October 27, 2025 • 18 mins
Ever feel like your marketing is haunted by things you can’t quite name? In this Halloween-inspired episode, we’re calling out the five “monsters” that quietly creep into your strategy—like zombie tactics that waste time, ghosts of inconsistency, and funnel vampires that drain your energy. But instead of fear, we offer simple, practical shifts that bring your focus (and results) back to life.
You’ll hear how to audit what’s working, simplify your channels, and build trust before you try to sell. Whether you’re battling comparison, burnout, or just plain overwhelm, this conversation helps you spot the gaps and build a plan that feels human, doable, and effective. Want more support? Grab the free Marketing Strategy Playbook to map out your customer journey with intention.
Trail to the Sale
- Show Notes
- Apply to be featured on My Weekly Marketing!
- Take the Marketing Clarity Quiz and get instant insights on your marketing strategy.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Janice Hostager (00:04):
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.
Hey, and welcome back toanother episode of My Weekly
(00:31):
Marketing.
I can remember when I think Iwas in junior high, middle
school age, I think it was like12, my best friend growing up,
Marie and I, decided to create ahaunted house for our friends.
And it was a big deal to us.
We decided to do it in mybasement, and we had hung up
sheets to divide up the rooms,which I'm sure my mom was not
(00:52):
thrilled about, got the spookymusic going, and we even cooked
up things like spaghetti noodlesto feel like worms, all those
cheesy haunted house things.
I know for sure that my parentswere a little annoyed by this
whole thing, but honestly, itwas the best.
I can't even tell you how manypeople showed up for it or if we
even considered it a success ornot, but I think just the whole
(01:16):
process was really cool and Iremember it to this day.
So this week I was in aconversation with a client who
decided to run a haunted housesocial media post.
And like the haunted house weput together when I was 12, I
got really excited about it.
So, yes, I kind of stole thehaunted house idea and decided
to also do a social media postabout it, but I realized that
(01:38):
there was a lot more contentthat we could talk about than I
could fit in a social post.
So I've made this last-minutepodcast episode about that.
So call me crazy, but there'ssome good stuff in here that I
think you want to hear.
So today that we're going totake a little field trip to tour
the haunted house of marketing.
But don't worry, you don't needa flashlight or a costume, just
(02:02):
a willingness to face a fewmarketing monsters that might be
haunting your business.
Because here's the truth: sometimes it's not your offer, (02:08):
undefined
your platform, or your effortthat's holding you back.
It's the invisible ghosts andgoblins lurking inside your
marketing strategy.
So in today's Haunted Housetour, we're going to meet five
characters, five scarycharacters, and I'll show you
how to defeat each one using aclear marketing strategy.
(02:30):
Okay, here we go.
Room number one, the zombiemarketing strategy.
So you push open the firstcreaky door, and there it is.
See the zombie?
It's dragging its feet,clutching an outdated marketing
plan from 2019 and mumbling,"But this used to work!" The
zombie strategy shows up whenyou keep repeating tactics that
(02:53):
once worked but no longer do.
Maybe it's that you're relyingon word-of-mouth marketing
instead of nurturing new leads.
Or maybe you're still boostingrandom posts because that's what
somebody told you to do yearsago.
Or maybe you're sending thesame email sequence that hasn't
been updated since, I don'tknow, five years ago.
(03:14):
The problem isn't that thesethings never worked, it's that
they've outlived theireffectiveness because audiences
have changed, algorithms havebeen updated, or maybe your
audience has evolved as yourbusiness has grown.
After all, your audience willgrow with you.
I had a client who built herbusiness doing Facebook Lives
(03:35):
back in 2018, and they workedbeautifully back in 2018.
But then her views starteddropping, not all at once, but
very slowly.
And after a while, she startedpanicking.
And then what she did, becauseit worked before, she doubled
down.
So she was instead of doing onepost a week, she started doing
(03:56):
two posts a week.
So she was doing more of whatdidn't work.
So what changed?
First of all, her audiencemoved off Facebook and onto
different platforms.
So she needed to see where heraudience was now.
And also her email list wasoutdated.
Many people on her list haven'tbeen engaging.
(04:16):
And that spells trouble for youbecause email service providers
pay attention to that and itimpacts deliverability.
So we had her do are-engagement campaign so she
could purge up people that havebeen hanging on her list but
never opening, clicking, orotherwise engaging, and
certainly not buying.
