There are sooooooooooo many ways that you can share your message with your audience.

When you’re starting out, choose ONE format you want to use to communicate… and once you’ve systemized it so that it runs on it’s own, then and only then, should you add another format.

The biggest mistake that I see people making when they start trying to form their marketing plan for their network is they bite off more than they can chew.

(and I’ve been here more than once)

Seriously though, start with one.

I know I know, you have a huge master plan that you want to put together… but do yourself a favor and start with one.

While you’re selecting your format, think about what you LIKE to do and can realistically do it consistently.

I love love love going live on Facebook and doing little chats in my Instastories but I don’t do more video stuff because I freakin’ hate editing videos…

I’ve also found that my community appreciates the raw realness of unedited videos, so I’ve been doing more of it.

In next week’s blog post, I’m going to teach you how to create a year’s worth of marketing in one week but for this week, I want you to think about the method you want to focus on.

Method #1: Email Newsletters

There’s no place more sacred in internet marketing than someone’s inbox.

Social media algorithms will change, they always do… So if you have a direct line to their inbox and you create engaging content that gets them to WANT to open and click in your emails, you can monetize your email list.

Whether you’re a blogger, you’re trying to build your credibility with your network or you’re trying to convert a lead into a client, email works.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Don’t believe me?

Just got this text last night:

… and it just so happens that I have a wholeeee article about what to send to your email list:

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Method #2: Blog Posts

I freakin’ love blogs (if you couldn’t tell)…

Specifically because when someone comes to me asking for advice on something, I’ll give them a quick little answer and then direct them to a blog post that I’ve written that will answer the rest of their questions.

It allows me to blow people’s minds without taking up a ton of my time.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I regularly get emails or messages from people like “I read your ___ article and I had to bookmark it because it was so good!”

It’s good for the ego, builds brand loyalty andddd it reinforces my blogging philosophy: I only publish if it’s epic.

So sure, I don’t publish every week like some bloggers do… but when I do, you know that I’ve poured my heart and soul into it and you know that you’re going to get something out of it.

The key to blogging and monetizing it is getting them to take action… and specifically, get their email address (which brings us back to email newsletters).
 

Method #3: Video Emails

I’ve dabbled in video and totally see the value of it, I just don’t do more of it because I hateeeeeee editing videos and I haven’t found someone yet to do it for me who’s style I like, turn around is fast enough and is affordable (if that’s you, hit me up!).

You know how they say that a picture is worth a thousand words?

I just saw a statistic somewhere that said one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.

If that doesn’t tell you the value of video, I don’t know what does.

I actually did a poll on my Instagram about whether my audience preferred super scripted and edited videos or if they preferred the raw, real life videos that I normally do in my Instachats.

Believe it or not, they preferred the rawness of the unedited videos which motivated me to start doing a monthly video email to my real estate list about the things going on in the community. I’ve already recorded and scheduled emails for an entire year and they’re LOVIN’ it.

In addition, video consumption goes up every single year so I anticipate that in the future, video will be our main form of communication.

I also do tonssss of videos on my Instastories… Sometimes they’re chats related to MEB topics and sometimes they’re property videos. Those stories have increased our memberships, attendance and gotten me wayyyy more real estate referrals so yes, video totally works.

Method #4: Social Media

Firstly, I know I just clumped all of the social media platforms into one category when they all deserve their own sections but for the sake of the length of this post, we’re not going to get into detail here about how to build a following on social media.

If you’re going to choose this route, choose one platform and master it first. You don’t need to be on every platform.

That’s how you burn out.

Here’s what you need to know:

hangout where your target audience does.

If it’s Instagram, become a boss on Instagram. If it’s Facebook, master that shit. If you’re a blogger, you probably already know about the impact Pinterest can have on your list building and traffic… or maybe it’s Snapchat.

Whatever the platform is, master it before you go to the next platform.

By focusing on one platform, you can GREATLY increase your impact on your audience because of how much content you can create for that one platform.

The more they see you contributing value, the more they’re willing to do business with you.

Oh, and for the love of God… Do yourself a favor and systemize it.

My absolute favorite social media scheduling platform is SmarterQueue because they recycle the posts so it’s ACTUALLY set it and forget it.

Social media can be done a few different ways…

You can use social media as a mini-blog itself and focus your content on educating, informing and inspiring your audience or you can use it to promote your other avenues.

Either way, your content should be useful.

… If your content is not educational, inspiring or useful, you shouldn’t be posting it.

The content that you share doesn’t have to be alllll yours.

You can share other people’s content that’s related to your topic, but PLEASEEEEE do not continue to post “50% off! Call me now!”

That just makes you look spammy.

