Would you like to know a secret? Today’s episode is in the theme of my favorite episodes. It’s three things you need to know, right now. This is our first, three things you need to know episode, of Q4, of 2018, and I want to dig in and talk about, not just what you need to know for this month, but globally what I want you to be paying attention, going into the last quarter of the year. Whether you run a standard structure of Q1 being January to March, and so on, and so forth, and this being legit, your Q4, or if you’re somebody who maybe has modified their quarters … I know a lot of people are on a June/July, kind of fiscal, or July to June, kind of fiscal year, whatever works for you, these last three months of 2018, October, November, December, do present their own things.
I want to talk a little bit about that, but I also want to talk about some of the marketing that happens, in this part of the year, and why I don’t want you to fall prey, and I’m using that word very intentionally, to that language. That’s what we’re going to dig into, today.
Without any further adieu, let’s jump in.
I want to start with the fact that there’s going to be a lot of people, a lot of marketers, who are going to spend the next couple of months, trying to tell you that this is your last chance. That you have to finish strong, and you have to make this your best year ever, and you have to, or you should, or you need to, and really give you the impression that time is running out. It’s not. It’s just not. It’s simply not.
Here is what I have learned in seven and a half years, of business, things will keep going.
There are absolutely lessons I have learned, that would have been nice to learn earlier. There have absolutely been experiences, that I have had, that a little more information would have made, a little less painful, but I don’t want you to live on this, deadline for success, that someone else is giving you. Especially because it also comes with their definition of success.
When marketers start doing this, it tends to make us feel inadequate. It is something that I have a massive problem with, and am trying to change, in my corner of the internet. The reason I say this is not just so you don’t fall prey to these things, but also so you know there’s another way to market. So often I hear from my clients, and prospective clients, and from the community as a whole, that they see these things, that are so obviously working, because tons of people bought XYZ program, and it was all so based in fear mongering.
They don’t think they’ll ever get XYZ results, because they don’t want to market that way. There is another way. I don’t market with any of that stuff, and I’ve been in business, very successfully, for seven and a half years. I want you to step back, from a consumption standpoint, from the idea that someone else’s timeline, and vision for success, are being pushed onto you, and that if you don’t reach those things, you will have somehow become a failure, or inadequate, or whatever else.
I also want you to realize that marketing that way, that leading with that kind of messaging, is not the only way to be successful. I would argue, that long term, sustainable, growth, and impact, with your business, comes from doing the opposite, of that because you really start to cultivate a community of people, who buy in. Not just because they buy in to your program, or your coaching, or your service, or your whatever, but because they buy into your core business values, and those people tend to buy more than once, and they tend to stick around, and they tend to share with their friends, and that is where we start to see real depth, of impact.
Instead of the potentially shallow impact of, “Buy this. Buy this. Buy this. Buy this”, okay? This one’s kind of a two prong, I want you to really be aware of that language, that you’re seeing, those Facebook ads, that you’re seeing. Those Instagram stories, that you’re seeing, that feed that little voice in your head, that tells you, “You’re doing everything wrong”, because trust me, we all have that voice, and instead, I want you to focus on the voice in your head, that says, “I’m gonna do this my way. I’m going to use the language that I know speaks to my community, because that’s the only person, I care about attracting. Is the people who are an ideal fit, for this.”
When you do that, it will be easier. Now, with all of that said, not all end of the year program, who are saying, “Let’s make the most of 2018”, or “Setting yourself up for 2019”, is bad. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, but dig a little past the language, and look for those places that really connect with you. That really is speaking to what you want, in 2018, and 2019, whenever.
For me, not in the market for programs, at the end of this year. As I sat down, and did some of my big picture 2019, planning, and from an investment standpoint, not a marketing standpoint, just yet, but from an investment standpoint, I realized that my investments, in 2019, are really going to be about people. I’m not trying to mastermind, this year. I’m not booking a one on one coach, this year. I’m not buying any courses, this year.
There, from time to time, might be a, “Hey, I want a guide on how to do something specific”. There, from time to time, will absolutely be, “Hey can I book an intensive, or a VIP day, with my coach”, but I know, for me, that my investment is people, and so when I see these ads, or when I see this messaging, I’m able to run that through the filter. I highly recommend you figure out, where you want to see an impact, or support, or growth, next year, because that’s going to be incredibly valuable, to filter, this messaging through. To filter these opportunities through.
I’m not doing a whole episode on that. I’m not going to dig any deeper, to that. If you have questions, come ask on my Facebook page, or over an Instagram channel, because I’m not a business coach, like at all. Nor do I have an interest in being a business coach. There are several really amazing business coaches, in this community, if you need a business coach, let me know, I will point you in the right direction, but sharing my own experience, sharing how I’m making investment decisions, I’m making it from a place of, “What do I need?”, not, “What are they scaring me into thinking, I need?”
Pay attention to that shift, and of course, the core part of this, you don’t have to scare people into buying your stuff. Promise. Okay?
Let’s dig into number two. Number two is my absolute favorite, ’cause this actually came up, in a conversation I had with a client, earlier. They were sharing that they had gone on a weekend, and they had done this really cool work, and now they had all the things to share, but when they had all the things to share, they tended to not share anything, because they felt like maybe that was too much.
I want you to let go, of the idea that you are ever going to be too much.
When I shifted gear, in my business, in 2013, and rebranded as, The Stacy Harris, I committed to one single goal, for that year, for 2013, and it was to basically make people sick of me. I was going to work, to annoy, all of you, because up until that point, I thought about regular content, consistent social, not for my clients, but for my stuff, as annoying.
