This is a novel concept to a lot of people, which is funny to me because it's always just seemed like an obvious approach to business marketing in my mind. But you should be treating yourself as a small business even if you aren't. Think: dentists and doctors with their own practice, salesmen, realtors, insurance agents, etc. This is how you set yourself apart from all the others in your industry even if you aren't technically a small business. 

Create business accounts on social media for yourself, spend time engaging with your ICA, create behind the scenes videos, go live, post entertaining, thoughtful content, develop a loyal following, and the in-person business will come easily. 

Hardly anyone in any of the industries that aren't conventionally considered small businesses are marketing in this way. Get started and get ahead of the game before everyone else catches up and the return on investment will be tenfold. Even small businesses in the trades such as plumbers and electricia...

Maybe your product sucks. But if you're confident it doesn't and you're not making the money you want, then you need better marketing.

If profits aren't where they should be, you're either not reaching enough people, not reaching the right people, or not resonating with those people. That is where effective marketing comes in.  

So how do you reconcile this? It's simple. It's not necessarily easy, but it is simple.  You need one or more likely, a combination, of the following: 

+ a stronger brand

+ more relevant content 

+ a defined and strategic marketing plan in relation to specific platforms (email and social media)

+ a more memorable customer experience

These encompass what I call "The Profitable 5 of Digital Minimalism." That is, the five pillars of marketing that will actually move the needle forward in your business. The other so-called strategies and trendy "must-dos" are time-wasters that can be decluttered and purged.

If you're intrigued and could use some more mon...

Content creation can quickly become this dreaded thing, this thing that makes you feel like you're stuck on a content hamster wheel and can't get off for fear your business will crumble. But I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way, and shouldn't be that way. The answer? Repurposing content. However, you have to do it in a way that makes sense and not one that comes off as repetitive and boring.

Here's what a typical content "cycle" might look like for me: 

1. Live video on specific topic on Facebook page. 

2. Save live video and upload it as an IGTV video on Instagram account.

3. Upload live video to Pinterest linked back to my website.

4. Create blog post on same topic. 

5. Share blog on Facebook page and Pinterest.

6. Create 5 different blog post graphics, each with a different but relevant title relating to said blog. 

7. Add one blog graphic to Instagram story and save to "Blog" highlight.

8. Use graphics strategically on Pinterest and Instagram to recycle blog...