How to Nail Your Marketing Message to Successfully Scale Your Lifestyle Business -

Having a clear marketing message is the key to being able to scale your lifestyle business. Without this clarity, you can’t successfully create the know, like, trust factor which is key to getting your target audience to take action.

So during my chat with Heather Thatcher of The Solopreneur Survival Guide she shares the three biggest mistakes you may be making in your marketing that are keeping you from being able to scale your lifestyle business. She also shares some tips to help you change that to improve your results.

Heather Thatcher

I am really excited to be here and help serve your audience! Thank you so much for this opportunity. So I started my career as a registered nurse in the ICU. And what I was seeing is a lot of people found themselves there because of illnesses and diseases that could be linked to chronic stress. So I got out of the reactive side of medicine and into the proactive side and started my first business in a stress management and trauma healing space. And then after a number of people went through my mindset reboot program, they started asking me to show them how to grow their own online business. And so that’s where The Solopreneur Survival Guide started was from that group of people that wanted to shorten the learning curve so that they could learn everything that you needed to be able to be successful online.

Shannon Baker

Oh, that is great! So really, it’s like your business, trend, you saw a need, you filled that need, and then it kind of grew a life of its own. Which, let’s be honest, that’s what a lifestyle business does! I mean, I especially know that I started in one space, saw a need, made a shift. And then this business has kind of grown and taken on a life of its own. But Heather shares some amazing tips online! And we’ll get more into some of those things as we go into our topic. Let’s just go ahead and jump right in! So Heather what would you say, you’ve seen, are the three biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to their marketing?

Heather Thatcher

So the three biggest mistakes that I see people making number one, is they’re putting the wrong free content in front of their person at the wrong time. So when we think about free content on social media, everyone keeps saying put out lots of value, keep giving all the how to content. Show them everything and then you’ll be set. But the truth is, a lot of people, especially in lifestyle businesses, they’re not ready to fix their problem yet. And the greatest example of this is the health and wellness industry. Because if you think about it, there is a ton of free meal plans and workout plans on YouTube, and videos you can do. Yet the obesity epidemic is still a thing. So putting more of that kind of content out there for free, isn’t going to serve your audience.

And so it’s learning about meeting your audience where they’re at, you’re giving away the right content for free. So that’s where the messaging pillar system that I teach really plays into that. And then another one of the mistakes that I see is that people are, they aren’t clearly communicating the pathway. They’re saying, hey, come follow me. And I’m going to show you how to get 10k in 10 days for your business. And you’re like, great, but how? How? And a lot of people struggle with communicating that how. And so that’s another part of the messaging system that I teach. And then the last mistake that I see people making is that they’re niching in a way that feels inauthentic to them. Or they’re not niching down enough. And so the niching strategy that I suggest actually lets you feel less limited, because it gives you a niche topic. And then you break that down into your first niche demographic.

Shannon Baker

And that you’re the first person I’ve heard explain it that way. And it actually it makes sense because when I rebranded my business, like I literally took six months to really niche down. However people want to say it. And focus in on who am I talking to. And what I found beyond the demographics, when I got into the psychographic portion was it wasn’t one person. It was a common problem among three different types of targets. So that, that definitely makes sense. Because without that piece as you specialize in, you can’t really nail your messaging because you’re not talking to the right person. So those are great tips! I can’t wait to see what else we get. We’re starting off with some serious nuggets here. So, being that that’s the case, even if we start with we get that clarification, what would you say is the best way then to start to create that know, like and trust factor with our messaging?

Heather Thatcher

So the fastest way to create know like and trust is to show people that you understand what they’re struggling with, that you know what they want, and you’ve got a logical step by step framework to get them there. So the days of the pain point, push on that agitate that and then offer the solution – I feel like those days are over. I don’t feel like copywriting is moving that way anymore. Moving into a much more compassionate space, a much more understanding and empowering space, rather than a place of self loathing, especially in lifestyle businesses, this is so important.

So connecting to your person in those early stages of their journey, and they’re ready to make change is really important. And so there’s this medical model that I used as a nurse. And it’s originally developed to help people overcome an addiction. But it’s been tested in a bunch of different spaces, including marketing. And it’s actually one of the most powerful marketing strategies you can use because it speaks to that first mistake that I pointed out, putting the wrong content in front of the wrong people at the wrong time. So everybody moves through five stages on their readiness to make a change.