Once we pivoted to short-termreels for her on Instagram and
(04:39):
done some YouTube shorts withher, and we optimized her email
strategy, things startedbouncing back.
But it took some time andeffort on her part, and things
that she probably didn't realizewere slipping away because had
she known that earlier, shecould have made the change
earlier.
And that's what happens withzombies, right?
(05:00):
They look like they're alive,but they're really dead.
So I want you to do a zombiecheck too.
Make a list of everythingyou're doing for marketing.
So content, emails, ads,anything.
And then circle anything thatyou've been doing for more than
a year without reviewing thedata.
Now, I always say I like tohave my clients review data
every month, but realistically,I know that often doesn't
(05:23):
happen.
And so at least once a year,take a look at that data.
And you should be seeing upwardtrends.
And if you're not, you need toask yourself, is this still
bringing in new leads, newengagement, and new sales?
Because if not, you need toreevaluate that.
You need to pause it, updateit, or just bury it for good.
(05:45):
Okay, so that was room numberone.
Our next room, let me just setthe scene.
The next room feels cold andabandoned.
There are echoes of dusty blogdrafts and abandoned campaigns
and a podcast that was there andgone and then came back again.
(06:05):
It's the ghost ofinconsistency.
This ghost loves to appear whenlife gets busy.
You start strong, you'rebatching, you're planning,
you're posting, and then a bigclient project comes in, and
then poof, your updates vanishfor weeks because you're so
busy, right?
But when you disappear, youraudience loses trust.
(06:26):
Consistency is what teachespeople they can rely on you.
And when you're inconsistent,that damage runs deeper than you
think.
It's not just about missing aweek or two.
Inconsistency chips away attrust, visibility, and momentum.
Here's what really happens.
When you go quiet, thealgorithm assumes you've ghosted
(06:47):
your audience and it punishesyou for it.
So when you finally post again,fewer people see it, and you're
basically starting over fromscratch every time instead of
building the momentum thatyou've already worked so hard to
earn.
So when your next post finallyappears, it feels random and
engagement drops even lower.
(07:07):
That tells the algorithm, oh,people aren't interested, which
means your visibility sinks evenmore.
And just like that, it becomesa social media death spiral.
But please note, you can take abreak now again.
Just don't do it frequently andwithout warning.
I'm not talking about taking abreak from social media.
I'm talking about reallyinconsistent posting.
(07:27):
So posting several times oneweek or even for a few weeks and
then just dropping off.
So every time you do that, ittells the algorithm that you're
not reliable.
So you don't want to do that insocial media, and you really
don't want to do it with otherthings like your email marketing
because people stop trustingyou.
So the second thing that thisdoes is every time you
(07:50):
disappear, your audience quietlyfills that gap with somebody
else who does show up.
When you come back, it's likewalking into a room where the
conversation's already moved onand you have to reintroduce
yourself and work twice as hardto grab that attention again.
It's the same reasonnewsletters that go dark for
months see huge drops in openrates when they come back.
(08:12):
It's because the emailplatforms recognize that and
they stop delivering emails foryou.
And also, it really sends thewrong signals to your customers.
It consistently signals thatyou take your business and your
audience seriously.
If you're a hit or miss, youraudience starts to wonder what
else might be going on.
(08:33):
It's not about perfection, it'sabout reliability.
And then finally, marketingworks like compound interest.
Every post, email, andconversation builds on the last
one.
When you stop and start, youinterrupt that growth curve.
Instead of scaling up, you'reconsistently rebuilding from
zero.
So as much work as it is to beconsistent, it's so much more
(08:56):
work to play catch-up when youcome and go.
I had a coaching client whoghosted her list for two months.
And it's not that she intendedto do this because she really
just got overwhelmed and shejust had to let it slide.
But when she finally sent out anew email, she got a lot of
unsubscribes and a few who isthis replies because people
(09:17):
forgot they'd signed up, right?
So email is a great example.
You have to do it consistently.
You don't need to do it daily,you need to be reliably
consistent.
I'd rather you post once aweek, than five times one week,
and then nothing for a month.
Same with email.
Although I always recommendemailing your list every week
(09:39):
and sharing new content, it'sbetter to commit to what you can
do than to overcommit andunderdeliver.
So if you think this soundslike you, it's okay.
We just need to start fromscratch again.
And I want you to create a bareminimum marketing plan and ask
yourself, if I could only do onething consistently, what would
(09:59):
have the biggest impact?
