The 6 biggest marketing mistakes solopreneurs make that you probably have never thought about
Come join me in my day job habitat - Alignment Marketing!
I’m interrupting my regular broadcast of healing, life-stories, and magic musings to take you on a detour into the fascinating land of Alignment Marketing.
Who should bother reading this:
Solopreneurs who identify as heart and soul-centered who are confused about/hate marketing
People interested in marketing and how it relates to spiritual growth
You love me and want to know the heck I do for work
Let’s dive in!
👉#1 You don’t actually know what marketing is
Sorry, but this one makes me 😂 ! Mind-blowingly, marketing is the most overlooked and confusing area of business for most folks!
We all sort of throw the word “marketing” around like there’s a consensus reality about what marketing is…
The truth is, marketing used to be straightforward like ten years ago and before that. Now it’s a JUNGLE! There are so many different ways to approach marketing and growing your business it’s crazy making for most small business owners!
Instagram? Facebook? LinkedIn? YouTube? Website? Email? TikTok? Ads? Freebies? Workshops? Networking? Cold messages?
The results of not understanding how you and your business fit into this landscape is a hodgepodge approach to marketing that’s dissatisfying and overwhelming!
👉#2 You don’t actually have a marketing STRATEGY
Piggybacking on #1, since you don’t know you should approach marketing you also don’t have a strategy.
What is a strategy?
strat·e·gy
noun
a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.
The truth is, by just showing up for marketing randomly you will never reach a desired outcome or you might, but it takes FOREVER!
When you implement a strategy that employs both right-brain AND left-brain input, you come up with a plan that allows for form - action based on a plan, and flow - the ability for you to follow your intuition and cycles.
When you have this in place, you will never again stare at your phone wondering what the f to post, or when or how.
👉#3 You don’t factor in your unique strengths, gifts, resources, and challenges when you decide on your business offerings OR how you go about marketing
Imagine that you need a haircut. You sit down at the hairdresser and say:
“I have super curly hair, and I’d like to color my hair a warm brown color that goes with my eyes. I’m thinking a shoulder length cut that’s easy to style because I am a single mom with limited time in the morning.”
Then you sit back and let the professional do their job. By working together, you achieved a stellar result that feels right and looks good!
Let’s apply the same mindset to marketing:
Imagine that you want to grow your business.
You go to a Marketing Professional and say:
“I’m looking to add two more clients to my business a month. I hate being in front of the camera, but I love writing. I also love photography! Because I am a single mom I only have about three hours a week to dedicate to marketing and by budget is $500 a month. I struggle with Instagram and other social media, but I feel like I could post something once a week if I knew what to post.”
Then I would ask a bunch of follow up questions and then we would create an annually repeatable marketing plan that’s perfectly suited to your needs! Each year you collect data, so each year you can build our your ecosystem and get more traction and results. Boom! 🤯 Marketing works.
👉#4 You try to DIY OR throw money at experts (avoiding taking responsibility for your business)
There’s a dichotomy between how people go about growing their businesses.
One group are scared of investing money in their business for various reasons and stay in the lane of trying to figure out marketing by looking at free advice online.
The other group thinks they can shortcut the time it takes to grow something by spending a lot of money on experts.
Both DIY and investing money has its place but it matters when and from what energy inside of you that you are making these decisions from.
This is why inner work is a prerequisite for marketing to work!
It’s also why it’s worth practicing deep discernment when choosing your support system.
👉#5 You don’t have a MARKETING ECOSYSTEM that helps you sell for you
This is one of my favorite things to help clients understand and create.
A marketing ecosystem is the assets you set up to help do the heavy lifting for you in your business!
A Marketing Ecosystem is:
Optimized and easy-to-use-and-navigate Website, an “essence brand,” a freebie (what I call a “relationship builder,”) an email system (CRM) with an automated email sequence, optimized social media accounts, and well-positioned offers.
And most of all, a way to use your voice that lands with your potential clients.
Most businesses have what I call Ecosystem Leaks, and before doing any “marketing” you need to fill them to be able to get traction.
👉#6 Don’t take into consideration your trauma and upper limits when it comes to how much ease and success you can allow
Isn’t it crazy that people can do everything “right” and still don’t achieve the results they (think they) want?
Most marketers and business coaches are out here wildin’- pretending that anyone can achieve any results if they follow their “blueprint.” When in reality, we are have parts that are like inner gatekeepers stopping up from moving too far into what it perceives to be dangerous territory.
For those of us who are trauma survivors, we need to work with our nervous systems to be able to allow the abundance and ease we crave!!!
(There's also something to be said for life's timing when IT wants things to come into fruition - no matter how hard we try and manifest - it doesn't come true until life/Divine says it's time.)
This is why I believe entrepreneurship is a spiritual path of self-actualization, and the road to building a business that makes you good money is much more nuanced and complex than what we have been told!
There you have it!
If you are looking for more clarity around these topics and how you can rethink your relationship with marketing, I invite you to join my new Workshop Series called Imperfect Impact!
Everything you need to know about Marketing in 2024 and NOTHING else! (It’s super affordable too since it’s the first time I teach it, the price will go up in the future so if you think you might want it, I suggest snagging your spot now!)
What’s your biggest beef with marketing? Let me know in the comments!
Love to you!
Liv Karna
What people say about working with 💫
“Liv Karna stands out as a warrior of love and truth, destined to bring together like-minded individuals into a community that is authentic and naturally flourishing.” – Zanna Campora
“Karna is an exceptional communicator, a true professional, and is incredibly unique in her approach.” – Ryan Kaplan
“Karna took the time to go step by step through the process so that we had a better understanding of it all.” – Danielle Cooper
“Thank you, Karna, for your inspiration and for a great class!” – Anne Young
“The workshop with Karna was truly fabulous, full of marketing strategies, tips, and tricks.” – Cindy B
“We are so happy with Karna’s work on our social media makeover; she delivered beyond our expectations!” – Dr. Matt Lederman and Dr. Alona Pulde
“In the short time we’ve worked with Karna, she’s helped us bring our website into alignment with what we value, and present it in a way that reflects who we are and what we do.” – Alyssa Morin, The Verdant Collective
“Karna’s approach to marketing is entirely original, devising plans based on personal style, needs, and the specifics of the company, changing the perspective on marketing and putting clients in the driver’s seat.” – Gabriella Barnstone, Founder of Scoliosis Conditioning
Amazing! Great stuff, it has me thinking of what I need to do to boost my own business.
Please, y'all: join Karna. She's simply a star in what she does, and her magic goes so deep into what it means to be human on Earth right now. Especially one that runs a business!