How can creators like us, who are new to building online businesses, who have high-value skillsets, how do we scale our monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to get us the freedom we desire? That is the question, and this newsletter will give you the answers. Be sure to subscribe if these are the type of answers you seek.
My name is Boysie Gordon, and welcome to Boysie Talks Business.
Welcome to the real episode 10!
(We ended up skipping episode 9 by accident yesterday… haha)
Last episode was a one-hour discussion on how I would remap my business consultancy timeline if I got a do-over. And while it was a fun thing to talk about, it was LOOONG, so to balance it out, I want to make this one just as impactful but 80% shorter.
Today, we will be talking about attracting business through content marketing. It will be the fundamental method for attracting clients in the later stages of scaling a business, but it is a skill that can be leveraged from day one.
The crazy part?
If you master this, you can scale your business well beyond 7-figures without ever having to make a cold sales call!
Let’s dig in!
Do You Know the Muffin Man?
Step #1: Know your ICP.
Everything has an ideal customer persona (ICP)…
EVERYTHING!
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane?
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane.
Even this nursery rhyme…
It’s for families with children.
There’s an urban legend that this was a song about a serial killer who made muffins. However, I couldn’t find anything substantial on it, so for now, it’s just a kids ’s song.
BUT
If this were supposed to be a warning to children and families, it would be a viral way to do it without a cell phone.
Let’s not get distracted, though (sorry)…
Everything has a specific type of person that is an ideal fit.
An online yoga club is a great fit for work-from-home moms
A show about sleighing in the snow is a great fit for husky owners
A protein bar that can replace a meal is a great fit for CEOs who work out
Every product or service has an ideal fit!
If you have a product/service, you should always identify who your ideal customer is (research).
If you are in the planning process, you should identify who you want your ideal customer to be (reverse engineer).
The more detailed you get, the better the results….
Here’s a template of the one I filled out.
Ideal Customer Persona Template for Online Consulting
Basic Information
Name: (Give your persona a fictional name to make them more relatable)
Age:
Gender:
Location: (Consider both geographic location and whether they work remotely or in an office)
Professional Demographics
Industry: (Which industry do they work in?)
Occupation/Role: (Specific job titles, roles, responsibilities)
Company Size: (Startup, SME, Enterprise)
Professional Goals: (Career aspirations, skills they want to develop)
Education Level:
Digital Proficiency and Needs
Digital Skills: (Basic, intermediate, advanced)
Digital Tools Used: (For project management, communication, CRM, etc.)
Main Challenges in Digital Transformation: (Lack of expertise, resistance to change, budget constraints, etc.)
Interest in Digital Trends: (Blockchain, AI, machine learning, etc.)
Decision-Making Process
Authority in Purchasing Decisions: (Decision-maker, influencer, or advisor?)
Decision-Making Factors: (ROI, cost, ease of implementation, customer support)
Preferred Content Types for Decision Making: (Case studies, whitepapers, webinars, free trials)
Media Consumption and Communication Preferences
Preferred Social Media Platforms: (For professional networking and knowledge)
Professional Forums/Communities: (Relevant to their industry or role)
Preferred Communication Channels: (Email, LinkedIn, phone calls)
Newsletter Subscriptions: (Industry news, tech innovations)
Service Expectations and Feedback
Expectations from a Digital Consulting Service: (Specific outcomes, types of services, and support they value)
Previous Experiences with Consulting Services: (Positive/negative aspects, areas for improvement)
Willingness to Invest in Digital Consulting: (Budget range, perception of value)
Goals and Challenges
Business Goals: (Increase efficiency, reduce costs, expand market reach)
Digital Strategy Challenges: (Identifying the right technologies, integrating new systems with existing ones)
Additional Notes
Influencers and Thought Leaders Followed: (Who do they look up to for advice in the digital space?)
Conferences/Webinars Attended: (Relevant to their profession or interests in technology)
Feedback/Opinions on Your Service: (Based on initial consultations, demos, or referrals)
Talk to This One Person
Step #2: Make content for your ICP
When I say this, I don’t make content for someone in your ICP. I mean, make content for this imaginary person, for the ICP. Your ICP needs to become a real person in your head. Your best friend or your favorite client, whatever works. If you need to read the attributes of this person before writing and make your content a conversation with them.
Think about everything you do with an empathetic lens.
What emotions would they feel from your content?
What problems are they likely dealing with?
How would they want to be spoken to?
Ask yourself all the reflective questions that are necessary to understand them! The deeper you identify with this persona, the more impactful your content will be, and wallah, you will have mastered content marketing…kinda
You should definitely start learning how to copywrite to better articulate your messages, but even without copywriting, you can attract ideal clients by leveraging an ICP.
Bonus Advice: You Need Early Adopters
The more radical, the better.
What are early adopters?
Well, when it comes to the population of people who use a service (market), there’s a divide in thought process and risk tolerance. This results in a bell curve with sections to identify the behavioral tendencies for that portion of the market, aka an Adoption Curve.
Innovators (2.5%) — need vision
Early Adopters (13.5%) — need trust
Early Majority (34%) — need promise
Late Majority (34%) — need proof
Laggards (16%) — need domination
Of all the categories a new business should go after, an early adopter is the most viable.
They are very forgiving
They only need to trust you
They willingly share social proof
But there’s one sliver of that market I like to target the most:
Radical early adopters.
They are both early adopters and innovators. They still have all the same needs of an early adopter, but they come standard with more passion. They want to see you win because they like you and believe in you.
If you can help them, they will broadcast your message across every channel they have at their disposal. They are the ones who will become lifetime fans of your offer AND your future offers/businesses.
It’s not always easy to target them, but it is definitely worth the trouble.
Thanks for reading!
Update!
This month (and next), I am offering to help TWO people scale their businesses. There’s currently ONE more slot available. I plan to keep slots low to ensure I can maintain quality and give as much of my time to each client.
If you want to work with me, reply “scale,” and I’ll schedule a free strategy call with you.
Starting from scratch? I scale your presence.
Starting from experience? I scale your profits.
It’s fine if you prefer to wait, but I don't know when I will have more slots available. Scaling is labor intensive, and I have a client who is starting from scratch.
I’m excited about this journey, thank you all for supporting me!
The Real EP. 10 How You Can Scale to 7-Figures and Acquire Clients Without Cold Outreach