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What is Intentional Marketing?

What does Intentional Marketing mean, and how should you be doing it??
Well, intentional marketing is a lot like great branding. Intentional marketing embraces the highest level essence of your brand and continues to offer value for its customers at every turn. It’s like a 4-star resort where no details have been spared. Always.

To be intentional in your marketing strategy means this:

You’re very in touch with your brand and company mission
You’re very in tune with your customer’s wants and needs
You consider the needs of potential customers
Everything you do and say has a purpose and leaves a lasting impression. (Even in the business cards you use or product packaging)
You see outcomes, strategies, and foresight in all of your marketing efforts
You aren’t lazy in your efforts and you’re always thinking of ways to woo your clients (your office is 100%, your website is 100%, the experience is 100%, marketing materials are 100%, etc)
You believe in details, quality and always strive to be above average and consistent with these aspects.

Examples of Companies Who Use Intentional Marketing

Apple, Disney, Nike, Tiffany & Co., Whole Foods Market are all great examples of companies who are great with intentional marketing.

Have you ever stayed at a Four Seasons Resort or visited Disneyland park or even purchased an Apple product? Everything that you experience from beginning to end with each one of those companies uses intentional marketing.

How do you Deploy Intentional Marketing Tactics?

Plan ahead. Always be planning ahead with your marketing strategies and goals. Plan every move precisely and with a clear vision of the outcome you’re seeking and execute that plan with your best tactics.
Understand the scope, objectives, and goals you need to reach. Plan according to who you intend to reach and how you plan to reach them. Depending on how wide or narrow your target audience is will determine how much money needs to be budgeted to execute properly, and far in advance you’ll need to plan.
Make sure you and everyone on your team clearly understand your target customers like they know their own friends. In my Branding Course, I teach ways to get to know your target customer like a personal friend. Learn her, know her and make her happy. Create all of your copy, creative around this special target customer. Stop trying to speak to everyone.
Use a project management tool like Trello, Asana or Slack. Keep your team and tasks tight! Stay on track and with the schedule.
Again, there is no such thing as over-planning. Rushing to market with a half-ass/half-executed marketing plan = wasted time, wasted efforts and wasted dollars $$$$$.
Once launched, measure results. If there is time and room to make improvements or adjustments, do it.
Once the marketing efforts are complete, measure again. Read the results and analytics of each campaign and determine ROI.

Intentional marketing means having an eye for detail, knowing what you want to accomplish, knowing your audience and brand and having the patience, capital and tenacity to stick with it and follow through with tight execution.

How To Capture High Value eMail Leads

Here’s how to effectively capture targeted leads, take the grind out of sending daily emails and let automation work it’s magic for you! ⚡️

Say good-bye to weekly newsletters; no heavy lifting in moving email Segments and Groups over to specific email lists, etc. This process will capture emails, segment subscribers and keep your customers connected while you do other important tasks for your business..like making money!

A simple automation flow like this one will take an hour or less to set up and the ROI is priceless in the long term!

Here are the Steps to Capture Leads

STEP 1: Choose your MVP (MOST VALUABLE PIECE OF CONTENT)

Find out which blog post, class, webinar, content, free download, landing page, video, etc. garner the most traffic. You can usually figure this out by the comments, shares or through the dashboard on your Google Analytics.

Once you decide which piece of content is your highest ranking, you’ll want to add an *opt-in on this page to gather emails. This method is way better than a generic “sign up for my newsletter” message.

*Opt-in is an inbound marketing approach whereby a marketer solicits a potential customer’s permission to send them promotional and other types of content about a brand. It is also known as permission marketing and can be single opt-in or double opt-in.

STEP 2. Capture the Emails

Once you’ve established the golden ticket content that gets visitors to give you their email in exchange for that valuable info, it’s time to give them the opportunity to make the exchange by plugging in a great pop-up lead capture form. Try Constant Contact, MailChimp or Welcome Mat from Sumo (which is super easy to use and install on your website in less than 3 minutes. Also integrates with MailChimp).

PRO TIP: Don’t bother your guests with a pop-up that may interfere with the article they’re reading. Make sure you ask for the subscribe more towards the end of the content to avoid the interruption or use a pop-up when your guest signals ‘exit-intent.’