The first stage is pre-contemplation. And that’s where they’ve got like their head in the sand, they’re just like, don’t just surviving, not really ready, not even looking for options. Contemplation is where you’re going to be meeting people on social media. And so on social media there, that’s where you’re going to have to meet people in those early phases. When they’re understanding what they’re thinking when they’re still very much like, well, this problem is happening to me, I can’t do anything about it. You’re going to try and meet them there. Help them understand their current circumstances and how to overcome them.

That moves them into the third stage, which is preparation. And this is where a lower cost offer can do really well, to then build people up, get some more that know, like, and trust that they’re ready then for your higher ticket offer, which is when they’re ready to take action and truly solve their problem. And then on the fifth stage, that’s maintenance mode. And so that’s when you’re helping them maintain that problem. So what does this look like in a business? How do all of these pieces fit together?

So, in The Solopreneur Survival Guide, the pre-contemplation is what I call your dreamer. You’re sitting there in your day job staring out the window being like, I wish I could be my own boss, wouldn’t that be nice? You’re just dreaming. Then in contemplation, that’s when you become the builder. That’s when you’re just like, okay, now I need to figure this out. I know, I want this, how do I start a business? What am I going to start a business around, you’re starting to look for information, to try and figure out how to solve your problem. Then in preparation, that’s when you’re ready to start working on things like building your website, starting your social media, writing your emails, that’s where you’re really in that preparation phase.

But every single entrepreneur that I’ve worked with has always hit a roadblock where the imposter syndrome, and that pesky inner critic starts to hold them back. And so really, people think that they want to build this online business, and that they need to walk work on website and social media first, but truly, they need to work on their mindset. So action, the action level step for me is the mindset reboot program. And that’s where people can then overcome that imposter syndrome, and be able to fully become the digital CEO that they were meant to be stage five.

Shannon Baker

That’s awesome! I love framework iterations! like I have the three C’s of streamlining. It’s like it helps you pull the pieces together for your business. And as you mentioned, that framework is really important, because that’s how you identify, as you mentioned, what’s the issue. But instead of beating people over the head with it, you can connect with them by like sharing a real life story of how did you deal with it which comes to the mindset. How did you overcome it to get to where you are, and now you can help the person with that. But that takes knowing the process before as you mentioned, you can get people to actually take action,

Heather Thatcher

Because we buy for emotional reasons, and then use our logic brain to justify it. So if we can get the emotional connection with their struggles and what they want and paint this beautiful picture of the journey, and then when they get emotional They invest in, they’re like, yes, that’s what I want! And then you say, Oh, yeah, here are the five steps to get there. And then their logic brains just like, “Yeah, let’s do this!” And then the credit card comes out, and then you know that you’re set.

Shannon Baker

Exactly. So now, one of the things I know, that we’ve all been taught to help with this process is give them the freebie. So we take them along. And the journey starts with giving them a free download. But then we believe them to, as you mentioned, that low ticket offer, you know, the $17 to $49 kind of offer where we’re like, okay, yeah, we pulled that card out quick. And it’s like, let me test this person out and see if this is actually going to work. And then when they do, and it works, they’re like, okay, now I’m really ready to invest in this person helping me. So getting started with that freebie, like, what type of freebie Do you think works best for someone to start this process.

Heather Thatcher

So there are three different freebies that I recommend. And the goal with these freebies are to create a gap that your offer will fill. So you want them, the person reading your freebie or going through your quiz, or whatever it is, you want them to self identify, ooh, there’s a difference between where I am right now and where I want to be. And they could help me fix that. So the three different kinds of freebies, I recommend number one other roadmap. So you’re going to give people those five stages, the five stages of change for your business. So that way, they can see like, Okay, I’m in stage two right now. But I know what stage three, stage four, stage five looks like. Great! I know what the journey is gonna look like. And that’s where you’re gonna bring in that logical brain to justify the emotional experience. So the roadmaps, the first one.

There’s a self discovery opt-in, because we all like to learn more about ourselves, which is why there’s so many of those BuzzFeed quizzes,. What fruit are you? What Harry Potter character are you? What color best represents your personality? So coming up with some kind of self discovery, often as it relates to your business is really powerful. And an example of this, for my stress management business is we look at what your core values are. Because a lot of people have gone through trauma. They have been people pleasers for so long that they actually don’t really know who they are. They only know who they are for these other people. So reconnecting to that part of you is sort of one of the first steps in that journey. So it’s some kind of self-discovery opt in. For the entrepreneur business, we talk about discovering your five brand connectors. these five things that you can talk about on social media that are have nothing to do with your business, but they’re just fun things about you. So these kinds of pieces are really good freebies, because we’re, we are wired to learn more about who we are. So it’s a really easy yes for people.