Maybe it's sending one email aweek.
Maybe it's one high qualityInstagram reel.
Maybe it's one podcast episodelike this one.
Commit to that for 30 days andbuild it up from there.
Consistency keeps your audiencemoving through the Trail to the
Sale.
Ghost them, and they'll wanderoff the path.
(10:20):
Okay, room number three.
Here it is.
A tall, charming figure wearinga black cape greets you at the
door.
My funnel can make you richovernight, he says.
But once you step inside, yourtime, your money, and your
confidence start to drain away.
Meet the funnel vampire.
The funnel vampire promises youquick income, but without a
(10:43):
strategy, funnels will bleed youdry.
That's why I don't use aconventional marketing funnel
and why I created the Trail tothe Sale in the first place.
So you can allow your audienceto know, like, and trust you
along the journey that theytake.
A funnel without nurturing youraudience and nurturing that
(11:04):
relationship is like invitingstrangers to your haunted
mansion for a party and notletting them get to know you or
even where to get a snack or adrink.
They're just gonna want to turnaround and run away.
I worked with a coach a whileago who had an awesome funnel
set up.
Ads, email, automation,evergreen webinar, but it wasn't
converting.
(11:25):
But why?
It's because she skipped therelationship part.
Her audience wasn't ready forthe offer.
It's like trying to propose onthe first date, right?
They weren't ready yet.
They didn't know her and theydidn't trust her.
And I hate to say it, but shewas focused on making the sale
instead of serving her audience.
Here's the truth.
(11:46):
People might follow you foryears before they buy, and often
they will.
That's why it's important togive them information they need
and serve them in that way untilthey're ready for your offer.
Focus on the serving.
Build offers for them.
To get past the funnel vampire,check to see how long you
nurture your audience.
Do you want them to buy rightaway?
(12:08):
Put yourself in the shoes ofyour ideal customer and ask
yourself, do I give themopportunities for them to get to
know, like, and trust me beforeI ask for the sale?
If the answer is no, add morevalue before your next offer,
something that lets them samplewhat you're selling.
Okay, here we are in roomnumber four.
As you turn the corner, you'resuddenly tangled in a sticky web
(12:32):
labeled logging, ads, SEO,YouTube, Reels, Pinterest, and
the more you move, the morestuck you get.
Have you guessed what this oneis yet?
Okay, I'm not sure about you,but I've definitely spent time
in this room.
It's the Web of Overwhelm.
The Web of Overwhelm catchesbusiness owners who try to do
(12:53):
everything at once.
You've got 37 open tabs, fiveunfinished freebies, and a
planner with full of ideas, butno clear pathway forward.
You're mistaking activity forprogress.
You started your businesswanting freedom, but now you
have another job.
(13:14):
Overwhelm doesn't just comefrom having too much to do, it
comes from not knowing what toprioritize.
We all have a lot to do.
The trick is to put on blindersand focus on what moves the
needle.
Like I said, I've spent time inthis room.
It's really hard for those ofus who have lots and lots of
(13:35):
ideas to put on those blindersand focus on the one thing.
So ask yourself, are the thingson my to-do list today the
things that actually bring inincome or enable the process to
bring in income?
If not, delegate it, automateit, or eliminate it, at least
for now.
So I want you to choose oneawareness channel.
(13:57):
So the awareness channel is howpeople find you.
That might be social media,speaking, PR, whatever has
worked for you in the past orwhat seems to be working now.
Then one consider channel, howyou build trust with a free
download and content.
So one lead magnet, yourfreebie, and either a blog,
YouTube, podcast, whatever youraudience likes to hear.
(14:20):
And then one conversion event.
So that's how you make thesale.
That could be a webinar, aseminar, a YouTube live event, a
sales call, again, whateverworks best for you.
Everything else is optional.
Stick with your core three forone quarter and then reassess.
When you give your audience oneclear route, they can actually
(14:41):
follow it.
And that's where the magic andsales start to happen.
Okay, so as we go into thisfinal room, a creepy witch looks
up.
As she stirs a bubblingcauldron, she has you looking at
other creators and smallbusiness owners online, and she
whispers, You're not doingenough.
The witch of comparison feedson insecurity, and I know her
(15:06):
well.
She thrives when you're onlineand when you're looking at other
people who are crushing it, andyou think, why am I even
bothering?
Or why can't I get that manysales?
Or what am I doing wrong?
Or why can't my website looklike hers?
