Why do we always feel like we have to grit our teeth and push through marketing that we hate?

Great news! You do NOT have to do marketing you don’t like.

There are a million ways to get visible in your community, build trust and educate your audience.

Out of a million methods, you only need to find what works for you.

And trust me, there is a marketing avenue out there that is a good fit for you. One that doesn’t create friction with your personality or make you feel like some kind of sellout.

This matters because building a business is a long term game. And I talk about this every episode, but consistency is central to success in marketing.

Consistency of your message, of your brand, of showing up and getting visible over and over again.

So it’s essential to choose marketing that you enjoy, or can at least tolerate, for the foreseeable future.

Marketing that you hate isn’t sustainable in the long term; it will likely burn you out and make you miserable.

Instead, let go of the marketing you hate, in favor of finding out what actually works for you.

It’s time to lean into the marketing that you can actually imagine doing for the long game.

Let’s dig in to the details on how to actually make this happen. Listen to episode #17 now.

🎙️ Listen Now: Do You Have to do Marketing That You Hate?

Show Notes:

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Transcript:

Hello, welcome back. Big question here today: Do you have to do marketing that you hate?

I’m going to spoil the entire episode by answering that question right now. The answer is no, you do not have to do marketing that you don’t like. Especially marketing that you hate.

Great news, right? Yay, thank goodness.

Why are we talking about this today?

I think there’s an inherent assumption for a lot of acupuncturists, a lot of wellness providers in general, that marketing of any kind is going to make us feel bad. That it’s going to be boring, tedious, it’s a lot of work, or it’s going to make you feel pushy or sleazy. The assumption is that committing to marketing means committing to a chore.

I want to disrupt that thought pattern and tell you, there are a million ways to get visible in your community, to build trust, and to educate your audience. Out of a million methods, you only need to find what works for you. And trust me, there is a marketing avenue out there that is a good fit for you, that does not create friction with your personality or make you feel like some kind of sellout. There is!

This matters because building a business is a long term game. And you know I talk about this every episode, but consistency is central to success in marketing. Consistency of your message, of your brand, of showing up and getting visible over and over again. A lot of marketing builds on itself and snowballs over time.

So it’s essential to choose marketing that you enjoy, or can at least tolerate, for the foreseeable future.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty bad at being genuinely consistent with something that I hate. Now, don’t get me wrong. Lots of people have to do stuff they don’t like. We can tolerate for a limited amount of time. But eventually, we feel burnt out and fed up and we end up calling it quits.

If we’re talking about establishing a strong marketing foundation that will support your business for the long game, then it’s critical to lean into the marketing that can actually imagine doing long term.

As far as I’m concerned, that means letting go of the marketing you hate, in favor of finding out what actually works for you. What marketing resonates with your values and aligns with your personality and strengths? That’s the juice worth the squeeze, right there. That’s what we’re looking for, so you can lean into it and put your precious time and energy into that instead of the things that are just going to make you feel drained.

In order to discover what works for you, you have to do a bit of experimentation. I always recommend to my students in Acupuncture Marketing School that they think about marketing as a grand experiment. To put a fun spin on it, you are a marketing mad scientist, which means that you’re expected to try a whole bunch of things and some of those things are NOT expected to work out. Not every experiment is a win.

Think of as many ideas as possible to get visible in your community. They can be unorthodox, that’s fine. Brainstorm and list them out. Then start trying them on for size.

👉 Look for that magic intersection between what works for you as an individual and what resonates with your community and actually gets new patients on your schedule.

It’s not that you’re never going to be uncomfortable in marketing, because probably in this experimentation phase you’re going to run into some marketing that isn’t for you. And that’s fine. Cross it off ya list.

Here’s an example. A lot of people feel like, I should be on Instagram. But if you truly hate Instagram, I mean, truly-madly-deeply hate it, then maybe it’s time to look for something else. Maybe a better fit for your personality and your strengths would be a Facebook group, or networking with people in person.

Whatever it is, whatever works for you that you can imagine doing long term, that’s what you want to lean into.

Trust me when I say that you can make ANY marketing work for your clinic, as long as you show up consistently.

So instead of half-heartedly putting your irritated energy into Instagram, not being consistent because you dislike it so much – instead of that, ask yourself, where else can I get patients from? Maybe it’s from volunteering in your community and having meaningful conversations with people. Maybe it’s getting interviewed on local podcasts.

Do those things feel good to you? Better than the marketing you hate? Then double down on those things. I’m talking about committing to those things deeply, showing up regularly.

Whatever it is, if you show up regularly you can make it work. It can bring you patients. Even if it’s something that no influencer or online marketing guru has ever mentioned, if it’s a good fit for you, and you show up for it, it’s probably going to help you get patients.

One more thought before I give you a journal prompt:

What if you have a marketing approach that you don’t like doing, that’s making you feel burnt out, but it works, consistently, and it brings you patients?

