DIY Marketing for Infopreneurs – Part 1: Expanding my Marketing Sphere

by Kelly Berry

As with many AIIPers (I suspect), much of my work comes from referrals, word of mouth, and repeat business. Some of my fellow AIIP members have recommended me to clients, leading to more work (Go AIIP!)

But as I work to expand my business and shift my model from market research to running small-business roundtable groups, I am finding I need to be much more visible online. I can’t count on all of my income/clients coming from people I already know. I need to connect with more and more prospective clients and new referral sources to share my business offering and grow the business.

All of this means that it’s time to “up” my marketing game and to represent myself as a thought leader and trusted advisor to small businesses. The goal is to increase my opportunities to get in front of future peer group members/clients. Thus, the head of my organization (me) consulted with the marketing director (me) and the head of technology (me) to put a plan in motion to increase online visibility, to be carried out by the operations and marketing team (me).

Marketing Goals

My mission is to engage small business owners so they grow to “know, like, and trust me” and want to subscribe to my blog, follow me on LinkedIn, and ultimately work with me.  Does that mean I’m no longer looking for referrals, word of mouth, or repeat business? Of course not. I keep showing up at as many in-person or virtual networking events as I can, reaching out to past clients and past referral sources, and sharing information about the kinds of clients I serve and why my peer groups can help.

But that type of outreach is limiting, so I turn to the digital space in hopes of reaching more people and encouraging them to work with me.

The Sales Funnel

A traditional sales funnel follows the Marketing 101 concept AIDA:

• Awareness/Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

In other words, first you need people to know you exist (awareness).  Then you need to engage them enough that they are interested in learning more about you.  And then you must keep engaging them enough that they desire to work with you. Finally, they take action: they reach out to you or purchase your product or service.

At each stage of the funnel, how and where you reach out, and what you share, might differ.  But in reality, the key is to show up as often as possible with a range of messages that appeal to people at each level of this sales funnel.

Am I good at this? No. Am I doing my best to keep showing up over time? Yes. Will this pay off in the long run as I work to grow this new part of my business?  We shall see.

But I imagine that many AIIPers are also working on the same goals – standing out online (and in person) in growing our infopreneur business. Sharing our best practices (and successes and failures) can be a great way for us all to learn from each other.

In Part 2, I will describe the tools I use and the results I have achieved with them.

Kelly Berry is the owner of ResourceAbility and Second Stage Growth. She has been providing market research and strategic planning services to small and medium-sized businesses for about 20 years. Any new decisions about adding products or services, setting prices, or expanding into a new market should begin with market research. Let us help your business with primary or secondary research to support and inform your decisions. She is currently Past-President and has served as President, Director of Professional Development, and Virtual Events Committee Chair.