Or you're scrolling on socialmedia and you see other people
who are putting tons of videosout when you can hardly complete
(15:29):
one each week.
The problem with the witch ofcomparison, you start chasing
other people's strategiesinstead of refining your own.
And those people are likelyfurther down on their journey.
It's hard though, isn't it?
I still find that I'll do this.
I'll compare my youngerbusiness with somebody who's
been crushing it for years andthink maybe I should abandon
(15:50):
what I'm doing and instead dosomething like they're doing.
I see this a lot when I take onnew clients.
They show me somebody else'swebsite or social media page
that they want to emulate.
But the problem is that theirstory is never going to be your
story.
Their brand voice is nevergoing to be your brand voice.
Trying to duplicate that willlack authenticity, and your
(16:11):
audience will pick up on that ina minute.
And truthfully, that wasprobably me when I opened my
first business a few years ago.
No matter what your own storyis, that is what people want and
need to hear from you.
You're not too old, too young,too thin, too heavy.
You are you, and people relateto people.
(16:32):
When we anchor my new clientstrategy around their voice,
storytelling, and authenticity,then their best customers will
start connecting with them andtheir business.
And the same is true for you.
People buy from connection, notperfection.
You can't compare yourbeginning to somebody else's
(16:52):
middle.
Behind every polished post is astrategy, a process, and
probably a well-paid videoeditor and a team of 10.
So for one week, I want you tounfollow or mute any account
that triggers self-doubt andreplace them with three people
who inspire you or teach yousomething useful that you can
(17:13):
apply to your own business in anauthentic way.
Your mindset shapes yourmarketing, your business, and
your success.
So guard it fiercely.
Okay, so there you have it.
The five monsters haunting thehaunted house of marketing.
The zombie marketing strategy,the ghost of inconsistency, the
(17:34):
funnel vampire, the web ofoverwhelm, and the witch of
comparison.
And the good news, you don'tneed holy water or a crucifix to
defeat them.
Just the plan.
And guess what?
I have that for you.
If your marketing feels alittle haunted right now, then
go ahead and grab my freemarketing strategy playbook.
It walks you through the eightstages of the Trail to the Sale
(17:57):
so you can stop wandering thehaunted house and start moving
forward with clarity.
You can download it atjanicehostager.com forward slash
trail or click the link in theshow notes in this episode.
And you can find anything wetalked about on this episode by
going to myweeklymarketing.comforward slash 131.
Thank you for joining me todayand touring the haunted house of
(18:20):
marketing.
Remember, the scariest thingisn't marketing mistakes, it's
staying stuck in them.
You've got this, and I'll seeyou next week for another
episode.
Thanks so much for joining me.
We'll see you next time.
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.
Hey, and welcome back toanother episode of My Weekly
(00:31):
Marketing.
I can remember when I think Iwas in junior high, middle
school age, I think it was like12, my best friend growing up,
Marie and I, decided to create ahaunted house for our friends.
And it was a big deal to us.
We decided to do it in mybasement, and we had hung up
sheets to divide up the rooms,which I'm sure my mom was not
(00:52):
thrilled about, got the spookymusic going, and we even cooked
up things like spaghetti noodlesto feel like worms, all those
cheesy haunted house things.
I know for sure that my parentswere a little annoyed by this
whole thing, but honestly, itwas the best.
I can't even tell you how manypeople showed up for it or if we
even considered it a success ornot, but I think just the whole
(01:16):
process was really cool and Iremember it to this day.
So this week I was in aconversation with a client who
decided to run a haunted housesocial media post.
And like the haunted house weput together when I was 12, I
got really excited about it.
So, yes, I kind of stole thehaunted house idea and decided
to also do a social media postabout it, but I realized that
(01:38):
there was a lot more contentthat we could talk about than I
could fit in a social post.
So I've made this last-minutepodcast episode about that.
So call me crazy, but there'ssome good stuff in here that I
think you want to hear.
So today that we're going totake a little field trip to tour
the haunted house of marketing.
But don't worry, you don't needa flashlight or a costume, just
(02:02):
a willingness to face a fewmarketing monsters that might be
haunting your business.
Because here's the truth: sometimes it's not your offer, (02:08):
undefined
your platform, or your effortthat's holding you back.
It's the invisible ghosts andgoblins lurking inside your
marketing strategy.
So in today's Haunted Housetour, we're going to meet five
characters, five scarycharacters, and I'll show you
how to defeat each one using aclear marketing strategy.
