Hi I’m Shannon and I’m a former wedding professional. Now if you don’t know yet, wedding professionals are a breed of people that put their blood, sweat, and tears into one special day. A breed of people that lose their summers, weekends, and sanity to make one day come together flawlessly.

I was a floral designer; my fingernails would turn green. I would have cuts on my hands from thorns, and I spent most of my time talking to flowers. This was just a small piece of my business. As the owner, designer, and sometimes engineer (large installments!), I spent most of my time first thinking about where the next customer was going to come from instead of being able to focus on design or proposals. Finding the next customer was that thing that kept me up at night, that thing that made my stomach tighten into a knot, and that thing that made me feel like everyone must have the recipe for it, but I don’t. I also desperately wanted that recipe.

The second year of my business, I decided this was the year. This was the year I would create my own recipe of getting customers, leads, and inquiries. I’m a planner by heart and the wishing game of getting another customer was driving me into the throes of anxiety. I also took a step back and realized how small I was playing in my business.

Big companies don’t just wing their marketing strategies, they make a plan.

Here’s how to make your own small business marketing recipe that gets consistent traffic, leaves you able to sleep at night, and can free up your brain for the things that matter to you:

Plan a revenue goal for each month

Break down that goal into the number of packages or products you need to sell to meet that goal.

Who will you be targeting for those goals?
Is your target market changing by what you’re selling?

Blog like a boss

I’m talking blogging once per week, strategically. Read up on SEO techniques like backlinking.
(“Backlinking = a backlink is a hyperlink that links from a Web page, back to your own Web page or Web site. Also called an Inbound Link (IBL) these links are important in determining the popularity—or importance—of your Web site.” – Vangie Beal)

Post about local businesses if you’re looking for local clients and use topics that help your audience. Include blog posts that educate your audience, don’t just write about your own business.

Get consistent on social media—like now

Be visible on 2 social media platforms at least once a day for 30 days. If your services are visual (photographer), you’ll want to choose photo-focused social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. If your business is product based, focus on platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Snapchat is my favorite medium for showing behind the scenes shots of your business.

 

Ultimately, your small business marketing recipe isn’t necessarily a magical secret, it’s figuring out the numbers your business needs and then putting in the work to build them. As Emily always says, “Consistency breeds legitimacy.” Make your plan, consistently put in the work, and be a marketing boss.

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Shannon DePalma is a marketing strategist who helps wedding professionals to get out of the “saturated market” mindset and into a consistent stream of traffic. She also does business coaching. Find out more about getting your own marketing strategy, unique to your wedding business at shannondepalma.com.