A couple of days ago, I got an email from an internet marketer that typifies everything I think sucks about online marketing… and why I think hands-on practitioners are wasting their time if they are following advice from people who spend their lives earning a living without touching the lives of their clients.
His email highlighted all the things I think turn hands-on practitioners off and make them feel like they’re never going to be able to market their work.
And it falls so short of the mark that I want to scream. Really.
This is what he said:
When I ask my students who their target market is, they say everyone.
That’s wrong. Because you cannot personalize your sales message to everyone – say if they come from US, or Spain, or France.…and if you don’t personalize – you lose money. Business doesn’t work.
There are 2 ways to fix this problem:
– Go after a small segment of your market, make your marketing VERY targeted. Problems – it can get expensive.
– Second way – find a way to PERSONALIZE your message to people landing on your website
There’s truth in this, but…
Up to the end of his second sentence, this guy has a point and it’s relevant to you: Practitioners DO tend to think that everyone is their client and that IS absolutely not true… even if your modality could theoretically help everyone on the planet.
After that, what he’s on about falls into the broad category of Deep Concerns of Internet Marketers… most of which revolve around how to make it seem like they are talking to YOU when they don’t really know anything about you, will never meet you and above all, want to make hitting the BUY button irresistible. So that’s the solution he offers in the rest of his email addresses.
Now, as a hands-on practitioner living in a world full of tech, you may know that you need an Internet presence… but that doesn’t make you an Internet Marketer and you definitely don’t need the solution he was selling in the rest of his email.
But it would be easy to believe the part about demographics–it’s widely known and accepted. It’s defined simply and you can find loads of information about how to figure some out for your practice.
And this totally misses the mark when you touch your clients. So if you buy into it, you’re going to have a problem no matter how you go about finding the people who need YOUR help… your ideal clients.
Your ideal clients need more…
It’s not enough to know where they live, or how old they are, or that they have kids or a dog… or any other equally generic piece of demographic data.
Sure, it helps if you know some basic information about your ideal clients, but if you stop there, you’re trying to map what you do onto a population that you have to convince to work with you.
When you understand who your ideal client is, you change the dynamic completely. The people you are uniquely designed to serve are easier to attract, easier to talk to and far more ready to commit to getting the help they need than a someone in a basic demographic.
Your ideal clients deserve better than that from you. By giving it to them, you can easily set yourself apart from every other practitioner, and that will allow you to build a practice without competing with anyone else.
Your clients deserve to know…
That you have the knowledge and skill to help them get what they want… but that your value goes far beyond that, because…
You see them deeply.
You understand their pain.
You know the path to the wholeness they long for.
You hear the truth they want to speak but probably haven’t said out loud.
When you are that clear about your clients…
You shine like a beacon to them.
You talk about what they want to hear.
You resonate with the deepest part of their being.
You offer what’s important to them.
You can be as visible as you need to be for them to find you.
Your website, your flyers–all your marketing and everything you offer calls out to them and draws them into your orbit.
You show up as the transformational leader they yearn for, even if they can’t quite put words to their quest.
That kind of clarity doesn’t come in a box…
You can’t buy it as an online tool or a “done for you” solution.
It’s not generic.
It’s not about filling in the blanks in a template.
It’s not a quick fix.
It’s not available free on the Internet.
It’s not about trying to make yourself belong where you clearly don’t… and never will.
It’s inner work…
The work I’m talking about takes you inside and helps you understand how your life experience has created exactly the training program you need to help exactly the people you’re here for.
Yes… HERE.
ON THE PLANET.
It’s work that shows you how your work is aligned with your purpose.
It’s work that changes the lives of your clients… because first, it changes your life.
I know, because that’s what happened to me and it’s what is happening for my private clients.
If you long to align your life with your work and earn a living by fulfilling your purpose… let’s talk.
It’s free and there’s no pressure, because I’m 100% committed to your getting what you want, and 100% unattached to the idea that the only way to do it is with my help. 🙂
However, if we’re a fit, I’ll let you know what it would look like if we worked together to get what you want most–and then the ball will be in your court.
Sound good? Start here.
And one more thing —
If you’ve done inner work and you still feel like something’s missing–or you can’t understand what could be wrong with you because you still don’t “get it” and you’re starting to wonder if you ever will–I get it because I felt like that, too.
What I discovered is that the key I’d been unable to find was right there, waiting for me to use it. I’d love to help you find your own key.
First step: book a time to talk with me.
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