I’m an admittedly awkward person, which is funny because I work in marketing. If you’re also an introvert who prefers not to show up on Instagram stories (or do a daily search for faceless Instagram reels ideas), this episode is for you. As a fellow introvert, I understand the struggle more than you know. Creating content and being social takes a lot of energy for me, which I don’t say in a bad way – we also spend energy on fun things – but if you resonate with this, you’ll love today’s episode where I share my journey in marketing for introverts and how to leverage being an awkward person and still make a ton of money. Sound good?
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Today, let’s talk about marketing your business, even if you consider yourself a bit awkward. Sound good? But before I dive into the strategies (and believe me, I’ll get granular), let’s take a moment to appreciate being born at a time when you can make money online without being cool in person. It’s pretty amazing, right? I’m a bit of a nerd. I’m definitely not the cool girl type. I like basic things and working all the time. Not exactly party material, unless you want to talk about KPIs and business goals (and let’s be honest, that’s not what people want to discuss at parties).
I have blubbered my way through many sales calls too, where sometimes I don’t feel like the best salesperson even though I believe I have the best product to offer, it’s like I struggle to articulate it. I know people need blogging and Pinterest for their business, but during sales calls, I find myself struggling to find the right words. It’s crazy because the perfect responses pop into my head as soon as the call ends. Have you ever experienced that too?
So, in case I haven’t emphasized this enough if you’re like me and feel like you lack the cool factor, don’t worry. You can still achieve well-deserved success online. You just have to approach things a little differently. In my humble opinion, having knowledge and understanding of marketing is the key to making money online, and you don’t have to follow the crowd. In fact, sometimes it’s better to leverage your strengths and think about how they can work for you and your ideal audience.
Now, let’s talk about marketing for introverts and how you can make this work in your own business!
Table of Contents
Marketing for Introverts: Combining Blogging, Podcasting, and STRONG Website Copy in 5 Steps
I love content marketing because it allows me to showcase my expertise and attract clients to hire our agency. It’s not about being charming on sales calls, but rather relying on strong content through blogging, Pinterest, website copy, and now this podcast. No shade to those who excel at sales calls, but that’s just not me.
Here is exactly what I mean when I say I market my business a little differently.
Step 1: I Write Blog Posts That Will Help Me Get Found on Google
First, I focus on writing blog posts that rank on Google to increase visibility for my small business. As we move into the new year, I plan to repurpose podcast episodes into blog posts. Writing blog posts to improve Google ranking is my most effective awareness tool. While I hope to be discovered through this podcast, Google is an area I’m familiar with and want to explore further. So, my top-of-funnel strategy is centered around writing blog posts.
Step 2: Writing my Website Copy Strategically for a Longer Customer Journey
The second step in my marketing funnel for getting clients interested in working with me is all about strategically writing my website copy. This is what grabs their attention and gets them curious about what I have to offer. Ideally, I want them to spend a good amount of time browsing my website before they even think about booking a call. See, I know that my website does a better job of selling me and what we do than I can do over zoom. My goal is to have them like 90% sold before we even hop on a call.
Now, don’t get me wrong, sales is important and can definitely be learned. But for me, it’s not the top priority. I believe you, as a listener, can also improve your sales calls. So this isn’t a “you’ll never be good at sales calls if you are an introvert or are awkward.” This is simply offering you an ALTERNATIVE way of marketing for introverts that I believe isn’t talked about enough.
Step 3: Creating Micro Funnels
That’s why I strategically create website copy and blog posts to encourage people to explore and engage with what I can “micro funnels”. It challenges the idea of having only one call to action on each page, but trust me, there’s plenty of data to back up this approach. Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” delves into this concept of micro commitments. If someone says yes to something small, they’re more likely to say yes to something big.
While this idea has been discussed online, I haven’t seen anyone approach it quite like this. If I can get you to say yes after reading a blog post, it’s unlikely that you’ll immediately book a copywriting VIP day with me. Most people need more warming up before making a larger investment. So, a more likely journey would be to have you read another blog post and say, “Hey, if you found this interesting, you’ll probably find this interesting too!” Or maybe I can direct you to my services page or over to my Instagram page to connect further.
I’d rather delay jumping right into the contact form, so you can get to know me better and warm up to the idea. It’s not just about hiring my agency, but about prioritizing Pinterest marketing and blogging for your business.