And then the last freebie that I recommend is one that’s really good at creating that gap. And that’s the assessment opt in. And so you have some kind of assessment that you create checklists that they can go through that will then help them realize, Oh, I really need to do something about my problem. And so for the stress management business that I have, we have a stress risk assessment that’s based in research and evidence that shows based on the different things that have happened to you in the past two years, what are your likelihood of getting sick because of that? And then for the business, the solopreneur business that I have, we have a successful business checklist where I show you all of the things that you have to have in place before you’re ready to scale. So that you can just go through and see what is missing in there. And then that’s a really easy upsell to your lower cost offer that’s going to help fill in those gaps.

Shannon Baker

And you know, that’s actual, it’s very informative and accurate because one of my most successful downloads similar is a checklist of the 15 processes that like every mompreneur needs to run a side business. So if it’s like you say, you just check the boxes off, it’s like, Okay, well, one, it helps you see, I’ve got some good things in place. I’m just missing a few. So it boosts your confidence to Okay, well, I’m not and someone actually told me, I wasn’t doing as bad as I thought I was because I was able to check some of them off. So now I see I don’t have as much work to do. So that definitely is a good one. But you gave me an idea with that roadmap. So now I have to put that on my to do list! I like that idea.

Heather Thatcher

All right! I’m excited to see it, Shannon!

Shannon Baker

So you’ve shared so much value just in these few, maybe 15 minutes or so that we’ve been chatting so far. And everyone that’s listening is going to agree. Okay, they need more of you. So don’t be sad. We have just what you need! you need to check out Heather’s Solopreneur Survival Guide Podcast because it actually has a free training. It’s amazing! Like when I looked I was like, she’s given all of this away for free. It’s like, Oh my goodness, what do people get when they pay for work with her? So tell us a little about that.

Heather Thatcher

Yeah, because the podcast is a full business course, each season is like a module of a course to get the theory to run in, apply for your business. But there’s a lot of tech in online business. The learning curve of like, okay, so Instagram says, you need to be on stories; you need to be sharing to social media. But what, what do you share? And so that’s what my membership offers. It is walkthrough videos, templates, frameworks, guidelines, support, that way you know how to implement this, and how to actually make it really effective for you. Because a lot of business courses out there, I find they’re very good at giving great theory and suggestions. But I was left feeling that gap like okay, but how, how do I build a website. And so that’s what we talked about in the membership, a lot of the walkthrough components.

Shannon Baker

And hey, if it wasn’t for everyone needing some help to get the tech in place, I wouldn’t have a job either! Let me shorten the learning curve to getting some of that technology in place and getting your automation in place. So that’s why we love what we do! So I want to put a link to that in the show notes, but also so that they can get your other tips that you share online. Where else can everyone find you?

Heather Thatcher

So they can find me and lots of free resources on my website. It’s Heather thatcher.com. And then you can also find me on Instagram @thesolopreneursurvivalguide. That’s where I’m pretty active on social media.

Shannon Baker

Yes, she is. And she’s very responsive as well! So I’ll make sure that when you finish listening to this episode, screenshot it, share it in Instagram stories, tag us both, so that we know that you enjoyed it and tell us one of your favorite nuggets that you bought from this episode. So before I let you go or wrap up our chat, tell me what is one system either in your life or in your business that you can’t live without?

Heather Thatcher

Evergreen social media! If I did not have evergreen social media, I would not be able to run four businesses, I would be sunk!

Shannon Baker

Four…you’re amazing!

Heather Thatcher

Or a little bit crazy.

Shannon Baker

Well, you never look crazy or sound crazy! So that means you’ve got it under control. So that’s a good thing. So proof is in the pudding. Make sure you check her out. And that is going to wrap up our chat today. Thank you so much, Heather for joining us and sharing all these nuggets with us today.

Heather Thatcher

Well, thank you so much, Shannon. It was a really good time!

To hear all of my chat with Heather, listen to episode 67 of the podcast. Click below and tune in on your favorite platform.

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