My biggest DM filler from freelancers is “where should I promote my biz?” When I ask, “what you trying to do and what’s your strategy?” usually things go quiet..
I’ve go loads on my Instagram about strategy but am just gonna tell you about a project I did that shows that “where should I promote my business?” is the wrong question.
It’s a long one so if you’re jammed today here’s a tl:dr
Young Enterprise Scotland @yescotland (YES) aim is to inspire young people to learn and succeed through enterprise. By focusing on the promotion strategy, I helped the YES Pathways Programme sell out a year’s worth of places in weeks. The strategy and booklet I designed showcased the benefits Pathways brings to the lives of the young people who participate. I’ve created a two week marketing sprint can help you create a strategy that makes money for your biz.
If you’re still with me, let me tell you a story..
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I was asked by YES to design a flyer they could give to schools and youth groups to help push sign ups for their Pathways Programme.
Instead of just doing it, I asked what their goals were and how the flyer would help achieve them.
We honed in on the audience they were appealing to – schools, teachers, youth workers – to find what they care about. Knowing what was driving them, a desire to see their young people educated, supported and fulfilled, allowed me to shape the message YES wanted to share.
I collected stats showing how effective the programme was in helping young people gain skills and find employment as well as quotes from young people, parents and teachers describing the positive changes Pathways had brought out in participants. These formed the core of the message we shared.
Next I looked at how YES were promoting the programme.
The CEO visits the decision makers in schools and youth groups to tell them about Pathways. He had a well practiced spiel explaining what it was, who it was for and how it benefitted the young people who participated.
This was the best moment – the best time and place – to give the decision maker something to reinforce the positive message about Pathways and close the sale. We made the sign up process super simple to give an easy next step.
So I knew:
The goal of the project
The audienceWhat they cared about
The best message to share
The time and place
Next step All we needed was how to deliver the message The how came from the CEO – “I don’t like to carry lots so whatever it is needs to fit in my inside pocket”. So the how was a 12 page A6 booklet giving the reader the outcome focused info we’d collected.
YES applied the strategy and the whole year’s worth of Pathways places were booked out in weeks.
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Strategy works. Done well, it gives you a path to follow to make the kind of money you need to live the life you want.
Photo by Nik on Unsplash
