Most entrepreneurs we meet have an unrivaled passion for their businesses, products, and services. They have incredible stories about why they started their business, how their work makes a difference, and know better than anyone why their goods or services are the perfect fit for their audience. Where many of these business owners fall short is having the time and resources to turn that passion for their business into an efficient, effective marketing strategy. 

Strategic marketing is often the last thing on your to-do list when you have many things to do and hours a day. When you’re so wrapped up in the day-to-day operations of a business, tasks like managing employees, handling finances, and ensuring customer satisfaction often stand between you and developing a successful marketing plan. Maybe you throw up a random Instagram post or send an email update when you have time. Or perhaps you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. 

Trust us when we say you’re not alone. We’ve worked with plenty of solopreneurs and small businesses in the same boat — and we’re here to help. 

With the right approach, you can maximize your limited time and resources and reach a wider audience with your marketing. Let’s shine a spotlight on your brand and help connect your unique offerings with the wants and needs of your target audiences. 

Here are a few marketing tips to help you thrive as a solopreneur:

Set Clear Marketing Goals 

The first step to effective solopreneur marketing is goal setting. With limited time and budget, goals are key to helping you focus and prioritize your marketing efforts. 

Start by thinking through and documenting your marketing goals and aligning them with overall business objectives. 

Not all goals are created equal; some will be more important or time-sensitive than others. Consider which goals will have the most significant impact on your business, and focus on those first.

Once you’ve prioritized, set specific deadlines for each goal to hold yourself accountable. Consider breaking down large goals into smaller milestones to keep yourself on track. For example, you may have a yearly sales goal you’re hoping to hit. Break those numbers down monthly so you can track your progress and pivot your marketing as needed.

We also recommend that you keep your goals visible. Use a goal-setting app, post them in your office, or set check-in reminders on your phone.

Get to Know Your Target Audience

Every solopreneur and small business owner has one key thing in common — they understand their customers’ needs and pain points. Take that a step further to do some market research that lets you know what they need from you before buying. Learn about their shopping habits, where they like to spend their time online, what questions they typically have for salespeople, and who they trust regarding reviews.

Here are a few ways you can get to know your customers better without spending a ton of time or money:

• Send out polls and surveys. Create an Instagram Story or Twitter poll that allows customers to share their thoughts about your product or service. An automated popup or email survey shortly after a purchase is also a great way to get quick feedback from customers. 
• Read comments and reviews. If you only have an hour a day to devote to marketing, use it to read your mentions, comments, and reviews. A social media listening tool, like Brand24, can help you efficiently track and respond to your customers online. 
• Scope out competitors. Take some time to dive into competitors that work with similar audiences. What are they posting about on social media platforms? What are customers saying in reviews and comments? You can use that info to make your brand and messaging more relevant and engaging. 

Create & Share Valuable Content

Once you know who your audience is, you’ll be able to create high-quality content to attract, engage, convert, and retain customers. 

By providing valuable information or entertainment, you can position yourself as an expert in your field, build trust with your audience, and gain brand awareness through targeted search engine optimization. 

Embrace your personal experiences and expertise

Customers are buying you and your story as much as they’re buying a product or service. Whether creating a blog, social posts, video content, or podcast, everything should tie back to you, your values, and your mission. It’s more important than ever that your brand offers connection points with your target audience. People aren’t just looking for a product or service these days. They seek a brand or business that resonates with their values, lifestyle, and beliefs. Showcase the story behind your brand, your team, and the values and missions that drive your business. 

When customers connect with a brand on a personal level, they are more likely to become loyal customers and advocates for the brand. This is why small business owners must understand that customers are not just buying a product or service but also buying into the brand. Marketing through storytelling allows you to build a stronger connection with your customers and differentiate your business, no matter how saturated your market is.

Optimize your content

You can create the most relatable content in the world, but it means nothing if people don’t read it. You’ll get the most bang for your buck with every post if you take the time to optimize it for search engines and your readers. 

Small business owners and solopreneurs often get intimidated when they hear “search engine optimization.” While there’s a lot that goes into SEO, here are a few basic steps to get you started: 

• Identify target keywords or phrases. You want to use relevant words or phrases that your customers would use to search for throughout your blogs and website copy. A search engine optimization tool like Semrush can help you find keywords and create targeted posts. 
• Make the content easy to read. Use subheadings, bullet points, lists, and short paragraphs to break up big blocks of text. Formatting will make it easier for your customers to read your content across devices. Writing tools like Grammarly can also help improve readability. 
• Link to relevant pages. Include links to relevant resources to support your content. Linking to other pages on your site and other trustworthy sites on the web helps search engines understand the context of your content and makes your website more accessible for customers to navigate.
• Use images and videos. Use high-quality photos and videos to support your content. Optimize the images by compressing their size, using descriptive filenames, and using alt tags that include the target keyword. 

If you follow these tips every time you post content, you’re off to a good start. 

Focus on quality over quantity 

When it comes to content, we know your time is limited. That’s why we tell solopreneurs that it’s more important to focus on posting relevant content sparingly than it is to post a lot of mediocre content. 

With that in mind, here are a few tips for posting content on your website and social channels.

• Pick a sustainable posting cadence. Maybe you can commit to one blog post or social post a week. Or perhaps it’s just one a month. Either way is acceptable if you’re consistent so your followers know what to expect.
• Create an editorial calendar. A documented posting schedule will help you stay on track and determine when and where to post. Use a free template online or a project management tool Monday. 
• Schedule your content. You can’t be at your desk all the time. Many social platforms and tools like Hootsuite and Later will also allow you to schedule posts and maximize your time. 

Stay on brand

The key to any business is to build a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with your customers. However, it can be challenging to maintain consistency across all aspects of your business when you’ve got so much on your plate. 

If you haven’t already, we recommend investing in a brand strategy to ensure all your marketing efforts are visually aligned. The right branding partner can help you achieve a more impactful and cohesive brand. 

Your brand strategy should provide an overview of your brand’s personality, values, and visual identity. It’ll also include details such as your logo, color palette, typography, tone of voice, and messaging. 

Review these guidelines whenever you create content and share them with external partners so everyone is on the same page. 

It’s also helpful to have your branding partner perform a brand audit every quarter and make adjustments as needed to ensure consistency. When you choose DAE & Company as your branding partner, you can rest assured that we’ll always have your back when it comes to putting your brand’s best foot forward.

Get marketing support when you need it

Running your own company can mean long hours and never-ending to-do lists. After all, you’re responsible for every aspect of the business. You can’t (and shouldn’t) do it all alone.

Working with a creative marketing agency can take some of the stress and marketing to-do’s off your plate, allowing you to focus on customers and running your business.  

At DAE & Company, we love working with solopreneurs and small businesses, from brand strategy development to marketing campaign launch and optimization. That’s why we designed small business marketing packages specifically for you. 

Whether you’re looking to launch your business or want ongoing marketing support, our tiered-pricing structure means we have something to suit every budget. Let’s talk more about how we can help you!