Over the past 6 months, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I “quickly” grew my marketing and branding creative business. And, while I am appreciative of the sentiment, nothing happens overnight, and this isn’t a story about a girl who made 6 figures in 6 months (although that would be really awesome). This is about consistency, connecting, and providing value.
Going from side hustle to full-time entrepreneur didn’t happen in the blink of an eye, it took lots of late nights, early mornings, many many cups of tea, and grit and gumption. There were many mistakes, trials, and triumphs to figure out the right path. It’s continuously observing, reflecting, and pivoting to provide the right type of content that my readers, followers, tribe, and potential clients want to see.
It took, and continues to take, a lot of trial and error.
So, if you’re looking for the magic bullet to be “successful”, I don’t have that. What I do have, is an honest look at what I’ve done to gain exposure and get new clients to help me grow my business, organically and authentically.
4 WAYS TO GROW YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS
1 | Provide Value
Each Almost every week I create content that provides value to my readers. Sharing my knowledge about marketing, branding, and business processes. I’ve found that my readers really appreciate the in-depth breakdown of content and how-to type of information, kinda like this one, with my posts. And, while my current platform of choice is my blog, this could look different for you. It could be YouTube, IGTV, social media posts, or a podcast. Whatever your preferred method is, use it to connect with your audience and provide value.
2 | Share It
I know this one sounds ridiculously obvious, but let people know exactly what you do and remind them often. I also know that you probably don’t want to be “that person” that is constantly talking about your business on social media, but letting the fear of “being that person” stop you from letting people know what you do, is only stunting your growth. You never know who you’re already connected with that may be the perfect person for your product or services.
When you let people know what you do, don’t try to sell, share the journey by offering a behind the scenes look at the work being created for other clients through social media. But, also don’t be afraid to sprinkle in posts that have a clear call to action of working with you ????
Once I owned this and started sharing my journey and my business with my social networks, including LinkedIn, I started to see additional growth!
3 | Connect with Others
Every month I attend a local meetup for creatives through the Rising Tide Society. When I attend these events, I’m not trying to sell myself or my services, I go to connect and meet others. This is how I’ve met all my creative friends. Friends that I regularly meet up with for coffee dates and happy hour, friends that understand the entrepreneurial struggles. Some of these connections have turned into clients, or referrals, while others have turned into collaborations and partnerships. There is so much good that comes from getting outside of our comfort zone and connecting with others, in person!
4 | Network Online
You’re probably scratching your head with this one. I would have to if I didn’t realize what was taking place as I started doing this. If you’re in the creative space, you’re probably a lot like me and are part of a *few* Facebook groups or communities. And, like most, I was a silent stalker for a long time, maybe because most of the threads were about wedding industry items that dealt mainly with photographer issues. They were fun to read, but I didn’t have much to say.
Until, someone posted a question about marketing and branding in one of these groups and well, then I wanted to join the conversation. It started with them asking a question, maybe email marketing, and I was going back and forth providing responses to someone’s question. As the conversation continued, they wanted a more in-depth look at how to create an automation campaign. And, while I was drafting my response, I realized I already have a blog post covering this topic (and would provide a much better answer, than the one I was trying to craft in response to this social media thread). So, I posted the post.
Multiple people read it, some reached out asking if I offered this as a service, and got my first client from online networking. Now, I occasionally respond to threads that ask marketing and branding questions by dropping in a blog post link that actually answers their questions. It’s important to remember, my goal is to provide value and answer their question, not try to sell them. As they consume my content and I build the like, know, and trust factor, then maybe if we’re a good fit, they’ll move further down the funnel and become a potential client.
As I mentioned earlier, these are not quick fixes to grow your business overnight, these all take time and effort. But, they don’t require money or ads, so if you’re just starting out these are great ways to build your presence and grow your business.
Because I’m into numbers and like data, I wanted to provide you with a breakdown of where my clients have been coming from ????????????
A majority of my clients have come from referrals, which I think makes sense for a service-based business like mine. But, as someone who really digs into where and how I’ve received these referrals, I’m aware that this is happening because I’m staying top of mind within my network. I’m doing this by posting valuable, helpful content for my tribe on a regular basis.
Once you have visibility into the numbers, and you know what’s working, what your tribe and potential clients like, want or need, you can do more of that. Do more of what’s working to make sure you are maximizing your time and efforts in areas that will allow you to grow.
With a little bit of time and strategy, you can easily grow your business. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with growing slow ????
xo,
Sianne