(02:30):
Okay, here we go.
Room number one, the zombiemarketing strategy.
So you push open the firstcreaky door, and there it is.
See the zombie?
It's dragging its feet,clutching an outdated marketing
plan from 2019 and mumbling,"But this used to work!" The
zombie strategy shows up whenyou keep repeating tactics that
(02:53):
once worked but no longer do.
Maybe it's that you're relyingon word-of-mouth marketing
instead of nurturing new leads.
Or maybe you're still boostingrandom posts because that's what
somebody told you to do yearsago.
Or maybe you're sending thesame email sequence that hasn't
been updated since, I don'tknow, five years ago.
(03:14):
The problem isn't that thesethings never worked, it's that
they've outlived theireffectiveness because audiences
have changed, algorithms havebeen updated, or maybe your
audience has evolved as yourbusiness has grown.
After all, your audience willgrow with you.
I had a client who built herbusiness doing Facebook Lives
(03:35):
back in 2018, and they workedbeautifully back in 2018.
But then her views starteddropping, not all at once, but
very slowly.
And after a while, she startedpanicking.
And then what she did, becauseit worked before, she doubled
down.
So she was instead of doing onepost a week, she started doing
(03:56):
two posts a week.
So she was doing more of whatdidn't work.
So what changed?
First of all, her audiencemoved off Facebook and onto
different platforms.
So she needed to see where heraudience was now.
And also her email list wasoutdated.
Many people on her list haven'tbeen engaging.
(04:16):
And that spells trouble for youbecause email service providers
pay attention to that and itimpacts deliverability.
So we had her do are-engagement campaign so she
could purge up people that havebeen hanging on her list but
never opening, clicking, orotherwise engaging, and
certainly not buying.
Once we pivoted to short-termreels for her on Instagram and
(04:39):
done some YouTube shorts withher, and we optimized her email
strategy, things startedbouncing back.
But it took some time andeffort on her part, and things
that she probably didn't realizewere slipping away because had
she known that earlier, shecould have made the change
earlier.
And that's what happens withzombies, right?
(05:00):
They look like they're alive,but they're really dead.
So I want you to do a zombiecheck too.
Make a list of everythingyou're doing for marketing.
So content, emails, ads,anything.
And then circle anything thatyou've been doing for more than
a year without reviewing thedata.
Now, I always say I like tohave my clients review data
every month, but realistically,I know that often doesn't
(05:23):
happen.
And so at least once a year,take a look at that data.
And you should be seeing upwardtrends.
And if you're not, you need toask yourself, is this still
bringing in new leads, newengagement, and new sales?
Because if not, you need toreevaluate that.
You need to pause it, updateit, or just bury it for good.
(05:45):
Okay, so that was room numberone.
Our next room, let me just setthe scene.
The next room feels cold andabandoned.
There are echoes of dusty blogdrafts and abandoned campaigns
and a podcast that was there andgone and then came back again.
(06:05):
It's the ghost ofinconsistency.
This ghost loves to appear whenlife gets busy.
You start strong, you'rebatching, you're planning,
you're posting, and then a bigclient project comes in, and
then poof, your updates vanishfor weeks because you're so
busy, right?
But when you disappear, youraudience loses trust.
(06:26):
Consistency is what teachespeople they can rely on you.
And when you're inconsistent,that damage runs deeper than you
think.
It's not just about missing aweek or two.
Inconsistency chips away attrust, visibility, and momentum.
Here's what really happens.
When you go quiet, thealgorithm assumes you've ghosted
(06:47):
your audience and it punishesyou for it.
So when you finally post again,fewer people see it, and you're
basically starting over fromscratch every time instead of
building the momentum thatyou've already worked so hard to
earn.
So when your next post finallyappears, it feels random and
engagement drops even lower.
(07:07):
That tells the algorithm, oh,people aren't interested, which
means your visibility sinks evenmore.
And just like that, it becomesa social media death spiral.
But please note, you can take abreak now again.
Just don't do it frequently andwithout warning.
I'm not talking about taking abreak from social media.
I'm talking about reallyinconsistent posting.
(07:27):
So posting several times oneweek or even for a few weeks and
then just dropping off.
So every time you do that, ittells the algorithm that you're
not reliable.
So you don't want to do that insocial media, and you really
don't want to do it with otherthings like your email marketing
because people stop trustingyou.
So the second thing that thisdoes is every time you
(07:50):
disappear, your audience quietlyfills that gap with somebody
else who does show up.
