4 Marketing Mistakes You're Making

(And how to fix them.)

We’ve all been there. We take pretty photos with our phone, come up with catchy slogans, disseminate them to everyone we know, and sit back and wait for the flood of interested customers to flow in. Then, of course, they never come. Or instead of a flood, it’s a single rain drop.

For me, along the way, I’ve made all of these mistakes, so they come from experience. Once I really applied these key factors in my marketing campaigns for my own business, the floodgates opened and I was able to turn a side gig into the real deal.

So here they are, the 4 Marketing Mistakes you’re making, and how to fix them:

I. You haven’t compiled a list of professional goals.

This is, in my opinion, one of the biggest errors made in Marketing because without a list of goals, you’re without a clear pathway towards the finishline.

Compiling that list of professional goals gives you a clear idea as to where you are and where you want and need to go. Don’t settle for something easy, either. Write down good stepping stones, but also write down that thing that you’ve had in the back of your head that just seems TOO big. The same thing that would almost feel a bit embarrassing to tell someone because it’s just far too grand.

Once you have these written down, you can ask yourself, What is my purpose and what am I delivering? What problem does this solve for others? What can I give, that others can’t?

All of this gives you a ‘Mission’ and a WHY for your Marketing Plan & Strategy.

Imagine you’re in a ballroom, and you’re made to dance out on the floor. Without a step by step plan, you’d look pretty clumsy, right? Now imagine knowing your goal throughout the dance, and hitting every single step you needed to in order to reach that goal? People would be impressed, and you most certainly, would feel good about the job you had done. Well, that’s marketing, with and without a goal and plan.

II. You don’t have a target audience.

Who are you selling or delivering to? Without a very specific target audience, you’re just throwing your marketing efforts into the wild and hoping they stick somewhere. It’s like throwing darts at a dart board, except the darts are feathers. They’d fall flat.

Knowing who you’re selling to and having that niche, can quickly start to funnel your efforts and have a ripple effect. Selling plant-based products? Probably not your best bet to try to sell to all of the ‘foodies’ in the world, but instead to sell to people who are geared towards health food stores and nutrition.

All I’m saying is, FIND YOUR WHO. If you’re cleaning ducts or repairing sliding glass doors, you’ll probably have a different market than someone selling artisanal flavored vodka.

III. You plan but don’t take action.

Ooof, I know it seems simple, but if you’re anything like me, this can be the hardest part. When I first started Jordan Wise & Co. it was easy to have big ideas, and big dreams. I’d come up with ways that I could promote them, plan out shoots, and sponsored content, and then three months would pass and had I done any of it? No.

I was the worlds worst procrastinator until I found out that in order to actually make money and people happy, I couldn’t be. A piece of advice from a recovering procrastinator? When you don't feel like working or you’re unmotivated, find one simple task to do and do it. Once that’s done, find another one, and do that. Once you’re moving and grooving, it’s way more simple to get going on the bigger projects.

IV. You aren’t consistent.

I’ll be completely honest with you. When I get busy with client work, consistency is the first thing to go on this list for my own marketing efforts. But what I’m doing when I let that fall to the wayside is quite actually GIVING my work to someone else who is able to spend the extra 5 minutes a day posting, or sending out a newsletter, etc.

Have you experienced this before? You’re on Facebook or Instagram and someone that’s in your field, that honestly isn’t as good and doesn’t have your technical skill, is getting WAY more attention than you? I see this all the time. Dang, I even HEAR this all the time. ‘Why does this guy get more sales than us when we have a far better product?’ And the answer, is because YOUR potential clients and customers see him far more than they see you or me. He’s there, consistently reminding them of his services. Poking and prodding, probably LOSING followers because he’s too active, but that’s who people remember when they’re in need of our services.

So post consistently. Set up a content schedule. Reach out until everyone knows who you are and what services you deliver. Keep going after that too. Don’t stop. Never ever stop.

(And I’ll practice what I preach too. Okay? Okay.)

Phew. That’s it. If you get in those four actions, you’ll win no doubt. So go out, and try them! Once you have your long term goals, contact us, and we can help you build a new and improved marketing plan and strategy.

So, who is Jordan Wise?

Jordan Wise is a now Tampa based Food Photographer and Digital Marketing girl for Culinary and Hospitality based companies. Before committing to her Digital Marketing Business, Jordan worked as a Line Cook, and had other Front of House positions in the Industry in various restaurants around San Francisco.

Have any questions? Or need some help? Reach out!