96. Stop Marketing Harder and Start Marketing Clearer: The Messaging Shift Every Online Service Provider Needs

Ever feel like your marketing is just... not working? You're either avoiding it completely because you don't know what to say, or you're posting everywhere but no one's booking calls.

The problem isn't that you need to do more marketing—you need clearer messaging. When your message is scattered, you're essentially waving a flashlight around hoping someone notices, instead of being the lighthouse that guides exactly the right people straight to you.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why "doing more marketing" isn't the answer and sharing a simple framework that can transform how you talk about your work. From the client who went from "virtual assistant slash business strategist" to confidently attracting dream clients, to the exact messaging shifts that make people lean in instead of tune out.

Key Points Covered:

✨ Why "I do strategy and implementation and mindset work" isn't landing with your ideal clients

✨ The lighthouse vs. flashlight approach to messaging that changes everything

✨ How to sell transformation instead of tasks (and why this matters so much)

✨ The simple "I help [who] achieve [what]" framework with real examples

✨ Why getting specific actually attracts more of the right people, not fewer

✨ A 2-minute clarity exercise you can do right now to transform your messaging

If you're tired of feeling scattered when you introduce yourself or exhausted from marketing that doesn't convert, this episode will give you the clarity you need to make every piece of content work harder for you.

Thank you for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for soulful service providers and coaches. Welcome to another episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat 'cause that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth of the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sold entrepreneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant, and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow, and create a business that fully supports your dream life? Well, let's dive in. [00:01:00] Before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe buttons.

[00:01:03] You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:10] You sit down to write that Instagram, post your fingers up to the keyboard, and then. Nothing. Blank screen. Blinking cursor. Your brain is spinning. What do I say? How do I explain what I do?

[00:01:25] Who am I talking to? What's even interesting? Et cetera, et cetera. Or maybe you're on the other side of things. Maybe instead of barely marketing yourself, maybe you are doing all the things you're posting every day. You're showing up everywhere. It feels like you are just shouting into the void. Likes trickle in.

[00:01:50] But there's not really a lot of booking of calls going on, and you say, well, I must not be marketing enough. I [00:02:00] need to do more.

[00:02:02] I am going to clear this up for you to make it super simple. The fact of the matter is that you don't need to do more marketing. You need mostly a clearer message and a plan. So if you have just felt your shoulders drop a little bit, good because it is all about the quality, because quality beats quantity every, every single time.

[00:02:30] So stick with me on this episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories to the end because I'm going to walk you through a two minute clarity exercise that you can do super quick right now that's going to make a huge difference. So let's dive into this a little bit more.

[00:02:45] Okay, so I see this with my clients all of the time.

[00:02:47] There's two camps, right? So camp one is you either avoid marketing because you genuinely just don't know what to say, or you put it till the. Back burner of everything, and then you're too [00:03:00] tired to even think about it, right? You do all of your client work and you're like, yeah, that's good. I don't know. I have clients like, I can't.

[00:03:06] I can't anymore. So you sit down, maybe you do find a second, right? You sit down to create something and you're like, well, I do strategy and implementation and mindset work, and like how do I explain what I do without sounding like I do everything for everyone? And so that's just too overwhelming. So you don't post.

[00:03:25] Or maybe you post something really vague that doesn't even sound like you, 'cause you feel like, oh, that's what I should be posting. Or Camp two, you are hustling. You make the time, you are posting, you're networking, you're trying every marketing it, you're all over the place, but the results just don't match the energy you're pouring in.

[00:03:43] Two opposite sides of the coin, but the same root issue, which is unclear messaging. So I'm going to tell you about one of my clients. We'll call her Misty, and that's where she was. So she created this really cool program for coaches. It was deep, it [00:04:00] was transformational, and. It was great. Like obviously I loved it 'cause I helped her create it.

[00:04:04] But every time she introduced herself as a virtual asist, virtual assistant slash business strategist. And then what happened was that people tuned out after a virtual assistant, right? So they would ask her about like inbox management or general VA things, and she was like, well, why aren't people seeing me for what I truly am?

[00:04:25] And so because she was getting this. Almost like what she thought of as disrespect to people who just weren't seeing her. She started to dislike marketing. She started avoiding it, or when she did it, she was attracting the wrong people. And then she sounded, she got really stuck and it really left her stuck without knowing what to do.

[00:04:44] So don't worry, we fixed it. I'll tell you a little bit more. So there is good news here, is that when your messaging is clear, you don't need to be everywhere. You don't need to post every day. It's like, think about your messaging, like flipping on [00:05:00] a the light in a lighthouse. So instead of waving a flashlight around, hoping that somebody notices you are the lighthouse guiding exactly the right people straight to you

[00:05:10] when.

[00:05:12] Misty and I worked on her messaging, right? I didn't tell her, go do this, go everywhere, do all the things, right? We got her crystal clear on the transformation that she creates. So something like I help holistic coaches who are great at transforming their clients with, struggle, with their own business, create alliance, sustainable growth through, through systems that work with our natural strengths.

[00:05:33] And once she started leaning with. Fact, once she dropped the VA slash this, you know, once she got really clear on who she was and stepped into that, everything really started shifting for her same networking groups, same effort, but suddenly the right people were raising their hands and were excited to work with her all because she clearly explained what she did.