You guys didn’t want to hear me, on every podcast. You guys didn’t want to hear me talk on this podcast, all by myself. You didn’t want to see my social popping up, all the time. You didn’t want to see my ads, every day. It was going to be too much. 2013 was, not the best year I’ve ever had, as of to now, but it was the best year I had, up until that point.
I got some truly amazing opportunities. Speaking, working with clients, really fundamentally shifted my business, and my brand, into strategy development, and that was because I decided to get crazy visible. I decided that I was no longer going to worry about being too much, and I really, really, really, want you, to do the same.
I’m not saying, you have to try to be annoying, although, I will say, I have told this story a few times, to clients, and no one has ever told me, I was annoying. At no point, has anyone ever said, “Please, for the love of God, stop posting the podcast. Don’t share another story. Don’t say anything else”, because you know what, and this is going to be … brace yourself, no one is paying attention as closely as you are. Nobody.
Even though you think, “I’m always on social. I’m always on the podcast. I’m always writing blog posts. I’m always doing guest things”, no one is seeing all of it, but you. Maybe your team, but that’s it. So, let go of this idea, that you are going to be too much because you’re not. In fact, the fear of being too much is making you hide, and when you hide, you cannot serve your community. You cannot have the impact you want to have. You cannot deliver the value, that is trapped inside of you. You can’t have both. You can’t do both things.
So, for October, my challenge for you is to get crazy visible.
Now, I would prefer you have this with some kind of goal, in mind. Maybe you have a launch. Maybe you have something you want to share, and you’re going to grow your email list. Maybe you just want the swipe up feature, on Instagram, so you’re going to really hustle, to grow that following.
I’m not saying you’re going to get 10,000, and hit the swipe up feature, on Instagram tomorrow, but let’s say you’re going to get really intentional, about sharing content on Instagram, because you want to grow that audience. Great. Pick one of those things, and do it. Do it hard. Do it all the way. Get consistent. Get visible, and don’t worry about being too much. All right?
We’re going to wrap this up, with number three, which is a super tactical one. I tell you this, every year, about this time, but it bears repeating, ’cause new people hear it all the time.
Your ad costs are going to go up, in this last quarter, of the year.
I talked about this, a couple of weeks ago, and I talk about this a lot, we’re going to talk about it more on the live show, on Thursday; if you’re running ads, right now, make sure you know really intentionally, where that traffic is driving to.
Where that content, is serving your goals because that content can only be valuable if you know what it’s doing. Otherwise, you are spending more money than usual, for funsies, and I don’t know a whole lot of entrepreneurs, that want to do that. Do you? I don’t.
Okay. So, your ad costs are going to go up. Pay attention to that. Diversify that. Change up your strategy, a little bit. Again, we’re going to talk about this on Thursday, and we’ve talked about it on the podcast before, but we are going to talk about it on Thursday. Kind of, what I’m doing with my ads, right now. We’re going to be shifting gears into some retargeting. I’m actually not running any ads, right at the moment, because I don’t have a big purpose too.
Change up your strategy, and that’s not to say that, everybody turns your ads off, no. For someone listening to this episode, this may be peak season, for them, so they’re going blown, with the ads, and that’s great, just make sure you’re targeting is on point, make sure your expectations are on point because you want to make sure you’re maximizing it. It’s not about not doing it, it’s just about making it work for you.
All right? All right. That’s it for today. I did want to let you guys in on a little information; as you have heard, we launched the VIP Strategy Days, earlier this fall, and I think it was actually late summer, technically, since fall just … I’m going by the Starbucks, Pumpkin Spice Latte calender, so it was earlier this fall, in August, and we launched the VIP Days, I think one, or two spots left, for November, otherwise we are booking into 2019. We have a couple of VIP Days, in 2019, already booked, which is awesome.
Currently, we’re just booking Q1, so January, February, and March. If you are interested in doing that, I will have a link in the show notes, to check that out. If you go to thestaceyharris.com/vipday, you will find all the information, and you can book a call with me, to see if it’s a fit, figure out what’s going to be best for you.
Again, if you come to Southern California, where I am, I’ll take you to lunch, and everything, but if you’d like to do it virtually, we can do that, as well. I do want to let you know, I’m going to be hosting some workshop style events, in 2019. If you are interested in joining me, for one of those, let me know, and I will get you on the wait list. We will have our first one, in Q1, here in California.
I’m going to be in New York, in February, of next year. I’m thinking about doing a VIP Day, in New York, and/or, making some time to do a, “Master Your Marketing”, workshop, which is, we usually get about eight people in a room, and do a little hot seat time, for everybody. Sort of a marketing mastermind day. I’m thinking about doing that, in New York, as well.
I have not committed to this yet, so if you are in New York or the New York area, and that’s something that would interest you, in early February, let me know, and I’ll see about getting us a space. I will also be in New York, so I will be on that side of the country, in New York, or in February, rather, so if you want VIP Days, on that side of the country, I will do one, while I’m in New York. Let me know. Okay?
I can say that here, because I assume the people who are still listening, to the podcast, at this point, really love me. Like a lot.
All right, let’s call it, guys. Again, any questions, be sure to ask them. Head to the, not the VIP lounge, unless you are backstage, then yes the VIP lounge, but if you’re not backstage, first of all, fix that, second of all, join me on Facebook, or Instagram. That’s where I spend the most time. I will be happy to answer them. I love talking to you. I will talk to you very soon. Thank you for listening to this point, I hope you’re having a really good Tuesday. Bye.
Resources
Book your VIP Strategy Day with Stacey
Connect with Me
Connect with me on Facebook
Connect with me on Instagram
Tweet with me and include #HittheMic
