Reduce Marketing Overwhelm With These 3 Tips

If you're like most mindfulness teachers, you know how valuable each moment is. You probably also gain a lot of fulfillment from helping others. And if you've decided to teach mindfulness for a living, you want to make sure you can do both: have an impact & enjoy your days in peace.

So how do you get the word out about your mindfulness services without feeling overwhelmed with all the marketing advice and tasks?

The key is to set yourself up for success upfront. Learn how to leverage online marketing to build a mindfulness business that sustains itself. A business where you always have new clients and students who are ready to work with you - instead of you having to spend so much time searching for them.

Because the truth is, you don't automate key marketing processes upfront, you may end up on a hamster wheel. You work, write, share but never feel like you're getting anywhere. I know - I've been there myself. The way out is understanding the big picture of the online marketing process and using that to make the most of your marketing efforts.

So here are three tips you can use to reduce overwhelm and build a strong base to drive momentum for your mindfulness business today:

1. Have a long-term mindset

When it comes to your mindfulness business (or any business for that matter), it's essential to have a long-term mindset. As with mindfulness, you wouldn't just meditate once and then stop. Marketing is an ongoing practice. But here's the good news: you can save yourself a lot of time and headaches by understanding what to expect so you can avoid common pitfalls.

The graphic below speaks volumes to the importance of cultivating a long-term mindset...and practicing the attitude of patience. It also explains why you sometimes feel like you're putting out sooo much great content but hearing crickets.

So here come the numbers:

At any given time, about 10% of the people you're speaking to are actually interested in exchanging their time or hard-earned money for your services. On average, only three out of every hundred people you reach might actually be at a point where they are ready to sign up now.

Sound intimidating? Doesn't have to be. Once you realize that successfully marketing your services is a game of numbers, you no longer have to feel frustrated when you're not getting as many engagements on your social media posts or sign ups from your email newsletters.

Instead you can channel your energy into creating a strong base of valuable content. That allows you to build a pipeline of people who are interested in signing up for your services.

2. Do some of the marketing work upfront...so you can focus on what you love later

When you start a new project or start learning a new skill, it usually involves some level of upfront work and discomfort at first. Remember when you first started meditating?

The more knowledge and experience you gain, the easier things become. You can start setting things on automatic without sacrificing quality. It's the same with growing a sustainable mindfulness business.

Conscious marketing is all about bringing value to others first and foremost. When you bring great value to enough people, you will naturally receive value in return.

When you put together great services and content initially, you'll be able to share it with more people later. Think of your favorite teachers or business people who've impacted many lives - often while generating a good living for themselves. They took an idea and turned it into a service or product that people could access on an ongoing basis.

The first step in serving more people is to learn about their needs, curiosities, desires, hopes and fears. Then you can bring your skills to the table in a way that's built around your target audience.

Once you understand who you're serving, here are some other things to have in place to upfront so that you don't burn yourself out later:

• A clear and concise website that communicates what you do and for whom (while nice design is important, it's the words that ultimately get people to sign up or X out)

• At least one freebie (lead magnet) that your target audience finds valuable enough to give you their email address for

• An email marketing strategy to stay in touch with those who are interested in what you're offering

• A schedule for creating fresh and engaging content on an ongoing basis so you can grow your email subscribers and stay in touch with those who want to hear from you

• A strategy for collaboration and partnerships with other organizations or individuals who are also helping your target audience (such as doing free or paid presentations to help you establish your credibility and expertise and reach more people)

3. Leave the perfectionist behind

I see too many mindfulness teachers holding back from sharing their services or marketing themselves for two reasons. Either they're afraid they'll be perceived as "salesy" or they're worried that what they want to share isn't "perfect" yet...

Their website isn't quite ready, they want to make sure every social media or blog post is "just right" or they aren't sure they have all the information necessary to move forward.

In the meantime, all the people that could benefit from their wisdom are out there still unaware of how to integrate mindfulness into their life so they could bring more joy and meaning into each moment.

While it is definitely important to put your best forward, I would say it is even more important to just take the first step. Go for it even when you don't feel "fully" ready (and what does that mean anyway? Everything in life is in a constant state of beautiful unfolding, including you and I :-)).

Consider the fact that even 10% of your wisdom could shift someone's life by 100%. Your work, your wisdom, and your unique talents matter, sweet soul! Don't allow your fear of what others think of you hold you back from helping those who need you most.

What's the best antidote to overcoming fear? Knowledge. When you learn the strategies and insights that have worked for others, you empower yourself and make more informed choices.

Time to fast forward

What do you want your life to look like 5 years from now?

When you look back, what are you going to wish you would've spent more time and resources on? Of course there is no right or wrong answer here. It all comes down to what resonates in your heart at this moment and what you consider to be your priorities.

If building a sustainable mindfulness business that impacts more people is part of the list, understanding some of the essentials of marketing may prove valuable to you.

If you'd like to learn how to leverage the online marketing process to grow your reach, I put together a quick mini-course to help. Sign up for the free 5 Steps to Building a Sustainable Mindfulness Business mini-course here.

Most importantly, go out there and share your message with others. Remind them that they don't have to live in stress, fear, worry or anxiety. So many people need your guidance in these crazy times - but they'll never know about it unless you tell them. I believe in you all the way!