3 Mistakes I Made in Growing My Brand in 2022
Take it from me, there is so much that as a business owner, we’re needing to do. But, when do you spend time and monetary investment in various parts of your business? And how do you know when you’re ready?
In 2022, I made 3 significant mis-steps when it came to investing in ads, funnels, exposure, and sales strategy.
Mistake 1: I invested in getting exposure without having a press kit on our site.
We pursued (and landed) some exciting speaking opportunities and while we had a press kit built out on the back end, it wasn’t something people could see without coming to us for it first. In 2023, we’re changing this to have a press and media kit with opportunities to partner with our brand front and center on our website!
A press kit page is a great way to immediately show you’re available for guest articles and speaking opportunities, but you could also tailor this to promote other collaborations like product placements, accepting influencer pitches, or cross-promotions with related service providers in your industry. Think out of the box and then make it easy to get more eyeballs on your brand!
Mistake 2: I focused on selling deliverables not outcomes.
In 2022, I got caught up in the weeds and tried to sell people on scope, process, and technical deliverables. I wasn’t focused on selling in a way that made it clear I understood prospects’ problems and that they could trust us to solve them. Instead, because I’m so passionate about design, I overwhelmed people with all the details of HOW we’d get to WHAT they needed when really, I should have emphasized the latter.
Talking to your customers about the problems you’re solving (or the value you’re creating for them) is key to taking the “ick” out of sales and making it a more genuine connection between your brand and your customer.
Mistake 3: I invested in ads before I built my funnel.
I was excited to get more brand awareness on some of the award-winning work and recognition our team got! I invested in ads — but not ENOUGH into my funnel (i.e. what happened AFTER someone clicked into an ad). I had a lead magnet and a short welcome sequence, but that was it! Looking back, I wish I had done more work up front to create content that would be automatically sent to people after signing up.
Funnels get a bad rap, but in reality, it’s just a way to make your content work smarter not harder. If you’re thinking about ads, build out ways to not only keep your audience warm but to serve them by creating value.
With all investments, a lot of them will ultimately point people back to your branding and your website. So, make sure you feel confident about what people will see!
Take the time to audit your brand and website. You can pull up your site and look at it from the perspective of your ideal client and someone who knows nothing about your brand.