Do Less Marketing

What's keeping your marketing stuck? More often than not, it isn't your strategy. It's psychology. As marketers, we think a lot about the psychology of buying. We rarely turn that same lens on ourselves when we're trying to get things done. In this solo episode, I dig into three of the most common marketing blockers I see, both in my own work and in the work of the people I've partnered with. I share the tiny step that got this podcast off the ground, and the email idea I was sure was as minimal as it gets (it wasn't). I also get into the sneaky side of a commitment to quality, and why the plan that looks best on paper is often the first thing to fall off when life gets busy. Each blocker comes with a few questions you can ask yourself to get moving again. If your marketing momentum is gone and you can't quite put your finger on why, this one's for you. Find your marketing style (quiz): https://downeystrategy.com/quiz  Brittany's Website: https://downeystrategy.com/ Brittany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-downey/ 

Could your business run without you for two months? Liz Wilcox left hers to go on Survivor, and it kept humming along without her. That's thanks to her intentionality, which is something that gave her momentum from the start. Liz helps people write weekly newsletters that folks open, click, and buy from. She runs a $9 email membership with more than 4,000 members. And she got there without constantly posting on social media. We get into how she did that in our conversation, and she shares how it was all driven by laser focus on the life she wanted. Liz also walks through what it took for the business to survive Survivor. And we dig into how AI has made it way easier to succeed in email...by not using it. If you wanna know what to write in your emails and how to build a business with that sort of intentionality, give this one a listen! Liz's Website: https://lizwilcox.com/  Minimalist Marketing Style Quiz: https://downeystrategy.com/quiz Brittany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-downey/ 

Can you build a business without being chronically online? Natalie Gates is a website copywriter and brand messaging strategist. In this episode, Natalie shares the low-lift SEO strategy that brings in many of her clients, as well as how she gets referrals through relationships. We get into what it's like to be marketers with mixed feelings around marketing, why we love websites, and whether or not we think you can grow without being chronically online. Natalie also opens up about her pull between whimsy and structure, and how that impacts her newsletter writing. If you're a service-based business owner who feels a little weird about marketing but knows you still have to do it, this one's for you. Natalie's Website: https://nataliegates.ca/ Natalie's Newsletter: https://nataliegates.ca/subscribe Natalie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsbynatalie/ Natalie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-gates-94163b109/  Brittany's Website: https://downeystrategy.com/ Brittany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-downey/ 

What if the systems you set up once could keep selling for you while you're off doing a jigsaw puzzle...or another 9-5? Jordan Gill is the founder of Systems Saved Me, where she helps business owners build the templates and automations that take them out of the day-to-day. After ten years running her own business, she recently joined the team at Kit as their senior affiliate marketing manager, and still runs Systems Saved Me in about ten hours a week alongside her full-time role. In this conversation, Jordan shares what it looks like to run lean. We dig into why she templates almost everything, and the mindset that lets her "pop up" with a new offer instead of building each launch from scratch. She talks about where she's leaning on AI to rebuild pricey tools and hand off the work that doesn't light her up. Jordan also gets honest about the offers and channels she's said no to, and the filter she uses to decide whether something's even worth creating. Plus, her ruthless approach to her email list. If you're tired of reinventing the wheel every time you market your business, this one's about building it once and letting it run. Jordan's Website: https://systemssavedme.com/ Jordan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/systemssavedme/  Brittany's Website: https://downeystrategy.com/ Brittany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-downey/ 

Amanda Natividad is a marketer, writer, and Chief Evangelist at the audience research company SparkToro. She also helped coin the term "Zero Click Marketing," and co-wrote a book by the same name with SparkToro's Rand Fishkin, coming out this fall. In our conversation, Amanda shares how she pitched herself for a dream job that didn't exist, and how she brought her natural proclivity for audience research with her to SparkToro. We get into what SparkToro does and doesn't do with their marketing. We also chat about how leading with their unique values and mission lets them approach growth a little differently than a lot of companies. Amanda shares how she built her personal brand (even though she recoils at that term!) and how she's thinking about adding value for people pre-ordering the Zero Click Marketing book (coming this fall). Oh, and we get into butter bells and sourdough, because why not. Amanda's Website: https://amandanat.com/  Pre-order the book: https://zeroclickmarketing.co/book  Amanda's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandanat/  Margin: https://www.marginfor.com/  Brittany's Website: https://downeystrategy.com/  Brittany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-downey/