When you come back, it's likewalking into a room where the
conversation's already moved onand you have to reintroduce
yourself and work twice as hardto grab that attention again.
It's the same reasonnewsletters that go dark for
months see huge drops in openrates when they come back.
(08:12):
It's because the emailplatforms recognize that and
they stop delivering emails foryou.
And also, it really sends thewrong signals to your customers.
It consistently signals thatyou take your business and your
audience seriously.
If you're a hit or miss, youraudience starts to wonder what
else might be going on.
(08:33):
It's not about perfection, it'sabout reliability.
And then finally, marketingworks like compound interest.
Every post, email, andconversation builds on the last
one.
When you stop and start, youinterrupt that growth curve.
Instead of scaling up, you'reconsistently rebuilding from
zero.
So as much work as it is to beconsistent, it's so much more
(08:56):
work to play catch-up when youcome and go.
I had a coaching client whoghosted her list for two months.
And it's not that she intendedto do this because she really
just got overwhelmed and shejust had to let it slide.
But when she finally sent out anew email, she got a lot of
unsubscribes and a few who isthis replies because people
(09:17):
forgot they'd signed up, right?
So email is a great example.
You have to do it consistently.
You don't need to do it daily,you need to be reliably
consistent.
I'd rather you post once aweek, than five times one week,
and then nothing for a month.
Same with email.
Although I always recommendemailing your list every week
(09:39):
and sharing new content, it'sbetter to commit to what you can
do than to overcommit andunderdeliver.
So if you think this soundslike you, it's okay.
We just need to start fromscratch again.
And I want you to create a bareminimum marketing plan and ask
yourself, if I could only do onething consistently, what would
(09:59):
have the biggest impact?
Maybe it's sending one email aweek.
Maybe it's one high qualityInstagram reel.
Maybe it's one podcast episodelike this one.
Commit to that for 30 days andbuild it up from there.
Consistency keeps your audiencemoving through the Trail to the
Sale.
Ghost them, and they'll wanderoff the path.
(10:20):
Okay, room number three.
Here it is.
A tall, charming figure wearinga black cape greets you at the
door.
My funnel can make you richovernight, he says.
But once you step inside, yourtime, your money, and your
confidence start to drain away.
Meet the funnel vampire.
The funnel vampire promises youquick income, but without a
(10:43):
strategy, funnels will bleed youdry.
That's why I don't use aconventional marketing funnel
and why I created the Trail tothe Sale in the first place.
So you can allow your audienceto know, like, and trust you
along the journey that theytake.
A funnel without nurturing youraudience and nurturing that
(11:04):
relationship is like invitingstrangers to your haunted
mansion for a party and notletting them get to know you or
even where to get a snack or adrink.
They're just gonna want to turnaround and run away.
I worked with a coach a whileago who had an awesome funnel
set up.
Ads, email, automation,evergreen webinar, but it wasn't
converting.
(11:25):
But why?
It's because she skipped therelationship part.
Her audience wasn't ready forthe offer.
It's like trying to propose onthe first date, right?
They weren't ready yet.
They didn't know her and theydidn't trust her.
And I hate to say it, but shewas focused on making the sale
instead of serving her audience.
Here's the truth.
(11:46):
People might follow you foryears before they buy, and often
they will.
That's why it's important togive them information they need
and serve them in that way untilthey're ready for your offer.
Focus on the serving.
Build offers for them.
To get past the funnel vampire,check to see how long you
nurture your audience.
Do you want them to buy rightaway?
(12:08):
Put yourself in the shoes ofyour ideal customer and ask
yourself, do I give themopportunities for them to get to
know, like, and trust me beforeI ask for the sale?
If the answer is no, add morevalue before your next offer,
something that lets them samplewhat you're selling.
Okay, here we are in roomnumber four.
As you turn the corner, you'resuddenly tangled in a sticky web
(12:32):
labeled logging, ads, SEO,YouTube, Reels, Pinterest, and
the more you move, the morestuck you get.
Have you guessed what this oneis yet?
Okay, I'm not sure about you,but I've definitely spent time
in this room.
It's the Web of Overwhelm.
The Web of Overwhelm catchesbusiness owners who try to do
(12:53):
everything at once.
You've got 37 open tabs, fiveunfinished freebies, and a
planner with full of ideas, butno clear pathway forward.
You're mistaking activity forprogress.