I strongly believe that my website needs to effectively communicate both aspects because our ideal clients, with whom we have excellent synergy, may not prioritize Pinterest (at first!), so when someone finds us, I have to not only show them that they should hire US specifically, but I also have to show them WHY blogging and Pinterest is important in the first place.
Step 4: Prioritize Client Relationships
As an introverted individual, I prioritize building strong personal relationships with my clients. This allows me to give them my utmost energy and receive ideal client referrals in return. While I may not be the type to churn out multiple reels a day, I firmly believe in focusing my energy on interacting with and supporting my clients. That means responding to comments and DMs on Instagram, rather than simply following generic social media best practices (like posting 3 times per day). Managing my energy intentionally is important. It’s one of my biggest tips for marketing for introverts!
Bonus tip: when you prioritize blogging and website copy, your clients have something to share with their friends when they refer you!
Step 5: Manage Your Energy
I’m currently reading a new book called “At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor“. It’s all about rearranging your days to tackle high-energy tasks at the right time. I find it super interesting as I’m always striving to improve my batching and energy management skills. If you’ve got any time management or energy management hacks to share, or if you have any book recommendations, I’d love to hear them! Let’s connect on Goodreads too, so we can swap reading lists.
We’ve all been there – recording an Instagram reel that turns out amazing in three minutes. But then there are those times when we spend an hour trying to capture the same thing, only to get frustrated and give up, thinking, “This sucks, I’ll try again tomorrow.” It’s especially frustrating for busy moms like me, who may have tried during nap time and end up feeling like we’ve accomplished nothing. So, I’m working on improving in the area of energy management because it’s a big deal and I know it can make a big difference when marketing for introverts.
That’s basically my entire process – but here are two more things I want to share about marketing for introverts.
Mindset Shift You Might Need to Make: It’s OK To Be Awkward Too!
I often come across the question, as a marketer, what can we learn from Taylor Swift? But here’s the thing, Taylor Swift is NOT the cool girl. Let’s take Beyonce, for example. Both of them can be industry leaders and incredible women in their own right. I’m just saying, it’s okay to embrace a bit of awkwardness and imperfection. I constantly remind myself of this and want to encourage you to do the same. If it hasn’t stopped Taylor Swift from making money, it surely won’t stop me from making mine.
The Most Controversial Tip for Marketing for Introverts
I saved the most controversial one for the end. I want to clarify that I’m not a business coach saying this. It might sound icky when it comes from a business coach, but I’m not trying to sell you anything. Usually, I have to pay to get into the right rooms.
I’ll just let that sink in.
The truth is that I am usually paying to get in the room for the first time, whether that is joining a group program to connect with people who are at a level that I want to be at or being involved in a Facebook group or something where my ideal clients are in.
I feel like as an awkward person or an introvert, I am not going to be able to go to a networking event and find my next great business connection or even biz bestie.
If you want to connect with women who are striving to grow their businesses, that’s awesome! I also want that – so please send me a DM on Instagram. I’m not trying to sell anything here. While I work in marketing, I’m NOT offering coaching services or any kind of community thing now or in the near future.
I just feel like one of the things I wanna do on this podcast is chat about stuff that nobody’s really talking about, and I think this is definitely one of them. While I don’t join anything with the sole intention of getting clients, I find myself in longer group containers connecting with fellow women who ARE my ideal clients (or offer a complementary service and have an audience of my ideal clients), and that feels better to me than a high-energy networking event. I KNOW I’m not the only one joining programs and things like that to connect on that level either! It’s just something nobody wants to talk about that is absolutely happening behind the scenes.
Marketing for Introverts: Final Thoughts
If you are marketing solely on Instagram right now, I just want to say that I know that making connections, commenting, and DMing on other people’s stuff can happen organically and beautifully. However, I also know that it may be a bit more challenging for those who are introverted or feel awkward. Personally, I can’t spend hours engaging with people on Instagram every day. It drains my energy and prevents me from being productive. If you’re an extrovert and can manage it, kudos to you! But for me, I need to focus my efforts.
Lastly, I hope this episode has provided transparency on how I handle this. It’s exactly what works for me, and I’m grateful for finding a method that suits my strengths and weaknesses. Instead of blindly following industry trends and best practices, I prioritize leveraging my natural abilities, which I believe are more important. If you have any questions (or hey – want to hire us!), reach out here!
Links Mentioned
Learn more about working with our marketing agency here
Follow me on Instagram
Let’s be friends on Goodreads
