Don't Worry About Branding Until You Make 6-Figures

There’s a difference between brand marketing and direct response marketing. In the age of social media, kids dream of becoming influencers and brands thrive on building sassy personalities like Wendy’s. However, it’s not the only way to promote your business.

In fact, brand marketing probably isn’t a smart idea for entrepreneurs just starting out. It’s an expensive endeavor, and will drain your budget if you aren’t ready.

Best case, you’ll get a small stream of new clients as a result of the months you spent investing in the process. It’ll take several more months before breaking even, but at least you feel good about all the Likes and Follows you’re getting from the branded content.

Worst case, you won’t land any new clients but keep pouring into this fanciful branding dream.

In today’s post, we’re going to take a look at a different type of marketing strategy. No, it won’t get you to your first 100K Instagram subscribers, but it can get you to your first $100K salary.

An Overview of the Brand Marketing Problem

Brand Marketing: Any form of marketing implemented to strengthen name recognition, status or positioning of the business.

Think of traditional marketing methods like TV commercials, billboards, PR, and events. In today’s digital landscape, it also includes things like social media, podcasting, and YouTube.

So many cynics out there believe that brand marketing won’t work, and there’s often a stigma of scammers and hustlers in the niche. However, brand marketing can be extremely effective for profitable businesses who want to take their revenue to the next level.

But first, you need some revenue. After all, there’s no point in striving to become a household name before you’ve figured out how to get into the houses.

Back to our initial definition, “to strengthen…” You can’t strengthen something that doesn’t exist. So, there has to be a step BEFORE brand marketing. Don’t fall into the trap of gurus and influencers touting the benefits of going all-in on branding. You’ll get there, but you won’t start there. First, we’ll turn to a hybrid of sales and marketing…

Direct Response Marketing is the Obvious Solution

Direct Response Marketing: Any form of marketing implemented to close leads.

Think of content that includes a call-to-action at the end. Telemarketers, “Buy NOW” television commercials, mailers, flyers, and coupons are all examples of this type of marketing.

So many out there believe, direct response is intrusive, annoying and an unnecessary frustration. However, despite its bad rep, it can serve as the most powerful marketing force in your business.

Once you figure out direct response marketing, it’s a simple math equation. You’ll learn that for every dollar you spend, you’ll make three dollars in return. It’s that simple.

And yet, it’s one of the more complicated aspects of marketing because it may not come natural to you. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available, and this post will cover quite a bit too. For the remainder of today’s post, we’ll dive deeper into a specific formula you can use to launch a direct response marketing campaign for your business.

Step 1: Read The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy.

This is a classic, and the perfect place for any beginner to get a grasp of direct response marketing. Plenty of other authors dive deep into writing effective sales copy, but there’s no need to overwhelm yourself with knowledge.

Get equipped with the essentials. Learn them. Master them. And THEN perhaps it will be time to move into a deeper wealth of wisdom.

Step 2: Use What You Learned to Write a Sales Letter

Great, you read the book. I’m sure you learned lots, and now it’s time to put it to the test. Open up a Google Doc, grab your notes from the book, and get ready to smash out your first draft.

You’ll use this letter to send out as an email to prospects.

Step 3: Capture Email Addresses of Target Buyers

You can build a website and launch a landing page. Or you could run social media ads and acquire email addresses that way.

If you really want to increase your leads, create supporting content and ads to promote the landing page itself. The more links, traffic, and shares you can get on the page, the better. And find creative ways to point people there, like a link in your email signature.

Step 4: Publish “How To” Content for Social Media

Before getting people to your website, you need their attention. This is where social media can come into play. Take note, you aren’t vlogging about what you ate for dinner -- you’re creating strategic pieces of content to move your target buyer down the funnel.

Include a call-to-action at the end of your videos, point them to your website, and keep publishing content on a consistent basis.

Step 5: Send Your Sales Emails and Land New Clients

Once you’ve acquired the email, it’s time to send it out. If you’ve crafted it well -- and gotten it to the right prospect -- you’ll start seeing the sales flow in.

Soon you’ll be able to automate the process, even more, putting your sales on autopilot.

Conclusion

This is just one way to do it, and it’s what’s serving me well at the moment. I don’t have the bandwidth to dedicate myself into brand marketing 100% right now, and there’s no amount of motivational YouTube videos that will change that truth right now.

But I can keep growing my business, investing back into it, and creating a life I’m proud of. Then, when the time is right, I’ll pour money into that aspect of the business.