I see this happening online a lot and want to talk about How Formula Based Marketing Could be Killing your Platform or Online Business. I understand if you're an author, a course creator, a blogger, or if you sell products online - your biggest concern is :
- How do I get new clients?
- How do I build my audience, how to expand my reach?
So you come across someone your promises “I've got this formula, this blueprint, this method. You don't have to think I'm just going to teach you everything you need to say.”
While I understand the appeal, there's two things you need to know about when it comes to formula based marketing. Then I will cover what you can do with formula based stuff and how you can benefit from it.
So there's two specific dangers with just using formulas.
Your Platform Authenticity
You can lose your voice when you're using someone else's messaging or style. Then what happens is the connections you're building with your platform aren't aligned with who you really are. And so what you're going to find is there's always going to be a struggle. In fact, if you will try different approaches and different strategies that will attract different people, and you're going to find a very confused platform, and you're not going to get what you want from your online platform.
You Unique Selling Proposition
And the second danger is that at some point, a lot of people are going to be using the same formula, and so your message will be even more diluted. You won't stand out with your unique message or unique selling proposition.
One example is I've seen recently online some guys selling these templated stories that you can put out into the market. That’s all we need, thousands of people putting out the same story and just polluting the online space. Story marketing is so powerful, and the developing the art of telling a story as part of your messaging can be powerful for you. But the last thing you want is something that's not you – using someone else's story that you're just copying and pasting – is not authentic and will actually work against you in the future.
How to Use Formula Based Marketing
I want to take it from the perspective of cooking. So if you get a really cool recipe from the Internet, but it’s not going to teach you how to be a chef. However, by following the recipe, you can get some results. So in in the process of cooking that recipe and learning how maybe the flavours merge and the cooking process. When you are comfortable you then start applying some of your cooking knowledge to it and then you start making it your own so you're no longer bound by this recipe.
So what has happened is that you have actually learned something from the process, but you've moved on from the recipe. What you can do with formula based marketing is take the formula and apply your message to it. Take the formula, learn what the process is, learn what the person's trying to get the listener to do, and understand the reasons why this copy or method is used. Then you can apply it to your own voice.
I don't know if you have been bombarded with people trying to sell you coaching over messenger of late. I don't have a problem with it, but I have noticed a distinct lack of people's ability to actually have a conversation with someone. It is because they're working from a formula.
And so all I would encourage you to do is if something comes across your desk or your computer and you think this looks pretty cool, buy it and use it to learn the skills you need to build the platform and engage with your audience in your own authentic way.
If you do this, you're going to build a platform of engaged people who are aligned with your message, who can eventually become paying clients. So what I'd like to encourage you to do is to step back from your business, stop thinking about strategies, stop thinking about a quick fix, the “quickest” way to make money. Start thinking about your messaging from a platform and an audience perspective of what people want to hear from you, and what client journey you're taking them on.
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