The 1-Person Marketer (How to Market Yourself)

I’ve heard so many times that social media is too “saturated”.

But social media is not saturated, it’s just the new normal. How you present your brand online is now reality.

Think of it as your virtual storefront.

And ask yourself, “how do I want my audience to feel when they walk in?”

It’s like when you walk into that cozy coffee shop on a cold rainy day, the one with soft lighting and the smell of freshly brewed espresso and baked goods. A comfortable place to dry off and relax while you wait for the rain to pass.

You have to invite your audience towards something that will feed their needs, wants, and pain points.

Because as soon as you master the basics, there is no limit to your growth.

On the other end of this learning curve, there is freedom.

A freedom without worry of finding clients, and rather, they’ll find you.

So how do you do this? And why would you want to in the first place?

Why you should learn how to become a 1-person marketer

The most obvious answer is budget. But you have to remember, there’s a difference between cheap work and streamlined work. Let me explain.

If the price tag is the only reason you want to do this solo, you might just be worried your efforts aren’t going to work, or that you don’t have a product/service worth the attention.

Although cheap in dollars, being your own marketer takes time, effort, and consistency.

This is where most people fall off.

If you truly believe in what you offer, you have nothing to worry about. All you need is the knowledge to create an effective strategy.

Here’s how to get started…

Who, what, why, how

Before you create anything: branding, copy, content, you need to know exactly WHO you are talking to and WHAT they are going to get out of working with/buying from you.

Who

Who is your audience? What are their pain points, needs, wants, hobbies?

Know everything about your target audience and you already won half the battle.

Search on Google “audience persona” and it will come up with dozens of pre-made worksheets for you on finding who you need to reach.

What

You need to know WHAT you have to offer them. If you came out with a product that had little to no use, no one would buy it. You need to provide something with value that will not only catch the attention of your audience, but make them remember it. 

Why

Now is the hardest part. You have to CONVINCE your audience why they need your specific product/service. This is where industry and competitor research comes in handy.

Connect your why with who, and make a product/service based on the direct pain points and wants of your ideal customer.

If you don’t know what your audience’s pain points are, and what will make you different from your competition, you haven’t dug far enough.

Ask people you know, people you don’t know, run to reddit, facebook groups, tiktok, wherever you can to get inside information on your audience. This is crucial.

How

The last step is how. This is where you form your master plan and figure out HOW you will execute it.

Don’t worry I’m not going to abandon you. I’ll help you along the way to create your plan, but you’ll need to bear with me. I know it sounds overwhelming at first, but once you start skill-stacking, you will become invincible. 

The 4 pillars of a 1-person marketer

1) Self-education

Study, study, study.

Make sure you have clarity of your ideas, before you outsource them.

Outsourcing your curiosity is never going to be as effective as your own ideas.

Be confident that you can articulate these thoughts and goals to others, or else your audience will not resonate with your brand.

To create clarity, you have to consume. Self-educate. Research your competition, read, scroll.

Be clear in your message and be open to trading your time for skill and knowledge.

2) Writing

Storytelling, copywriting, and persuasion are all the product of writing. This is a high-value skill that is strongly sought after.

Ironically, this is one of the skills that many business owners lack the most. Learn to tell a story, and you will not only earn trust, but you will learn how to sell anything.

Storytelling is what makes your business into a brand.

3) Problem-solving

A brand will not succeed without a “why”. A customer is not going to spend their hard-earned cash on something that will not enhance their life in some way.

It is an important skill to be able to recognize gaps in the market. Start noticing what people complain about most.

Notice the good and the bad, just take note.

4) Resourcefulness

I’m going to be honest with you, the only way you are going to make this work is if you utilize any resources you have to streamline this process. hether this is a paid course, a coach, books, websites, AI writing tools, or all of the above.

Use tools and automation to assist you. You and I both know that you do not have the time to be hands on with this 24/7.

With that: Here are resources you can use to start on your journey as a 1-person marketer.

Resources

Books

Atomic Habits by James Clear

• The book you need to create healthy habits. Because without consistency, the rest of these resources will be wasted.

Unleash the Power of Storytelling by Rob Biensenbach & Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

• Because storytelling is the most powerful form of marketing.

Influence by Robert Cialdini

• Understanding marketing is understanding what motivates people to buy.

Websites

ChatGPT

This is an easy one to abuse. If you haven’t heard of this, it is an ai writing assistant that is potentially going to replace Google. Enough said. Play around with it, but don’t let it replace you. It will never be you.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite has one of the most extensive and helpful online marketing blogs I have ever seen. They have any topic including marketing you can think of, with dozens of downloadable worksheets.

Hubspot

Hubspot is the second most extensive online marketing blog I have encountered.

Later, Planoly, Meta business suite

These are all tools that will help you automate your content creation process

Google Skillshop

Google really outdid themselves with this one. You can earn free certifications to earn skills such as Google ads. For reference, it took me only a few hours to earn a certification. Highly recommend.

Okay,

With all that said, if you have any questions about any of this or need extra resources, respond to this email or dm me on Instagram/Twitter. I hope you have a lovely day, and I’ll talk to you guys soon.

-Sara