Five things you need to know about writing your first marketing strategy
If you’re putting your first marketing strategy together, first off, congratulations. There’s nothing like getting clear on your big business goals and planning how you’ll achieve them.
I know how daunting it feels trying to promote your business. Staring at a blank page and not knowing where to begin, or how to articulate exactly what you do for clients. That’s why I’ve put together my five easy tips to help you get started. There’s also a ready-to-use free download to guide you through the process, step by step, so you can put what you’ve learnt into action.
Before we get to that, here’s why you definitely need to create a marketing strategy.
Why you need a marketing strategy
Every business needs a defined marketing strategy. As women, we can find it hard to shout about ourselves and that’s a problem when it comes to marketing your business.
Your strategy document will shine a light on your strengths, your power, and your purpose (yes, you have all of those things in abundance). This clarity will trickle down into all your marketing, helping you to get comfortable selling and attracting your ideal client, so keep it close by.
Without a dedicated strategy, you could be wasting your precious time and energy chasing the wrong things and missing out on the results you want. Equally, if things are going well, how will you know what to amp up if you don’t know what you were doing and why in the first place?
Showing up without a strategy is a waste of time. And women are out there, waiting for you to help them reach their big money goals. Let's do everything we can to make it as easy as possible for them to find you.
Taking the ‘wtf’ out of marketing strategy
Creating a marketing strategy doesn’t have to be a time-consuming, tick-box exercise. It doesn’t need to be an all-singing, all-dancing PowerPoint that will sit and gather digital dust in a forgotten folder.
It can be a quick process where you organise your thoughts into one place with purpose. It can be as simple as notes on paper, as long as it helps you move forward with purpose. There is power in writing your ideas down and committing to your future vision.
Here’s a peek at what I usually include in my strategies:
who you are
a SWOT analysis
what activity you plan to undertake
your target markets
your ideal customer
your competitors
What’s the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan?
Your marketing strategy is different to a marketing plan. The plan is the nitty-gritty of what tactics to deploy, and when, to achieve your goals. Like the emails you’ll send or the LinkedIn posts you’ll create. Your strategy is the big picture. It outlines your goals, who you want to work with, who’s not for you, your competition and what sets you apart so your ideal customer has to pick you.
Here are five things you need to know to nail your first marketing strategy
Get clear on your mission
Get clear on what your mission is and how your marketing is going to help you achieve it. Chances are, if you’re running your own business, you’re passionate and committed to what you do so feel into that and dig deep for your 'why'.
I promise, (and I’ve been there myself) once you get clear on this, everything else will flow from it with ease.
What does that look like?
If your big mission is to help as many people as possible to gain financial independence, then your marketing might do this through educating your audience. When they need support with big money life events, you'll be top of mind. Why is this your mission? Maybe you experienced something in life that meant you didn’t have it, and you don’t want others to go through the same thing.
This is where your unique stories come to light and are usually the things that resonate with potential clients. They’re authentic and build know, like and trust, which is how you warm your audience to you until they’re ready to take action.
2. Get niche
You don’t need to reach everyone on this mission, and your marketing doesn’t either. Think about who your ideal customer is.
Are they a man, woman, married, single, have children, child-free, just starting out in their career or nearing retirement? Now you know who they are, you know what problems they’re facing, what their aspirations are and how you can help them reach their dreams.
Now focus your marketing on that, from your brochure and website to your social media and onboarding pack. All too often, I see founders sharing social content online, but it could be for anyone. They worry that by speaking to these people directly, they’re losing business. But the opposite is true. You’re not drawing more people in by being vague. You’re leaving everyone confused and the people you want to work with the most, don’t know you’re for them so they take no action.
3. Take the long-term view
Your strategy is the long-term view of where your business is heading over the next year or so. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Your marketing plan is where you’ll break it down into bitesize actionable pieces. Remember, this isn’t a document we’re going to put together and forget. It will be your marketing blueprint moving forward. I suggest planning in blocks of between 1-3 months, depending on your capacity and posting schedule.
4. Be realistic about your resources
Which brings me nicely onto my next point. As a female founder, you’re busy doing all the things. Marketing is just one of the many hats you wear. And you have a life, family and friends outside of the business.
The key to marketing is consistency, so your strategy needs to be aligned with your current resources and budget. I truly believe what is sustainable will lead to success, so set yourself up to win by being realistic about what you can achieve. You might hear people online advising you to post 3 times a day but here’s the thing. Marketing and creating content is their full time job. It’s not yours. They’ve also probably never marketed a service-based business or operated in a regulated environment before. So maybe take their advice with a pinch of salt.
There is no magic posting schedule that will unlock a stream of enquiries. But, showing up consistently (whether that’s 1-5 posts a week) and with messages that speak to your audience and build a connection, will have an impact. Think quality over quantity.
5. Create what you love, and you’ll love to create
Your strategy will outline what activity you’ll carry out to achieve your goals, like creating a blog to educate people and drive traffic to your website. Marketing your business doesn’t have to be a chore, and it can be fun. So make sure your activities are matched to what you enjoy doing for the best results. If you’re great at presenting, focus on creating video content or events. If you have an eye for design, focus on visual platforms like Instagram.
The more you enjoy the process of creating content, the more likely you are to want to come back and create more. And, to make creating content even easier, use simple templates so people can easily recognise your posts in their feed. I use the same formats on repeat, not just for my social media accounts, but for my clients too.
Work with me
If you’re ready to leverage your expertise to attract consistent enquiries with a personalised marketing strategy and blueprint that will keep serving you long after our session is over, this service is for you.
During our half-day session, you'll experience that lightbulb moment where suddenly it all falls into place. In financial services, you ARE the product, which means your clients aren't buying a pension or investment plan, they're buying YOU, your expertise, and your guidance. It's not about the end financial product they receive, but the journey, support, peace of mind, and trusted partnership you provide along the way.
With your messaging elevated and aligned, your goals mapped out for the year ahead, and the tools you need to make the planning and practical action feel like a breeze, never stare at a blank page wondering what to write again. Every marketing decision becomes easier because you have a clear filter: "Does this align with my strategy?" It's like having me as your marketing consultant on retainer, but captured in a document you own forever.
Freebies for founders
Master your Marketing Foundations
IF YOU WANT TO GROW, YOU NEED FIRM FOUNDATIONS
This is my most popular freebie and how I start all my strategy sessions with clients. Simply put, your marketing foundations are the who, what, why and how of your business. They're totally unique to you meaning they'll make you stand out online and can't just be replicated by your competition.
When you're confident in your foundations, it gives your marketing more magic. Are you ready to craft crystal clear and consistent messages that easily connect and convert your dream clients?
Then THE MASTER YOUR MARKETING FOUNDATIONS workbook is for you.