STEP 3. Focus in on your Warm Leads (aka High-Value) Visitors

Who are high-value visitors? People who are ready to pay you for your expertise! Maybe they added an item to their shopping cart but then ditched the cart. People checking out your classes or pages that are focused on what you offer are also your high-value leads.

Group these high value or warm leads into ‘Segments’ that you’ll create in your email lists such as Sumo or MailChimp. You don’t want to spam or harass them, but grouping these segments allows you to tailor your marketing to reach them later, also known as re-marketing.

How to Build a High-Value Lead Segment

Give people samples, free trials, free downloads to demo or try out. Keep in touch, continue to send more value to their inbox. If you need help with creating a welcome sequence, I have written an article about it here.

If your product is valuable, a good portion of your leads will come back to purchase.

Tips to Building a High Value Email List Segment:

Offer a 10-15% off coupon before your visitor leaves in exchange for their email address
Create a compelling sign-up page and CTA (Call to Action) for your free premium content
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 on your second highest ranked content

‘To Do’ List Summary:

Find your most valuable piece(s) of content
Use this content to grow your email list
Create the high-value segment and collected their emails

STEP 4. Creating Email Sequences

The next valuable step is creating a great welcome email sequence! This is an email that will be sent automatically and immediately after they hit the subscribe button.

I use MailChimp for my email marketing, which is very easy to use, affordable and includes tons of integrations.

PRO TIP: Almost every paid email service provider offers automation options (i.e Constant Contact). Based on what we did in steps 2 and 3, we have two segments that correspond to two lists:

General visitors who subscribe through your main pop-up get added to a ‘Main Email List.’
Your high-value segment Subscribers who drop off close to purchase get added to a ‘drop-off’ or ‘retarget’ list.

Once you have that list established, you’ll set up a trigger email sequence when a new subscriber gets added to your “Main list” and set your first email in the sequence to go out immediately after the trigger to deliver the promised content/download/freebie, etc.

Here’s how to set it up on MailChimp:

Go to:
MailChimp Account > top navigation bar > Automation > select “Create Automation Workflow” (this is what email sequences are called in MailChimp)

Next, select the list for which you want to create an automation workflow (main or drop off).

Choose the type of workflow you want to create. To start fresh with a new automation, use ‘Custom’

Name your workflow, set up the email name and “from”. (Check the boxes to track the emails so you know who opens and if it’s working or not)

Configure the Trigger: (the signal MailChimp needs to include the subscriber into your automated workflow). Choose: “Subscriber joins list” from the drop-down menu, and Next.

Now add your first email! The default delay is 1 day, make sure you change that to Immediately if you want the email response with download or freebie to send as soon as subscriber joins.

It’s time to design your emails! (The fun part for you creatives). Hit the “Design email,” button and write a grabby subject about the awesome content they’re getting. Include all pertinent info in the email such as a quick thank you and a link to download the freebie. (You can add that PDF or downloadable content in MailChimp).

Last step: Configure scheduling! Set scheduling to ‘Every Day’ unless you have other ideas for when you want to send this automation.

Now that you’ve delivered valuable content in exchange for their trust (and email), it’s time to nurture those contacts and leads with a continuation of high value content with an email sequence.

To create an email sequence, head over to my article here to read the best practices as well as some free email templates to download!

How to Attract Better Clients & Earn More Money

If you’re a professional just starting out, or even an established consultant or business owner, your main gripe is probably this: How do I get my clients to pay for my services? Or, Why do I keep attracting clients who don’t want to pay me what I’m asking for?

For starters, you’re going to have to reassess what value you’re offering and then make a mindset shift. Secondly, you could just need a lesson on how to create better boundaries.

Or third, you could just be blowing all 5 of the “Business, Mindset, Money Mastery” rules, which are:

One: Integrity.

In ‘The Four Agreements‘, Don Miguel Ruiz speaks about being impeccable with your word. I am a pretty literal and precise when it comes to tasks, appointments and my outlined duties with a client. And I generally expect the same. You are the mirror for the current (or future) clients you’re attracting. If the customers you’re currently attracting aren’t ideal, it could be several factors, one of which begs the question, what kind of client are you? Be the mirror to your clients. If you operate out of integrity and consistency, you will attract the same kind of individuals. Attract what you want by being and reflecting the value you’re asking for.

