skip to Main Content
The Way Of Marketing Moderation4 Min Read

The Way of Marketing Moderation4 min read

share:
Share
Share
Share

On a phone call with my youngest sister Sandy yesterday, we talked about her knee problems. Three of my sisters, between them, have had five knee surgeries.

All three sisters did a lot of exercising in their lives – sports, running, walking, skiing. And that’s supposed to be good for your health, right?

Well, apparently not. Too much exercise puts a lot of strain on your joints, and the knees are often the first to go.

I’m pushing 70 and have never had knee or joint problems. But I was never heavily into sports. Nevertheless, I’m in good health and my weight and pant size are the same as they were 30 years ago. (boast, boast :–)

My brilliant secret? Moderation. I walk about half an hour every day with my dogs and do squats and pushups. That’s it.

Our society is all about extremes in practically everything.

Something is only deemed worthy if it is supersized, super expensive, and super impressive in every way possible.

And this mindset filters down to everything in our lives and businesses.

Including marketing for our small businesses.

Fancy websites, a big social media presence, a YouTube channel, podcasts, and content marketing ad infinitum are all promoted as essential for success.

And if you don’t have all of those things, you feel inadequate. You just know that if you had more presence online, you’d be more successful.

Well, like my sisters with their blown-out knees, there’s a big cost to all this excess.

First, there’s spending more than you can afford, and second, all this marketing activity takes a huge amount of time and energy.

Look, in the early years of the Internet, I spent a lot of time establishing my website and online presence.

But I discovered that the best approach is ultimately the same as my fitness routine: moderation.

You may be surprised to know that I spend virtually nothing on my marketing.

Web hosting and my email newsletter service are my only expenses. Less than $1,500 per year total!

I don’t do ANY social media. I don’t have a YouTube channel or run a podcast. And I only do a marketing campaign once or twice a year. And it costs me virtually nothing.

By the way, I’m not rich, but I’m well off, my mortgage is paid and I have enough investments to retire.

So, what does marketing moderation consist of?

First, I write this email newsletter every week. Going on 25 years. My weekly investment is zero dollars and two to three hours of my time.

Second, I conduct a series of webinars every year before launching my 9-month Marketing Action Groups program. My total investment is zero dollars and about twenty hours of my time.

The purpose of my newsletter is to maintain visibility and credibility with my community, and the purpose of the webinars is to generate meetings with those who might be interested in participating in my program.

In addition, I putter around on my website every now and again to improve the information about my services. (A website is never finished!)

And my income-producing work consists of meetings with clients or program participants Tuesday through Friday. No more than 4 meetings a day.

Now, getting to this place took me several years and a lot of work. And oodles of trial and error. But I cracked the code to Marketing Moderation.

The approach that I teach my clients boils down to these two things:

1. Stay in front of your clients with valuable ideas and resources. Newsletters, presentations, and in some cases, social media or even videos.

People understand this one but then tend to overdo it and “blow out their knees.” The key to success is consistency and quality, not massive volume.

2. Get meetings with anyone and everyone who might be a client or who can lead you to a client.

This is the one that people struggle with the most. Talks, webinars, networking, and outreach are the tools. But getting over your fear of connecting is the biggest barrier of all. But it’s a paper tiger. It won’t hurt you; it will only help you.

The key to success is almost too simple: Two or three meetings a week with those in your network or with prospective clients. Again, consistency is key.

So, that’s the Way of Marketing Moderation. Focus, intention, and consistency will get you there without landing you in a wheelchair.

Cheers, Robert

share:
Share
Share
Share
This Post Has One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

close

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

Back To Top