This is going to be a personal post about how I built my business to support my quiet personality as an introvert!
When I started my online business I always knew I wanted it to feel the most aligned. I had worked corporate, I’d worked for small businesses and even for myself in the beauty industry. I found online business at a time when I felt lost and didn’t know what to do with my career. But what I did know was that I had tried a lot of things; many of them did work financially but didn’t work for my mental or physical health. And I promised myself that I will never get myself into a situation that puts my health at risk ever again.
When I learned about online business…
So when I learned about online businesses; I knew it was for me and I knew I was going to do it my way. The first couple of years in business I allowed myself to get pulled in different directions because that’s all I saw from others. Extroverts were showing up daily online without getting burnt out and getting amazing results. I was able to convince myself that I was able to match their energy and show up the way they were. I quickly realized that I was breaking my promise to myself – I was creating a life that didn’t feel aligned and negatively affected my mental health.
I decided to trust myself and my gut instincts that I could do it my way. There are so many different ways to market your business online and I just had to do what felt right to me. This was really hard though because quiet marketing does rely on slow growth. So I wasn’t seeing those immediate results I had hoped for! But I was seeing my blog consistently grow and I was enjoying myself again!
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Let’s get into the systems and specific choices I made that allow me to run my business in a way that aligns with my quiet personality!
Choose sustainable marketing strategies that feel good to your nervous system
Social media has become such a big part of our lives as a society. Many business owners use it for marketing and if not they at least have a personal account. Because of that we see other businesses marketing online and we start to believe that we have to show up on socials in order to market online. However, that’s just not the case! There are so many online marketing strategies and you just have to find the one that works best for you!
That’s exactly what I did! I personally wanted a strategy that helped me grow my business over time without me having to do my make up and hair every day! For me, this was (and is) Blogging. I moved away from platforms that made me anxious or pressured to keep up with trends.
Blogging
The reason I chose Blogging is because of the power of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Mommy Bloggers have been blogging and makin’ money for a long time! I figured, I can learn from them and use a blog to grow my business! Blogs continue to bring traffic to your offers for years! Yes, you read that right; one blog post you write today can continue to bring traffic, aka generate leads, for your years!
I decided to pair Blogging with Pinterest because they’re both introvert friendly platforms. And because Blogging can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to start bringing in real traffic; I wanted to add another marketing strategy to speed that up. I chose Pinterest because it aligned with my quiet personality where I can create and post pins while staying in my pajamas!
Pinterest is a platform that encourages its users to click on outbound links. So each pin you post can link directly back to your website page or blog post. This helps you get more eyes on each blog post!
How these platforms allow me to grow while protecting my energy
Both of these platforms are places I can show up while staying “behind the scenes”. This allows me to protect my energy and show up as it feels good to my nervous system. I write my blog posts with a coffee, on my couch or at a cute cafe and I truly enjoy it! I don’t have to pretend to be anything or keep up with trends. It’s just me, my laptop and writing for you! This makes me really happy which keeps my nervous system feeling calm and relaxed.
Having a website that does the heavy lifting is non-negotiable!
What’s the point in creating great content and generating leads if our website is a mess? The purpose of your website is to help your ideal clients get the information they need and to take the action you want them to take. If you want to grow your email list; you need free offers they can sign up for. If you want them to book your services; they need to easily be able to do that.
Your website needs to have a clear strategy that encourages your visitors to convert! And if growing your email list is not on your agenda, you should add it! It’s the best way to capture the leads you have attracted to your website/blog. Just because someone landed on your blog once doesn’t guarantee they will again. This is why an email list is so important because then you can continue to nurture that lead and sell your offers.
This all aligns with my quiet personality as an introvert:
- Create content in my pajamas
- Generate leads through my blog/pinterest
- Nurture those leads through email marketing
This is all stuff I can comfortably do without having to show up every day. And it feels so damn good to my nervous system!
The systems I use to quietly market my business
Showit
I host my website on Showit. Showit is a website builder; it’s the platform I use to design my clients websites as well.
Showit will host your website as well so it can be live on the World Wide Web. My website design and content are all based on my SEO strategy. It’s designed to connect deeply with my ideal audience and then to guide them to find my services so they can book with me.
WordPress
WordPress is where I post my blog. It connects to Showit; so Showit hosts my website itself and it connects with WordPress where I post my blogs.
