a marketingstrategy playbook that aligns
perfectly with what I teach.
Marketing strategy.
It pre-qualifies people for myoffer.
(06:16):
If they're interested in theplaybook, they'll probably be
interested in my offer.
So here's my challenge for you.
Take an honest look at yourfreebies.
Ask yourself does this directlyconnect to my main offer.
If not, let it go.
It's better to have one stronglead magnet that consistently
attracts and nurtures your idealcustomer than several of them
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that just scatter youraudience's attention.
Okay, shift number four fromselling to everyone to speaking
to one person.
This shift might feel a littleawkward and a little scary at
first, but it's one of the mostpowerful shifts that you can
make.
Instead of trying to talk toand sell to everyone, start
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speaking to one person, yourideal customer avatar or your
ICA.
Here's why, when you try toappeal to everybody, your
message gets watered down.
It becomes generic, and genericdoesn't move people to take
action.
But when you focus on your oneideal customer, your words get
sharper.
You start addressing theirexact problems or their fears or
(07:21):
their desires, and suddenlyyour marketing feels magnetic.
Think about it like this.
Imagine you're at like a crowdsomewhere, maybe a party.
Someone across the room yellshey and keeps talking.
Most people will tune them out.
Now imagine that same personlooks directly at you and says
your name.
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Like hey, Janice, I've gotsomething you need to hear.
You're going to lean in right.
That's the power of speaking tothat one person.
Let's look at an example.
A general message would be Ihelp people live healthier lives
.
An ICA or ideal customer avatarfocused message would be, I
help busy moms over 40 loseweight without giving up wine or
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chocolate.
Which one stops you?
The second one, right, becauseif you're a busy mom over 40 and
trying to lose weight, it feelslike that coach just read your
mind.
And here's the best part.
Narrowing your focus doesn'tshrink your audience.
It actually grows your influence.
People outside that descriptionmight still hire you, but your
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clarity makes your marketingstronger for everyone.
So here's your tiny action step.
The next time you write anemail or a social media post, or
even an offer, imagine you'rewriting it to that one person
that you know, your dream client, your ideal customer avatar.
That one person is most alignedto your offer.
Don't talk to all the people,don't talk to everyone, just one
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person.
That small shift in perspectivecan make your marketing
instantly more effective, and Ido have a free download for that
and I'll put the link in theshow notes for that too, so that
you can really identify whoyour ideal customer is.
Okay, let's talk about a shiftthat'll give you peace of mind.
Stop chasing the algorithms andjust start focusing on building
(09:12):
your email list.
I heard this advice a long timeago when I first started my
business, even my first businessand I didn't listen for far too
long, and I'm paying the priceeven today.
Here's the problem withbuilding your following on
social media.
They might follow you, but howmany of those buy from you?
Truthfully, you don't ownsocial media followers.
(09:33):
Instagram owns them.
Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, anyof them can change their rules
tomorrow and you'd have zerocontrol of it.
I've seen it happen.
One day, a post gets greatreach and the next day it's
crickets, and nothing about youreffort has changed.
And I've also heard of manypeople who get hacked and lose
(09:54):
all of their followers overnight.
That's because you're buildingon rented land.
The algorithm decides who seesyour content, not you, but your
email list?
That one's yours.
No one can take it away.
When someone gives you theiremail, it's like saying yes, I
want to hear from you.
You don't have to fight thealgorithm.
You have a direct line to theirinbox.
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And here's the surprising thing, even a small list can
outperform a huge socialfollowing.
I know people with 200 peopleon their email list who sell out
programs, while others with20,000 Instagram followers
struggle to convert.
Why?
Because the right list is worthmore than a big audience that
doesn't engage.
The money is in the list.
(10:38):
So here's a tiny shift.
Prioritize growing your listover chasing likes and
engagement.
Add one new way for people tojoin your list this week.
That could be a simple opt-inform on your website, or it
might be mentioning your freebieon social media, using an
auto-response tool like ManyChatto easily drive traffic to it,
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or even just dropping yourfreebie in an Instagram bio.
Don't get me wrong I lovesocial media as an awareness
tool, but it should be thestarting point, not the end
point.
The goal isn't more likes, it'smore leads and, ultimately,
more sales.
Right, and those come frompeople who have invited you into
their inbox where you can buildreal relationships.
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Remember, the algorithm isrented.
Your email list is owned.
Don't build unrented land.
Okay, shift number six fromguessing to tracking.
This is one that I would sayalmost 100% of the clients that
I see do not do.
