I didn’t pay for advertising at all for the first five years of my business.
There were a few reasons- first of all, I didn’t know anything about marketing through advertising, and there were so many ways to do it that I wasn’t sure what the right way was, and I didn’t want to waste money.
Secondly, I didn’t HAVE money to waste. I had to keep my night job for the first 2 years of building my biz, and the only thing I REALLY spent money on in those years was a business coach- the most important investment, in my opinion (THANK GOODNESS I had that wisdom from the beginning!)
And third, my business coach taught me that splurging on an advertising budget from the jump can be a colossal waste of money.
Here’s why you don’t want to spend money on advertising right out the gate (and when it’s RIGHT to throw some skin in the game):
- You (your biz) is YOUNG. It’s still forming. It’s going to change a LOT as you develop your offerings, get in tune with your brilliance and passion, and find your ideal client. Throwing big bucks at ad spend right now is like buying $500 sneakers for your 8 month old. I mean, you CAN…but you’re going to get jack-shit in terms of value and he’ll need new ones in 2 months (plus, he’s probably not WALKING yet, so WHY PUT SHOES ON HIM???)
- In the younger years of your biz, you want to be OUT THERE, practicing what I call Be You Visibility: being you. Repping what you LOVE. BEING the change you want to see your work have. You need to be building connections through human interaction and connecting with people, not buying “clicks” and “likes” on FB that ultimately do NOTHING to get your work SEEN and supported.
- People buy when they’re familiar with you, they like you, and they TRUST you. This takes MUCH more skill and professional talent when you’re marketing to people that don’t know you using the written word (or other remote forms of communication that don’t have you right THERE, in person, where people can feel you). This is why the biggies use marketing strategists, FB ad gurus, genius conversion copywriters- because you have to CREATE that like-factor, that trust, without people actually KNOWING you or meeting you. SO HARD. And you need either MAD skills as all of the above or a big budget to build it. OR…you can just BE YOU IRL and MEET people. Give talks. Facilitate workshops. I have a whole list of tools I teach my clients to just get out there and start attracting their ideal clients eyes- all the tools I used to go from $0 income to 6 figures- WITHOUT paying for advertising.
In conclusion, your business needs a foundation of visibility, clearing branding and messaging, and a deep and authentic connection to an engaged community to grow to the level where it makes sense to pay for advertising.
Ready for the next steps?
I’ll hold your hand while you create the pieces you need to grow your biz without ad spend in this hands-on, live, virtual workshop on October 23rd.
Spaces limited! Click here to learn more: “Flipping the Bird to Marketing for the Masses: How to Use Guerilla Marketing Without High Ad Spend, Expensive Ad Experts, OR Douchey Sales Tactics“- Come learn why I actually coach my clients NOT to spend money on advertising until ONE important milestone is reached.
