Years ago, when I started my first real business, I was blessed enough to be mentored by a multi-decade expert in the marketing field who decided to help me due to nothing more than the fact that he liked me and my business model, and wanted to see me win. We’ve stayed friends in the years since, but one thing he taught me early on is that no business is really that unique. This was a relief, because I was reading marketing classics from authors like Dan Kennedy, Seth Godin, Russell Brunson, and plenty of others, and consistently stressing out about how to apply them to my situation.
You see, I had a very niche business model – I taught wilderness survival courses. I assure you, however niche your business is, that’ll probably give it a run for its money. Most marketing material is written by, well, marketers. And marketers typically either run agencies, do coaching, or sell info products, all of which looked wildly different from what I was doing. But while wringing profitability out of the business initially required some creativity, over time, I learned that my mentor was right. That even though it was an “exotic” company, rock-solid, time-tested marketing principles work just fine.
As unique as it was, my business wasn’t special. And yours isn’t either. Yes, I know it’s your baby, so that may sting a little. Sure, you may be doing something truly new, or making a genuinely innovative change to something that already exists, but underneath the surface, your business is probably not that different from any other.
You still need to have something of value to sell, be it a product or a service. You still have to deal with licensing, taxes, accounting & bookkeeping, and payroll (even if you’re the only person on said payroll). You still have to bring in more revenue than you pay out in expenses. And to do that, you have to have some way of getting the word out about your product or service, and connecting with the people who want it. Just like every other successful business that’s ever existed.
If you’re feeling anything right now, it should be relief, and maybe a touch of hope. Because what this means is that if your business is struggling, there are solutions readily at hand, and if they’ve worked for other unique businesses… I promise, they’ll work for yours. I don’t care if you sell secondhand hamster cage furnishings, aura readings, or concierge houseplant care, your customers are out there. You just have to find them and connect with them, which is all good marketing really is. I’ll bet that no matter who they are, they still respond to well-written copy, have email addresses, watch videos online, use search engines, read blogs, and scroll social media.
If you need help with any of those things, give us a shout. We’re really good at it, and across our team, we’ve seen and helped a lot of different businesses over the years… probably even one like yours.
