Best marketing tips in 2024 from top experts
On my Small Business PR podcast, I interview some of the leading voices in marketing and branding along with top journalists.
To give you something to think about as we head into the long holiday weekend, I've rounded up 10 of the best tips from the experts I know and trust who are no bullsh*t and are on a mission to make growth ACCESSIBLE to the everyday small business underdog đź’–.
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TOP 10 Marketing Tips of 2024 From Small Business PR
1. "To create better content, don't give a summary of a story (ex: 'I was burnt out and quit my job and now I started a business'), which is what 99% of people do. Instead, bring us back to that specific point in time to draw your audience in (ex: "when my hairdresser told me I had 2 bald spots on my head, that's when I realized I hit my breaking point and could no longer continue this job that everyone thought was so perfect on the outside)" -@SunYi from Episode 150 How to be Authentic As F*ck in Your Marketing
2. "Don't be an expert and use fancy language like that we were taught in schools. People want a friend, not an expert. Being imperfect and relatable is the best way to grow your audience." @SunYi from Episode 150: How to be Authentic As F*ck in Your Marketing
3. "To sell more, you need to have the audience feel your personality so you're not just like everyone else. Inject personality in your copy so your audience knows why you're YOU. To get started, create a "word" closet of words/expressions/adjectives/things you LOVE and use often and always refer to these words/phrases when writing sales pages or emails. Ex: When I get excited, I say "Shut the front door!" and describe my enthusiasm as just as much as I love my "White chocolate-covered Oreos". --Marisa Corcoran, Episode 147: Why Your Sales Page Isn't Selling
4. "Everyone should have an abandoned cart email, but most people just send a reminder, which doesn't get people to buy necessarily. To increase the chances of purchase, instead of just reminding them to buy, your abandoned cart emails should address common objects (price, time, value, etc), and use user-generated testimonials to create FOMO since it's showing how other customers are LOVING it. This will save you from having to offer a discount in the first abandoned cart emails."-- Eman Ismail, Episode 141: 3 Types of Money Making Emails to Send
5. "Journalists save their emails and sort them by categories for stories they might write later, so your email subject lines have to be SPECIFIC and read like the title of an article. Do not put your name or product in there since journalists do not know you. Instead of "new bodycare lotion launch for women", use "This 3 ingredient hypo-allergenic body serum is the perfect winter skin savior (under $50)"--Gloria Chou (ME!) Episode 149: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Journalists for PR
*Bonus tip: do not pitch the journalist something they JUST covered in the last 3 weeks if you want to increase your chances of being featured. You can, however, compliment them on a story they wrote last season and ask if they are also doing a product round up for XYZ demographic as a great ice breaker!
6. "Use the onion peeling technique when pitching journalists, and keep peeling the top layers of your pitch until you get to that specific, most relevant core that narrows the scope of your pitch. Nothing is more boring to a journalist than a general pitch with no relevance to this season in time. Example: a non-alcoholic winemaker before working with me, wanted to pitch about the benefits of not drinking alcohol--BORING! Instead, we dug deeper, and focused on a trending social media hashtag, “Sober Curious,” I wrote her a pitch about whether the sober lifestyle would survive the pandemic when alcohol consumption was on the rise. This pitch, which was more nuanced and timely, had a much better chance of catching a journalist’s attention."-- Gloria Chou (ME!) Episode 146: 5 Things I Learned from Pitching 1000 Journalists
7. "Quizzes are a great way to get leads, build your list, and have material to engage and target your audience with their buying preferences. To begin, identify a validated offer or product you want to promote, then craft quiz results that align with that offer, keeping the quiz focused and simple with NO more than three to four results, which makes it easier to create relevant, engaging follow-up content that drives conversions. For example, if you make beauty products, the quiz results can lead to a flavor/theme/color/style that points to specific products fitting that theme, whether is minimalist girlie or red carpet glam."--Linda Sidhu, Episode 145: Get More Sales Using Quizzes
8. "STOP saying "link in bio/click on my bio" if you want to grow your email list. Instead use engagement-driven strategies like specific keyword prompts by asking your audience to to comment on a post with a specific keyword (like “GROW” or “SPRING”) related to your content. This not only drives engagement but signals to IG/TikTok that your content is valuable and worth promoting. Once they comment, use tools like Manychat or go HighLevel to automatically send them a direct message with the link or freebie you’re offering, or do it manually! This keeps them on the platform while seamlessly moving them into your email list or funnel. --Keenya Kelly, Episode 140: Get More Sales Using Reels
9. "From helping thousands of small businesses get featured, it's important that when you pitch, you differentiate a story topic versus your angle or point of view. A general story topic is always there. It’s like a theme, whether it’s business or parenting or food recipes, but your angle is your take or your point of view on this bigger story topic. Where most pitches fail, is when they just pitch the general story topic, but fail to add in their perspective/tips/strategies/trends. To come up with your angle, think about what's changing this season, what bigger news stories are trending, what contrarian angle you can take, what your customers are telling you, or use 3rd party research to make your point. Ex: Instead of pitching a story about the importance of leadership, which is a general TOPIC, pitch the angle of why introverts are better at certain C-level positions than extroverts, even though this might seem surprising. This was an actual pitch I wrote for a PR member that got them featured once they joined our PR program."--Gloria Chou, Episode 143: 10 Ways to Get Featured in the Media
10. "I've worked with Tony Robbins, Boss Babe, and more. One of the things that I tell my CEOs to track on a weekly basis is something I call a 'visionary KPI'. This is the number of times a business owner advocates for their mission and vision each week. As the CEO, your primary responsibility is to be the spokesperson for your vision. Tracking how often you advocate for your mission isn’t just a metric—it’s a growth strategy that directly impacts your business’s success.”-- Veronica Romney, Episode 132: Afraid to Hire? Hear this!
Phew! That was fun, and there are SOOOOOO MANY more gems I want to share, so lmk if these are helpful by REPLYING "YES" to this email so I can write more of these for you!
Let's make your Q4 EPIC by having you be its #1 spokesperson and pitch it to the media!
đź’– Gloria