[00:05:55] So she, with her messaging, she sold the transformation, not just the things that she was [00:06:00] doing. So think about that with yourself as well. So it's not, I manage your social media, it's, I help you attract dream clients consistently without burning out on content creation. It's not, I do operations, it's, I help you to scale to six figures without working weekends.

[00:06:16] So one of the things, right, the one, the first ones list tasks, the other ones demonstrate the change that you cause in somebody's life.

[00:06:25] So the thing that often comes up and that people think when I tell people this is that, well, if I get really specific, then I'm going to attract fewer people. Right? And I get why you would think that and.

[00:06:39] On at the same time. That's exactly the point, because what happens is when you're trying to appeal to everyone, first of all, nobody sees you because you're not talking to anybody you are, you are not sticking out when you are saying, I can do everything for everybody, when you're not talking to anybody and it also paralyzes and [00:07:00] drains you or drains you, right?

[00:07:01] So it's like you either don't know what to say or you're saying so much, but it's not sticking one and two, it's not sustainable. But when you have really clear messaging, when you know who you're talking to, when you know what you do, when you know your transformation, when you know what your clients struggle with and exactly how you help, and not just what you do, but the transformation that you provide, everything gets easier.

[00:07:25] Content creation feels lighter because it's so much easier when you are very specific, right? And you're like, oh. I can write this in my sleep. Networking is natural because you're not juggling these multiple half identities. Like, how should I introduce myself today? Right. You know exactly who you are and the people who respond to you, they are already primed to be your people who want exactly what you sell.

[00:07:47] So my client has even told me, you know, I used to dread networking calls 'cause I didn't know what to say, right? I sounded scattered and now I look forward to them because I'm excited to introduce myself and people are [00:08:00] drawn to me much more than they were before and I'm not confused anymore. So it's really fun now.

[00:08:05] So no, you don't need to post every day. No, you don't need to join every networking group. No, you don't need to hustle harder. You need one clear message repeated in different ways across different platforms. That's how you save time and actually get traction. And also, by the way, you do need to market. I don't care if you are booked out, you can lose.

[00:08:28] I have lost two thirds of my clients in the same month, and I didn't consistently market, so I didn't have a wait list. And I'm not the only one that this has happened to. I learned my lesson after that, but it happens. And so you might think, well, I have clients. You and the, the only security in your business comes from marketing and how do you make marketing sustainable?

[00:08:49] The first step to that is to have a clear message to get your messaging down. So let's do a practical, quick two minute exercise. So this exercise is kind of funny [00:09:00] 'cause it's really simple. But I want you to take it seriously because it can change everything. It can make such a big difference in your business.

[00:09:07] And the point is that it's simple because it doesn't have to be complicated. If you deep think, if you think deeply about these simple exercises, then that's going to get you way further than making things super complicated or ignoring things altogether. So here is a simple statement for you. I help.

[00:09:27] Ideal client achieve result. So that big outcome, the outcome here is the focus, and it's not I'll save you time. What changes in their life? What changes in their business because of the thing that you help them achieve. That's what people buy into, and this is where specificity matters. Broad, generic statements like I save you time.

[00:09:55] You get to focus on the things you love. These don't land. That's [00:10:00] nice. That's a nice to have. Okay, I have more time. That's a nice to have. But the clearer and the deeper you go, the easier it is for someone to recognize themselves in your message. So here are a couple of examples and let me read you one more time the sentence I help who your ideal client achieve what result sold that big outcome.

[00:10:24] I help online mindset coaches streamline their client onboarding so that they can stop losing clients to disorganization and finally scale with confidence. Another one, I help online service providers reclaim 10 hours a week by setting up backend systems so that they can spend more time creating, serving clients and building revenue instead of putting up fires.

[00:10:49] I help OMS package their services into premium offers so that they can stop trading hours for dollars and build a business that makes impact and income that they really want. So each one [00:11:00] of these is really specific. It's really focused, has really anchored in an outcome. Now, again, this might look simple, but I invite you to go deep with this.

[00:11:08] Don't just fill in the blanks and call it a day. Play with it. Talk to your ideal clients. Are you doing market research calls? Like are you actually chatting with people and see what language they use? Ask yourself, what does this really mean for my clients? What's the bigger ripple effect of what I do?

[00:11:23] Because your work has a big effect. And you should be claiming that and stating it with confidence. Your messaging does not have to be complicated. It has to be clear, specific, and rooted in the transformation that matters most to the people that you want to serve. So if you've been avoiding marketing 'cause you don't know what to say, or you're exhausting yourself with marketing that doesn't work, the answer is not doing more, it's getting clearer.

[00:11:49] Clear messaging outshines more marketing every single time. And this is exactly what we start with when we get to the marketing part inside of expansion by [00:12:00] one-on-one coaching container. Together we build your core offer and the messaging. So talking about your work feels natural, exciting, and is magnetic to your ideal clients.

[00:12:11] So if you are ready to stop spinning your wheels and start attracting the right clients with ease, I would love to support you inside of expansion. Check out the show notes for the link and DME expansion and we can chat about it if it's right for you. So remember that you don't have to be everywhere.

[00:12:28] You just have to be clear. That is what I have for you today. I will see you on the next one. I. 

[00:12:35] Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancing leaf solutions.com/resources for free tools to help you do [00:13:00] just that.

[00:13:00] And thank you again for being a part of the Solepreneur Scaling Stories community. Your presence and dedication to growth inspiring me every day.