Melanie
Welcome to the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast for all decision makers and action takers. Take it away, Esther.
Esther
And welcome back to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Today we're talking about skill-based marketing development. Say that quickly three times. What does it mean? What is it? And why do we need it? Okay, so in this episode, we're going to be talking about some essential marketing skills for small business owners, because we know that a lot of you that are listening to us or watch us, are small business owners. So you may be a one man band or two or three man band, but you're doing all the marketing yourself. So what are some essential marketing skills for solopreneurs, small business owners? Kick us off, Melanie, what would be one of the things that you say?
Melanie
I think one of the top things we need to look at first and foremost is our customers. And doing a customer avatar, you can go to the likes of HubSpot, who help create your own free customer persona. And that's a great resource for people to get started with. And certainly that's where a lot of people I know have started when they first got their business up and running.
Esther
Yeah, I would even say to include in that some easy or simple market research, maybe put up a poll using Typeform or using Survey Monkey, something like that, put something up to ask a few questions for potential customers to see if your product or service is viable, to see if it's something that people would get on board with, and even to put in how much people would be willing to spend for a product or service like that. So market research, but you don't have to go into all the going out on the street and asking questions to strangers thing. You don't even have to spend a lot of money on it. It can be something quick and easy. But knowing that these platforms exist will help. Like Melanie mentioned HubSpot, great resources there. And free.
Melanie
Yeah. And this persona thing is completely free. I think, again, you probably have to register and sign up, but they don't really bother you with that many emails, to be completely honest.
Esther
Yeah. So another marketing skill that I would say would be storytelling. So some people would maybe question me about that because how is storytelling marketing? But it definitely is. Okay, so your ability to get your message across in a fun, engaging, inspirational way that resonates with your audience that people will want to share or interact with is essential for marketing.
Melanie
I think another essential business skill, and not necessarily just to do with marketing, but a necessary business skill, is also to understand finances, understand an accounts package that you need to use, because this accounts package will also be the way you invoice your clients as well. You need to understand how easy it is to, first of all, create an invoice and then pay an invoice, and if there needs to be any alterations and changes. I do think a really important part, I know I've gone from the very top to the very end here, but it's such an important skill. Although this isn't necessarily not necessarily free. There are certain packages that you can trial for a few weeks and then make a decision on. So it should be up there as one of the first things you look at.
Esther
Yes. Now, in For me, my finance software is free because it comes with part of my bank account. Technically, I pay for the bank account already. So I may as well just use their software that's integrated into it and not have to look at something else because then it does all the hard work for me, so to speak. But that, like you say, you skipped a few steps. You went from avatar to finances. Going back a few steps as a web designer, I know, right? As someone who runs a company that offers web design, this one will be very controversial for me. But you do need to know the basics of websites and how a website works, what you want and need from a website before you go looking at anybody to build you one, know what you want, know what you need, and research one that can grow with you. Because if you start five products, but they're offering you a system for 100,000 products, it's not the system for you, and they're just in it for the money. We've had too many people coming to us after they've been burnt by other people. But yes, knowing how a website works in the user format and the user journey and user experience, UX, they call it, will help whenever you're going to look at building your own or getting one built for you. You can always start with doing one yourself. But look at, again, in the finance terms, is it more cost effective for you to outsource it and use your time more wisely to bring in clients, or are you still in the very pre-launch phase where you still have time to be able to do all these things yourself?
Melanie
God, I remember those days. Sorry-.
Esther
Nostalgia kicking in.
Melanie
Other essential marketing skills. I think networking is another really essential marketing skill, because especially as a lot of you are sole traders and more business owners, you tend to get stuck in your own space a little bit. And there is an amazing amount of lovely people that you can meet out there who can support you, who can give you some accountability, community who are experiencing the same things that you are or have already gone through it. That's how I met Esther years ago. We were networking. I think it's a really important skill. I think you need to get out of whatever you're doing, out of your kitchen, out of the hotel lobby that you're working from whilst you're stealing Wi-Fi, and actually go and meet people because it can be very lonely.