In this case, it’s probably time to hire some help. If you have a system that’s working to bring in patients, it’s likely you can teach that system to someone else. If they can’t take it over entirely, then I can almost guarantee there are big chunks of the system that they can take off your hands so that you have more energy for the parts that you actually need to show up for.

Let’s use the Instagram example again, running your Instagram account. And you guys know that I actually love Instagram marketing, and I teach about it all the time. (See Instagram Marketing for Acupuncturists, the online course.) It can be a great way to get new patients. But we’re just using it as an example here.

So let’s say you have success on Instagram, but you really just don’t like the platform. And your face is featured in a weekly reel or video, because you know it’s important for potential patients to get to know the person who might be treating them. And showing up on video is great for that.

However, your face is not really something you can outsource to a virtual assistant (VA), right? So instead, you can look at transferring as much as possible to your VA so you have the energy, creativity, and mental bandwidth to show up on video when it’s needed.

You could also brainstorm: How can we produce videos that don’t require my face? What else or who else can we feature a few times a month, like featuring a product or doing an office tour. These are videos that someone else in your office could make, so that you only have to show up on video once per month.

I encourage you to strategize, how you can share the volume of work so you have more energy to show up in the ways that matter the most.

And maybe you take a look at that particular marketing and decide, even with outsourcing, even though it brings you patients, you still hate it. Then I think it’s okay to drop it and look for something else, or maybe start experimenting with other marketing before you drop it.

But to prepare to let it go so that it doesn’t burn you out and make you miserable. You probably started a business so you could serve your community AND have a sense of personal freedom. You didn’t start a business to feel trapped by the systems you created.

All right. Our journal prompt: Make a list of all the marketing that you have done so far in 2021. Record whether each type of marketing worked to generate new patients, or not. If you have actual data, like the cost of the marketing and then the revenue it brought in, high five, my friend, you’re rocking it. Certainly write that down or bring all that data together.

And then for each marketing approach, write down Yes or No – is it something that you can foresee doing for the long term? If you want to spend some time with this, you can also write, how does it make you feel? Does it make you feel in flow or does it create friction in your body?

Basically, determine whether each marketing approach is something that feels sustainable to you.  

For the things that don’t feel sustainable, you know what I’m going to say. I think it’s time to let them go, and lean into the things that don’t make you feel stressed. That don’t make you feel exhausted at the end of the day.

We want to build a business that supports you, as the business owner, as much as it supports your community. You deserve that.

I hope this perspective makes you feel liberated and makes you feel free. You do not have to do marketing that you don’t like. Lean into your strengths and what works for your wonderful, incredible personality, and hire help if you need it.

Before we go today, I have two quick announcements for you.

The first is that the scholarship competition for Acupuncture Marketing School is very quickly approaching! 🎉

[Sign up for the waitlist here.]

In October, which I know sounds far away, but it’s only six weeks away, I will be giving away three seats in Acupuncture Marketing School. Traditionally, because we do this every year, one scholarship is awarded to an acupuncturist and one is awarded to an acupuncture student. The scholarship is worth almost $700, because that’s the cost of Acupuncture Marketing School. And we often throw in some bonuses, so that it’s worth even more.

And this year, I’m crazy excited to share that Unified Practice is sponsoring an extra scholarship for Acupuncture Marketing School. So instead of giving away two free seats. I’ll be giving away THREE seats in Acupuncture Marketing School!

If you’re interested in applying, definitely get on the waitlist. I’ll put the link in the show notes. Once you’re on the list you’ll get more information about the scholarship and updates as it approaches.

And everyone who applies for the scholarship will be entered to win $100 credit towards Unified Practice. So even if you don’t win the scholarship, there’s another prize you could win. If you already use Unified Practice and you’re selected as the winner then it would take $100 off your bill. If you don’t have Unified Practice and you’re the winner, then it would go towards the first couple months of your subscription.

So, very exciting things happening, and I’ll provide more information as we get closer. Definitely get on the waitlist to learn more.

And then the second announcement is that we are hiring at my acupuncture practice in Seneca Falls! 🥳

To start, we’re looking for a part-time acupuncturist who has experience with cosmetic acupuncture, and the goal is to increase their patient numbers as quickly as possible.

My goal is to step behind the scenes at clinic and manage all the marketing. Basically, I want to funnel patients towards a fabulous acupuncturist. That’s my zone of genius.

Currently I’m at max capacity with the patients I can treat in a week, and I’m looking for someone enthusiastic who wants to come work with me.

So exciting! I’ll put the link to the job description in the show notes, which includes instructions for how to apply. If you know an acupuncturist who’s looking for a position, please share the link with them and send them my way!

Thank you so much for being here with me this week. It’s always a pleasure to talk all things marketing and practice building with you. Go out there and create a business you really love, that serves you and your community. See you next time!