WordPress is the number one blogging platform used by Bloggers! So the fact that it connects to Showit which is great for design and ease of use; it’s a match made in heaven!
ClickUp
ClickUp is a Project Management System that I use to schedule my content. I create a content calendar for my blog posts and then plug in the dates to publish on ClickUp. If you want to use the exact ClickUp calendar that I use for my business; you can access it for FREE here. Training videos are included so don’t worry if you don’t know how to use ClickUp, I will walk you through it! And you can’t sign up for a free ClickUp account to use this calendar, you do not need a paid subscription!
I have the perfect gift for you!
I created a template of the exact Blog Content Calendar I use to stay organized and consistent with my posting schedule! You can download it for free below!
Flodesk
Flodesk is the Email marketing platform I use. It’s so easy to use and you can design really pretty emails! I use Flodesk forms on my website to capture leads; just like the form above! You can easily embed forms onto your website so people can get a really great, valuable free offer in exchange for their email address.
From there you can continue to provide value through your email newsletter to nurture those leads!
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I created offers that align with my energy!
This actually took me a couple of years to really nail down. And the only way I was able to figure out what offers actually align with my energy were through trial and error. Meaning I did offer a lot of services that weren’t necessarily aligned. Not that the clients weren’t aligned, but the way I was offering my service wasn’t. For example, I had a few custom SEO and Website Design clients I spent a couple of months with. I loved those clients so I did enjoy working on the projects but the timelines ran way longer than I wanted and it took up more energy than necessary.
Almost two years into my business I was finally able to figure out what worked best for my energy. And that meant a shorter turn around for my clients. Instead of offering months for a custom website I started offering custom website in 2 weeks. And I also launched an offer for a VIP Website Design Day where clients can book me for a day and I customize a pre-designed template for their business.
Both of these offers work for my clients and for me which is a win win!
Setting clear boundaries
This one is actually huge! I know we hear about having clear boundaries as a business owner all the time but I didn’t realize how important this was until I didn’t have clear boundaries! It burnt me out, people took advantage of me and it just didn’t feel good! I was overworking myself because I couldn’t say no and I was the only one to blame!
Once I got clear on my boundaries with myself I was able to implement them with my clients. I didn’t offer additional free work and I got strict with my timelines. And that made a world of difference!
Getting clear with my offers
This went hand in hand with my boundaries because it helped me implement them! When my offers were clear I could state what was or was not included in a package. I also became more strict with my timelines. For my web design services, my clients need to deliver their content by our design start date in order for me to start designing. Before I would wait and continue working on their deliverables as they sent them. Now I only work on what is provided by the start date.
I also have my own deliverables narrowed down. So depending on the package the client will only get x number of pages and if they want more there’s an additional cost. Before I was doing as many pages as they wanted which caused me a lot of burn out!
I had to redefine success according to my lifestyle
It’s easy to compare yourself to others; especially when you’re on social media. But the truth is, just because you are seeing someone else’s success doesn’t mean you saw all of their struggles. So much comes before someone’s success but yet we compare ourselves to them when they’ve already achieved that success.
I actually deleted Instagram off of my phone and I only log on to post content or check messages now. It was really making me feel bad about myself and my business because I kept comparing myself to other web designers.
Taking some time away from socials helped me get clear on what success looks like for me. And what I truly want. Personally, I don’t care about followers or likes or any of that superficial stuff. I’m not saying it’s bad to care about that, if you do – there’s nothing wrong with that! But for me personally, I don’t care! What I care about is living a life that brings me joy. Feeling comfortable and confident. Having time to spend with my loved ones and having time freedom.
A little encouragement for fellow introverts
I encourage you to define your own version of success. Then set some time aside to see how you can achieve that. There’s no right or wrong and there’s no judgement when it comes to what you truly desire. Get clear on your vision and get aligned with your marketing strategy so you can enjoy running your business as much as you enjoy what you do!
I encourage you to trust your energy, lean into your strengths, and build your business intentionally! If you’re like me and you want to build a business that aligns with your quiet personality – book a free consultation. I would love to get you started with your website and blogging strategy!
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Why I Chose to Build a Business Without Relying on Social Media
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Why Introverts in Business Make Amazing Entrepreneurs (Even If You Hate Selling)