Esther
It can. It can. And that leads us on quite nicely to our next point, which is about cost effective ways to improve your marketing capabilities. And as Melanie says, networking, you can find networking groups that are free. If you're in the United Kingdom, there's the Federation of Small Businesses, FSB, and they run online networkings every month across different regions of the country. And you can join any of them. You don't have to be in that specific region to join them. There are other networking groups, I'm a member of that Melanie's attended online, and we're not even that close to each other geographically. But there are free networking groups for that. But I would suggest that you pay to go to some events.
Melanie
Agreed.
Esther
Because then you'll know that you'll get the value. Because if someone has put on an event, so I'm going to date this episode, but coming up is Social Media Fest in Wexford in Ireland, and there are online tickets available as well. But at that paid for event, you will be learning more about reels and how to do them properly and learning more about AI and learning about lots and lots of different aspects about marketing for a very small fee. And you get your lunch included in it as well. So check that out. It's socialmediafest.ie and use that as one of the ways to improve your marketing capabilities.
Melanie
And not just networking, you could look at perhaps going to a stand or speaking or sponsoring an event. It really depends on where you're at. So don't want to put any pressure on the small business owners that are listening. But you will eventually reach a point. Both Esther and I started from nothing as well. We've both been in business for a number of years at this stage, and we've both spoken at events and sponsored events. So it is possible. So seeing as you're dating, I'm going to date even earlier. I'm speaking and sponsoring at an event in the next few days at the RDS. It's so crucial to still meet people in the real world, whether it's through Zoom or whether it's through an actual event. Social media is not the be-all and end-all, and it certainly shouldn't be. I know I'm called Stomp Social Media Training, and it sounds terrible, doesn't it? But if you only live on a digital platform, you never truly connect with your audience.
Esther
No.
Melanie
And you don't truly become memorable.
Esther
Exactly.
Melanie
So you do still need to use traditional marketing methods. And that's another important skill is to understand how press releases, how podcasting, how all these other traditional methods still work as part of your marketing strategy.
Esther
Yeah. And like we're saying, You don't have to spend a fortune to go to these things. Like, figure out a budget.
Melanie
The RDS is free.
Esther
Well, yeah, you can attend the RDS for free.
Melanie
It's BizExpo, by the way, in case anyone's wondering. Bizexpo.ie.
Esther
But work out a marketing budget, going back to your finances and stuff, have a marketing budget from day one, because whether that will be for printing off your pop your shop banners or your business cards, which I still like to have a physical one because then digital ones can get lost. You can go, who is that person again? And not remember to look them up on LinkedIn. But if you have a physical reminder, you could also... I'm going to give a shout out here to our friend Gus, because he gave... His brand is orange and he give these mints. In this little tin and it sits on my desk and I think of them every time I look at it. Things that are all part of your marketing budget. Attending events is another part of your marketing budget. So whether it's paying for the transportation to get there, paying for the meals while you're there, paying for the ticket if it doesn't come with the meal, that thing should all be budgeted for. But work out what works for you because, Melanie and I have both attended Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, and that had to be budgeted at least a year in advance.
Melanie
Oh, yes. We're big fans of other events as well, seeing as we're mentioning it, we're going to be talking You've done Social Media Fest, you've done Social Media Marketing World, so I'm going to do AtomaCon and Digital Women. And they advocate for more than just events. Some of them provide CPD, others provide ongoing mentoring and accountability. It's just insane what value you can get once you start having a budget.
Esther
Yes, yes. And like Melanie just mentioned, Digital Women there. They have an offer on right now. So do contact us for those details, because off the top of my head, I can't remember, but I know it's a great offer.
Melanie
And me neither.
Esther
And they are the ones that offer the CPD training. So it includes inside your membership, you will get extra training to improve your marketing, to improve your business skills as well. It's not just marketing, it's all things. So what tools and resources? Because, Melanie, you go out and teach marketers how to use social media. But for someone who's looking to be self-taught, what should they look at?
