145. Top 3 Second Career Entrepreneur Marketing Mistakes

What if you could use a crystal ball to avoid some of the more costly mistakes when starting your business? 

I work with a lot of REALLY smart entrepreneurs.  Most of them have come out of corporate, or have worked in a specific industry for more than 20 years.

They have experience and are considered experts.

But what they didn't plan for when starting their own small business, was all of the roles they would have to step into that someone in their previous organization did.

It's always quite a shock to realize, oh crap there isn't a marketing or sales department, that's me now.

Unfortunately, without marketing or sales, it's going to be really hard to get new clients.

What's even worse is diving into a marketing tactic that everyone "swears by" only to find you've wasted time, money and still have no new leads to show for all your hard work.

This is exactly why this week's 2nd Act Entrepreneur Show outlines the 3 biggest mistakes that second-career entrepreneurs make in their business. 

++ Plus you will learn what to do instead.

Let's get to it then, shall we?

The first big marketing mistake I see second-act entrepreneurs make is that they don't build an audience.

This week's episode breaks this down into two different areas.

The first piece of this mistake is not building an audience at all.

More often than not I see this happen with online course creators.

Typically course creators will spend weeks, months, and even years creating and perfecting their courses.

Once they finally convince themselves it's time to sell the darn thing, they set up a sales page, and then . . .  crickets.

What do you mean no one is buying?  Unfortunately, this is where they should have started.

Because without an audience interested in your course there is little to no guarantee that anyone will want what you have to offer.

That is SO frustrating.  All the time wasted in perfecting a course that no one will ever see because they either don't know about it or can't find it (or you).

Instead, do this: Build a relationship with your audience while you create your offer.

Give people behind-the-scenes sneak peeks in your emails. Share your progress, excitement, and even frustration.

While showcasing your authenticity you become relatable and trustworthy and we all know that people buy from those that they know, like, and trust.

The second piece of this mistake is building an audience on social media and not moving them off the platform ASAP.

It's almost worse to have spent all the time and energy building an audience on social media only to realize you are at the mercy of the social media platform changes, algorithms, and tyranny.

Don't get me wrong, social media is a great place to attract new leads but moving them off of the platform is not optional, it is critical.

With the frequent changes in rules, the ever-increasing expansion of paid ads, and the inability to control when, where and how people see your content - it is in your best interest to move those social media peeps to your email list as soon as you can.

Instead, do this: Give people a reason to want to join your email list.

If you need some ideas on how to create a great lead magnet check out episode #141 How to Grow Your Email List Quickly and Effectively

 

The 2nd biggest marketing mistake second-act entrepreneurs make is not nurturing their audience before they start selling.

How many times have you joined someone's newsletter, anticipating the amazing resource you just signed up for, only to be bombarded with a sales pitch that goes on for days?

This is not the way to build trust or relationships.  In fact, it will achieve the exact opposite.

Instead, do this:  Provide them the resource with an extra helping of expertise and value around that resource.

You will be perceived as going the extra mile to be sure they know how to apply it to solve their problem and gain their trust.

Then you can send a sequence of emails to continue building that relationship focused on issues people typically run into when solving the same problem, case studies of how the problem was solved, and a testimonial or two featuring people who have solved that exact problem.

When you share your expertise, knowledge, and experience over several emails you build the anticipation and leave them wanting to know what else you can do.  Then when you present your offer, guess who is ready to buy?

 

The 3rd biggest marketing mistake second-act entrepreneurs make is not being clear about what they are selling prior to selling.

It's really difficult to move people toward buying what you have when you aren't clear about what you are offering.  Including what each party can expect to be delivered, the financial and time investment expected, and most importantly the expected results.

If one of these three pieces is missing, people won't buy, simple as that.

There is no shame in not knowing how to set any of this up.  You're new to business, there is no possible way to know everything.

But, you are also not alone.  If you need a 2nd set of eyes on your marketing, your offer, or your lead magnet, schedule a free call with me here.

Need a step-by-step guide to map out your marketing strategy, you can download that resource here.

Until next week, be well, stay safe and take care!

~Alisa