Method #5: Mailings (And yes, I mean snail mail)

I know this is a millennial blog so you’re probably like, “um, excuse me, what?”

Hear me out…

If your mail pieces are valuable, they will get opened and they won’t get thrown out.

In fact, when someone tells me they want to buy or sell a house, they get four mailings from me.

The first mailing is a handwritten note and the other three are worksheets or cheat sheets to help them get ready for their move.

I cannot even tell you how many thank you’s I’ve gotten for them.

Specifically, they’ve LOVED them because it gave them actionable content to implement right away.

We’re not talking about junk mail here…

We’re talking about hardcore, useful content.

And ‘why mail’, you ask?

Great question…

Not everyone is going to open your emails… but when is the last time you got something USEFUL in the mail that wasn’t a bill or junk mail?

Probably never.

It’s the something-something to make you stand out.

Over the long-term, think about sending them something once a month that might be useful for them.

Sure, mail is more expensive than some of the others but it works so incredibly well because you’re getting to them in a way that most other people have forgotten.

Ready to put this into action?

I’ve got a totally free workbook for you to help you decide which method to use and how to figure out how much money you’ll make per method.

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My Secret Weapons

I don’t include these secret weapons as actual “methods” because they are part of the bigger picture of marketing. You’re probably not going to do a one on one with every person in your network every month and you could either email or mail your checklists and worksheets.

So with that in mind, these two little things upgrade your marketing a million times over:

Weapon #1: One On Ones

Do not underestimate the power of the one-to-one connection.

Do not underestimate the power of the one-to-one connection. Click To Tweet

Whether that’s phone calls, one on one meetings or personal emails, the one-to-one connection is the single most powerful connection you can possibly have.

So long as you focus on the right people, this is hands down the most powerful form of building credibility with your community.

I’m going to write an entire post about how to organize and maintain relationships with your community, just haven’t had a chance to do so yet but when I do, I’ll make sure I add it right here.

Don’t try to do everything… Pick one or two ways to create value for your audience and do them at a high level.

… and whatever you do, do it consistently.

Weapon #2: Checklists and Workbooks

I’m obsessed with checklists, worksheets and cheat sheets… I have checklists for everything that I do and I created checklists for everythingggg that our MEB team needs to do on a regular basis. I have open house checklists, client intake checklists, and worksheets for pretty much everything that happens in my businesses.

They help us stay consistent, systemized and it makes it incredibly easy to track our results (since what you don’t track, you can’t improve).

These are SUPER popular with bloggers and infopreneurs but ANYONE can implement this into their business.

People will LOVE you for them because you’re giving hem clarity… and clarity is power.

Here’s a sneak peak of some of my worksheets and checklists:

Most people get overwhelmed by things they don’t understand, so if you can simplify it for your ideal client, remove the fog and help them see the process from beginning to end, you’re the person that made them feel like they can conquer it… and you’ll get the business.

For example, for my real estate business, I have a checklist for my sellers of everything that they’ll need to do to prep the house before we go up for sale… I have a worksheet for buyers to use to keep notes of the houses they’ve seen. I have a flow chart that walks them through the whole closing process.

Not only do they love it, but it saves me tonsssssssssssssss of phone calls of “what did you say about ___ again?”… because they know they can go back to the worksheets and checklists I gave them.

I’m all about giving someone a “wow” experience and blowing their mind but I FIERCELY protect my time and by creating alllll this content up front, I can do all of that simultaneously.

All of which leads me to…

Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose

I. Cannot. Stress. This. Enough.

If you answered a question in a video, make a quick little meme about it and share it on whatever social media platform you love.

Then turn it into an infographic….

Add the video to a blog post and then detail the answer in writing too (that way people who prefer to read it can and the people who prefer to watch it can too).

Tell a story about it on your Instastory or Snapchat.

Create a worksheet, checklist or cheatsheet about it.

Turn it into a tutorial.

You work hard to create your content so if you use it in a bunch of different ways, you’ll make sure that you get enough eyeballs on it for it to make a difference.

I don’t care how epic your video, blog or meme was… People are busy and social media algorithms aren’t your friend.

It doesn’t matter how many different ways you create the same content, most people won’t see it in one way and everyone digests information differently so even if they DID see it, it doesn’t mean they actually remember it.

Just because you post about it once on social media, doesn’t mean everyone saw it (in fact, less than 5% of your friends and followers will see your posts on social media so you HAVE to repurpose for it to be seen).

Just because you sent out an email, doesn’t mean they read the whole thing (or even opened it).

Next week, we’re going to talk about how to create a year’s worth of marketing for your network in just one week, but for this week, I really want you to focus on the ONE (not three or five) method you want to implement in your business. Start there… and once you’ve decided, creating a year’s worth of content will be easy peasy.