Melanie
Oh, there's so many different things. The resources that you get from the likes of AtomaCon and Digital Women are second to none, but unfortunately, you have to pay for both of those. And you get what you pay for at the end of the day. But there are resources that you can use, like Udemy, Coursera, and there's others. Let me just think about this.
Esther
Well, we've already mentioned HubSpot.
Melanie
HubSpot, definitely.
Esther
Is Digital Garage still going? Google?
Melanie
Yeah, the Google Digital Garage. Google run lots and lots of really relevant free courses. Don't forget, LinkedIn offer free training as well.
Esther
And Meta. Meta have some free training as well.
Melanie
Meta have, well, some of it's free.
Esther
Yes, I thought we said some.
Melanie
Some of it's around 99 euro. So there is lots and lots of resources. And wherever you're based, there is bound to be some local employment or local development business that will give you either heavily subsidized or even free training. Now, I know I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but I had that free training when I first started. Because I didn't have the budget. I I didn't know if I'd be able to afford this thing in the first year or two. So it's really important that you get guidance and support. You may be able to get internships. A lot of them offer free internships as well, so you can get a real taste of what you're hoping to try. And there are free things. You can also go with the likes of Indeed over here in Ireland. I think they're in the UK as well.
Esther
Yeah, they are yeah.
Melanie
You can also do free internships through Indeed as well. So there's another opportunity for you. There are no barriers. Not these days.
Esther
No.
Melanie
It's just a case of knowing where to look and who to speak to. And between myself and Esther, if you are starting in this journey, we are more than happy to help you get started.
Esther
Yeah.
Melanie
Genuinely.
Esther
Yes.
Melanie
Genuinely. It's not all about money, is it? It's about getting the next person in to come up behind us.
Esther
And don't forget, guys, there's over 300 of our episodes that you can go back and get resources and tips for marketing. They're not all 20, 30 minutes long, but there's those. There's YouTube tutorials. I mean, you can teach yourself anything these days, even probably open heart surgery. That would be scary. But one tip I would give would be be very careful who you get the information from.
Melanie
Get recommendations.
Esther
Yeah, definitely. Because free might end up costing you an awful lot more down the line. So like I say, people have come to me after getting their website done by somebody who was recommended by one of the local enterprise centres, one of the local council centres up here in Northern Ireland. And because it was free advice that they were given, it wasn't necessarily the most accurate, it wasn't up to date, it wasn't best practice.
Melanie
So it probably wasn't intentional either.
Esther
No, no. But if they're not being paid for it to the level that they would want to be paid for it, then they're not going to put the extra effort in. So do I know, like Melanie says, it's very difficult when you're starting out to have any budget for these. So do go to the ones that are more established, like HubSpot, and LinkedIn, and Facebook, and sorry, Meta, and all of those first to get the basics for it and then start gathering up for these bigger events and memberships and things, for things that have been going on for or based on people who have had the knowledge for years. Between Melanie and I, we have almost 25 years experience in this, plus degrees and certificates and diplomas and everything else. So we're not just talking about stuff we don't know. We're talking about stuff that we learnt, stuff that we have put into practice, and stuff that we now help other people learn. But don't let a lack of budget stop you from learning about marketing, because even if you're not going to do marketing as a business, you have to do marketing for your business.
Melanie
And it's such a rewarding job. It can be when you know what you're doing.
Esther
It's also very frustrating.
Melanie
It can be that, too. But you know what? You got to live and learn. And if there's anything that myself and Esther can help with, you know where to find us. You know we're on every social channel. Don't forget, if you do a search and suddenly find us in Etsy, you'll find us there as well. We have downloads and mugs and T-shirts and all sorts of weird stuff that you could pick up. Do we do mouse pads? We do mouse pads.
Esther
We did, and you said no, anyway. We could go on. I mean, we didn't even talk about Google Analytics and Google Business Profile and all of these other things. Because we don't want to overwhelm you and leave you going, well, if I have to know all of that, I won't even start. Get started. Start step by step by step. You can't just jump in at the deep end. And with that, we will leave it for today. Thanks for joining us, guys. We'll be back next week for another Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Until then. Bye bye.
Melanie
Bye. Have a great week.