You started your businesswanting freedom, but now you
have another job.
(13:14):
Overwhelm doesn't just comefrom having too much to do, it
comes from not knowing what toprioritize.
We all have a lot to do.
The trick is to put on blindersand focus on what moves the
needle.
Like I said, I've spent time inthis room.
It's really hard for those ofus who have lots and lots of
(13:35):
ideas to put on those blindersand focus on the one thing.
So ask yourself, are the thingson my to-do list today the
things that actually bring inincome or enable the process to
bring in income?
If not, delegate it, automateit, or eliminate it, at least
for now.
So I want you to choose oneawareness channel.
(13:57):
So the awareness channel is howpeople find you.
That might be social media,speaking, PR, whatever has
worked for you in the past orwhat seems to be working now.
Then one consider channel, howyou build trust with a free
download and content.
So one lead magnet, yourfreebie, and either a blog,
YouTube, podcast, whatever youraudience likes to hear.
(14:20):
And then one conversion event.
So that's how you make thesale.
That could be a webinar, aseminar, a YouTube live event, a
sales call, again, whateverworks best for you.
Everything else is optional.
Stick with your core three forone quarter and then reassess.
When you give your audience oneclear route, they can actually
(14:41):
follow it.
And that's where the magic andsales start to happen.
Okay, so as we go into thisfinal room, a creepy witch looks
up.
As she stirs a bubblingcauldron, she has you looking at
other creators and smallbusiness owners online, and she
whispers, You're not doingenough.
The witch of comparison feedson insecurity, and I know her
(15:06):
well.
She thrives when you're onlineand when you're looking at other
people who are crushing it, andyou think, why am I even
bothering?
Or why can't I get that manysales?
Or what am I doing wrong?
Or why can't my website looklike hers?
Or you're scrolling on socialmedia and you see other people
who are putting tons of videosout when you can hardly complete
(15:29):
one each week.
The problem with the witch ofcomparison, you start chasing
other people's strategiesinstead of refining your own.
And those people are likelyfurther down on their journey.
It's hard though, isn't it?
I still find that I'll do this.
I'll compare my youngerbusiness with somebody who's
been crushing it for years andthink maybe I should abandon
(15:50):
what I'm doing and instead dosomething like they're doing.
I see this a lot when I take onnew clients.
They show me somebody else'swebsite or social media page
that they want to emulate.
But the problem is that theirstory is never going to be your
story.
Their brand voice is nevergoing to be your brand voice.
Trying to duplicate that willlack authenticity, and your
(16:11):
audience will pick up on that ina minute.
And truthfully, that wasprobably me when I opened my
first business a few years ago.
No matter what your own storyis, that is what people want and
need to hear from you.
You're not too old, too young,too thin, too heavy.
You are you, and people relateto people.
(16:32):
When we anchor my new clientstrategy around their voice,
storytelling, and authenticity,then their best customers will
start connecting with them andtheir business.
And the same is true for you.
People buy from connection, notperfection.
You can't compare yourbeginning to somebody else's
(16:52):
middle.
Behind every polished post is astrategy, a process, and
probably a well-paid videoeditor and a team of 10.
So for one week, I want you tounfollow or mute any account
that triggers self-doubt andreplace them with three people
who inspire you or teach yousomething useful that you can
(17:13):
apply to your own business in anauthentic way.
Your mindset shapes yourmarketing, your business, and
your success.
So guard it fiercely.
Okay, so there you have it.
The five monsters haunting thehaunted house of marketing.
The zombie marketing strategy,the ghost of inconsistency, the
(17:34):
funnel vampire, the web ofoverwhelm, and the witch of
comparison.
And the good news, you don'tneed holy water or a crucifix to
defeat them.
Just the plan.
And guess what?
I have that for you.
If your marketing feels alittle haunted right now, then
go ahead and grab my freemarketing strategy playbook.
It walks you through the eightstages of the Trail to the Sale
(17:57):
so you can stop wandering thehaunted house and start moving
forward with clarity.
You can download it atjanicehostager.com forward slash
trail or click the link in theshow notes in this episode.
And you can find anything wetalked about on this episode by
going to myweeklymarketing.comforward slash 131.
Thank you for joining me todayand touring the haunted house of
(18:20):
marketing.
Remember, the scariest thingisn't marketing mistakes, it's
staying stuck in them.
You've got this, and I'll seeyou next week for another
episode.
Thanks so much for joining me.
We'll see you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!