Are You Marketing Your Business or Making Friends?

Naughty or Nice?

Do you prefer to be around “naughty” people or “nice” people?

Notice that your answer says a lot about you. For better or worse, like attracts like. 

People tend to gravitate toward others like themselves. Because they have similar humor, they make us laugh. Because they enjoy the same movies, they are easier to hang out with. Because they share the same values, we feel more connected. These similarities form the basis of our friendships. 

When we apply this basic friendship dynamic (“like attracts like”) to marketing, it helps us to understand marketing better, and suddenly we realize that we’ve been doing the stuff of “marketing” all our lives. 

Marketing Yourself is Just Like Building a Friendship

Have you ever thought, “I don’t know how to market myself”? A lot of people think that. They feel like they are unable to do marketing because it’s so foreign to them. 

I hope the friendship dynamic of “like attracts like” helps you to see marketing in a different light. After all, every time you meet a potential new friend, what you are really doing is marketing yourself. 

You listen to what they are saying. You tell stories about your own life that connects to theirs. Overall, you let them see the best possible “you” that you can show them. 

When you look at marketing from the biggest picture possible, that’s exactly what it is. 

Keep that in mind as you put your marketing hat on. 

Who is Your Best “You”? 

When marketing your business, you need to create a “persona”. That’s the best “you” that you want others to encounter.

Are you the “professional” who wears dress shoes and ties? Are you the person who thrives on statistics, is fact-driven, and constantly optimizes everything in life? Excellent! If so, ask yourself how you can get that image of “you” out to your ideal client. 

Are you the “laid-back entrepreneur” who wears a t-shirt and sandals everywhere? Are you a storyteller who is casual with your conversation, maybe even dropping an f-bomb from time to time? That’s great, too. Again, find a way to get that image of “you” out to your ideal clients. 

If getting “you” out in front of your audience makes you nervous, don’t feel bad because that’s normal. In fact, it’s a lot like the awkward world of dating. 

Think about what happens on a first date. There are parts of you that you reveal, and there are parts of you that stay hidden. Why hide them? Because you are afraid if the other person found out about them this early on, they might walk away. 

As a business owner, you may be afraid to get the best “you” out there because you are afraid it will cause others to walk away from you. Again, that’s normal. 

Successful Marketing of Your Business is Not Just about Attracting People

But here’s the thing: You want people who are not a good match for you to walk away. If those “bad matches” turn tail and run after they experience your marketing, that’s a good thing. 

When marketing your business, your goal is twofold: attract people who fit your ideal client persona and help them to connect with you personally, and push away those who will not be good client matches for you. 

In other words, your overall goal is to find clients who are also a good personality match. 

And, as a quick reminder, like attracts like. 

So, the process of marketing yourself is a lot like finding new friends. You don’t have to be afraid. You know how to do this. You’ve been doing it your entire life. 

How to Step Out into the Spotlight and Demand Attention

When marketing your business, you have to commit to putting your best foot forward. As the saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”.

Your website is going to be the online presence that makes the most impact. So, you want a powerful website that is designed to attract your ideal clients in a way that keeps your appointment calendar full.

It’s now time to talk about that. Click the link and set up a free 15-minute Clarity Call so we can talk about how we can build a polished online presence for you that knocks the socks off your visitors.

https://wiseowlmarketing.com/clarity/