So many business owners arestuck in guessing mode.
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They post something onInstagram and hope it works, or
they send an email and crosstheir fingers, or they run a
promotion and just wait to seeif sales magically happen.
Hope isn't a strategy.
That's not marketing.
That's gambling.
When you don't track, you can'ttell what's working and what's
not working.
And that leads to one of twooutcomes.
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Either you keep doing thingsthat aren't working but you
think they are, or you give uptoo soon on something that could
have worked if you just tweakedit.
But when you start tracking,you move from feelings to facts.
You can look at numbers and say, okay, this email subject line
got a 60% open rate.
I should do more like that.
Or this reel drove 50 people tomy freebie.
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That's worth repeating.
Imagine baking a cake withoutever testing it to see if it's
done.
That's what guessing inmarketing looks like.
Tracking is like checking thetimer and testing it with a
toothpick to let you know whenit's on the right track and when
you need to adjust.
And don't let the wordstracking intimidate you.
I'm not talking about buildinga giant spreadsheet with 100
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KPIs.
I'm talking about picking onenumber to watch it consistently.
That could be your email openrates, website visits from
Instagram, quiz completions orwebinar signups.
Any one of those.
Watch the results.
Just pick one number and trackit for 30 days.
That tiny action alone willgive you more clarity than a
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year's worth of guessing.
So it's a tiny shift with ahuge payoff.
Start tracking one thing,because what gets measured gets
managed and what gets managedstarts to grow.
The numbers tell a story.
Okay, shift number seven fromselling once to serving beyond
the sale.
This last shift might be themost overlooked that I see with
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most of my clients.
Don't stop at the sale.
This is one of my key areasthat I cover in my new course
Modern Marketing Mastery.
Most business owners pour alltheir energy into getting new
clients hustling, running aroundon social media, creating
endless content that attractsnew people.
And, yes, you do need newcustomers, but if you stop there
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, you're leaving so muchopportunity and, honestly, so
much impact on the table.
Your best future customers arethe ones who already trusted you
once.
They've already raised theirhand, opened their wallet and
said I believe in you and if youserve them really well, they'll
come back for more and they'llbuy your next offer, or they'll
refer their friends and they'llgive you a glowing testimonial.
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Think of it this way.
Would you rather spend timeconvincing a stranger that
you're trustworthy or servingsomeone who already knows and
loves you?
So here are a few simple waysthat you can serve beyond the
first sale.
First, an upsell.
Create a next level offer thatnaturally follows your first.
For example, if you're a lifecoach with a six-week starter
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class, maybe your upsell couldbe one-on-one coaching.
Or create a referral program.
You can invite happy clients toshare you with a friend.
You'd be surprised how manywill if you just ask them.
Or a quick follow-up emailasking for feedback.
That not only strengthens yourcredibility but it keeps that
relationship warm.
And sometimes it's nice to justsay thank you, send a
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handwritten thank you note or asmall bonus resource or a
personal check-in after theproject wraps up.
That little extra touch goes along way to show that you
actually care and that you careabout the relationship.
So here's a tiny shift you cantry this week.
Reach out to one past client,thank them for working with you
and ask how they're doing.
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No pitch, no pressure, justserve them.
That simple action might sparka referral or a repeat project
or, at the very least,strengthen the relationship.
Remember, marketing doesn't endwhen someone clicks buy.
That's where the realopportunity begins.
When you shift from sellingonce to serving beyond the sale,
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you stop chasing clients andstart building a business with
some staying power.
Okay, so there you have it.
Seven tiny shifts that can makea huge difference in marketing.
And notice, none of theserequire you to overhaul your
entire business.
They're all small and doable.
They're all just tweaks.
Now here's your next step.
I've created a quiz called theMarketing Momentum Scorecard.
(16:06):
It's a free quiz that I createdto help you see exactly which
stage your marketing is strongand which ones might be holding
you back.
It's not just a fun quiz.
It diagnoses your biggestmarketing gap and then I send an
email to you so you can learnwhat to do next.
That next best step just foryou, based on your score.
So if you go tojanicehostagercom forward slash
(16:29):
quiz, you can take it.
I'll also put a link in theshow notes for today.
You'll get a personalized scoreand your next action steps that
you can apply right away.
Remember, you don't need to doeverything.
You just need to do the nextright thing, and this quiz will
show you what that is.
So, thanks so much for joiningme today.
For more information aboutanything we talked about, visit
(16:50):
myweeklymarketingcom.
Forward slash 125.
See you next time.
Bye for now.