Two: Command Premium Prices.

Are your services or products worth it? Here’s the thing: If you don’t think you’re worth the price you’re asking, everyone else will think it, too. We teach people how to treat us, whether in our business or personal lives. If your products or services are not yet worth what you’re asking, do what you need to do to raise the bar. If they are worth more but you’re not asking for more because you are afraid, you still aren’t telling the client that you’re worth it.

The first thing you’re going to have to do is remove the blocks that keep you from asking for what you’re worth. Find out whatever those blocks are and fix them, stat! They could be something as deep as inner emotional work or as superficial as creating a better website or program. Whatever they are, seek them out and fix it. You aren’t helping anyone, including yourself, by playing small.

Don’t worry about pleasing everyone. And don’t spend too much time with tire kickers or the ones who don’t want to pay for your worth. Spend your energy attracting the clients who will respect and value your time and talent. Smart clients who pay more for quality work generally get better results, and they know this.

As a freelancer, consultant or business owner, you also know that you will deliver a much higher quality product when you know your clients are paying you what you ask.

There is an expression I love and it states, “If you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur.”

Have you honed a skill so well you’re a master at it? Are you great at selling, speaking, writing, consulting, changing lives for the better? Don’t be afraid to ask for the price you deserve.

✅You are not just selling a service, you are selling VALUE and most importantly, RESULTS. Because let’s face it, positive outcomes are priceless.

What is the value of the results you can give that client? Is it $15,000 worth of sales, $9,000 worth of unnecessary fees or $50,000 worth of advertising exposure for only $2,000?

Three: Position Yourself as an Expert

When you’re first starting out, nobody knows a damn thing about you. Humans don’t generally like things that are too unfamiliar, either. But, that’s ok, I’m sure you’re not reinventing the wheel. Just find ways to show them what you do and how you can make their lives better.

Don’t spend so much time with ads trying to tell or convince everyone how much you know. Create freebies, video content or printable literature and give it away; show them what you know and do until your reputation supersedes you. Give value through free webinars, tutorials, lessons, samples, downloadable books, etc. Create social proof with the value you consistently offer. And THEN, bring in the ads to drive traffic to your value.

Four: Become a Master of Your Time

Time doesn’t always equal money. In other words, don’t be afraid to aim for low-hanging fruit and harness a ‘less effort for the highest reward’ strategy. The more time you spend on clients should not always equal the amount of money you make. For example, you could spend 30 minutes each, per day, with 5 clients at only $45 each ($1,125), OR, you could be reaching 50 clients in 1 week through a 1-hour group conference call or live webinar at $50/ea. ($2,500). Which one will utilize less time, emotional energy and offer a higher reward? Obviously, the once per week webinar or conference call.

And if a client requests 1-on-1 time, the price you set should be higher. Again, if you’re really good at what you do, s/he will understand and honor your prices. Yes, your time is valuable, but it should be priced accordingly.

Five: Don’t Try to Do Everything By Yourself

I realize when you’re just starting out it can be tough to find people to work with who you can afford and trust. But as a new business, you need assistance and help from people who are experts in their field. Whether graphic design, marketing, copywriting, billing, personal assistance, website design, videography, business consulting — whatever area you need that will help your business grow should be prioritized and delegated to someone else. Trying to do it all yourself can create delays, mistakes, overspend in unnecessary ways or poor brand positioning and creative visuals.

Don’t try to do everything on your own. Prioritize a budget for help and find the right people to assist. Build your tribe!

Bonus Tip: Stay away from Freelance Marketplace sites such as Fiverr, UpWork and CrowdSpring, unless it truly pays off big time. Sites like this take a huge chunk out of your pay and you have to spend an awful lot of time working upfront and writing proposals for clients who may waste your time or hire someone else simply based on a lower bid price. Don’t fight for scraps, or deal with low-ballers or tire kickers. A lot of clients on these platforms are looking for free consulting, discount rates and don’t want to pay anything for high-value services.