– This blog post contains affiliate links for products, services and offers I love and trust in my own business. That means if you decide to try any of these offers via my affiliate link, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. –
When a recession is looming, business slows down or leads dry up, overwhelm can settle in quicker than you can cancel yet another business subscription. And you might be wondering whether you should have future-proofed your business yesterday.
What to do instead?
Take a step back and focus on your strengths. It’s time to shift your attention to clever copywriting and strategic brand touchpoints.
You have a transformation to offer, a unique zone of genius and a brand reputation that’s exclusively yours.
Believe me:
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And business will pick up again.
What it takes is working smarter, not harder, and focusing on customer delight so your audience not only stick around but keep picking you over your ‘competition’.
Now is the time to work ON your business rather than in it.
Shift your perspective and go deep on your strategies so they can open up new business opportunities long-term.
I recommend starting with the MANY touchpoints within your business.
Because they are your chance to convince, intrigue and nurture those oh-so-important relationships.
1. Set up your welcome email sequence
If you actively grow your email list, it’s crucial not to ghost your audience once they’ve handed over their prized email address. Map out an automated email sequence that tells your story, and warms your new audience to your brand and offer.
6 strategic emails are all it takes to officially welcome your new subscribers to your world and build the know, like and trust factor. I’m embracing Drip for all my email automations, including my welcome sequence and weekly email updates
This resource might come in handy:
2. Create a strategic lead magnet
Tap into your social media audience and find out how to best support them.
Find out the common customer problems in your niche that keep them up at night. Can you set up your audience with tips and tricks to move them a step closer to a solution until they’re in a position to come to you for outsourced help?
The lead magnet that’s been working really well for me lately is a PDF with 10 FREE Strategic Customer Survey Questions (+9 BONUS Social Media Question Prompts) so business owners like you who want to DIY their copywriting can tap into their audience as their unfair marketing advantage.
3. Write a dedicated landing page to capture new leads
Do you do your lead magnet justice?
Or does your high-quality, strategic freebie offer incredible value while sitting on your digital product shelf collecting dust?
Most website hosting services like Squarespace or Showit (my favourites) have user-friendly templates to help you show off your freebie and grow your email list on a budget.
My favourite easy-to-customise templates?
Check out Big Cat Creative for Squarespace, Tonic Site Shop (get 15% off templates with code CANDOVIP) and Emma Troy Design for Showit (get $100 off templates with code VIPCANDO).
Make sure you address the ‘so what’ (what’s in it for them) to make your freebie relevant and irresistible.
4. Plan your newsletter content ahead of time
Batch-create your upcoming newsletters so they deliver valuable content and strategic messaging for weeks to come. This will not only give you a clear vision of your upcoming marketing efforts, it will also provide you with content you can re-purpose across social media, your blog and ultimately keep you front of mind because you keep showing up.
5. Launch that online course
This solution is more time-consuming, but now’s a perfect time to start.
Break it down into bite-sized chunks and begin with the course outline, the problems your clients are facing most often and how you can solve those. Find a point of difference that makes your course THE ONE by researching the landscape and asking your clients what they want, how they want to absorb the content and learn about any deal breakers for their purchase.
Building your course based on first-hand audience insights is the only way to see it sell once you launch it.
6. Offer a DIY version as an accessible alternative
Is there a way to package your genius within a templated DIY product?
With tightening budgets and purchasing decisions taking much longer, a digital product or DIY template can be a tempting & budget-friendly alternative to your 1:1 offers.
Now’s the time to take a closer look at your services and explore avenues that allow you to share your expertise in a one-to-many rather than one-on-one approach.
7. Sharpen your product descriptions
As online business owners, our product and offer descriptions are the best way to impress. So make sure they’re spot on!
Take your audience on a journey and help them see how your products can solve their problems. Paint a vivid picture, have fun and make your customer the centre of attention.
They need an answer to “what’s in it for me”. So focus on the benefits and how they translate into tangible wins for the buyer.
8. Write your abandoned cart emails
Picture me trying to cook dinner and running an online business from home with 3 cheeky munchkins. I’m about to purchase your product when my youngest falls off the sofa – yet again.
What next?
Phone goes down, cart abandoned and the purchase forgotten.
And you miss out on that sale. Unless…
…your abandoned cart email sequence gently reminds me that I left something behind that I really want (and need).
This seemingly small email sequence can make ALL the difference to your conversion rates.
Take this as your gentle nudge to get yours set up!
9. Plan your social content strategically
Map out your social media content based on the real pain points, objections, desires and beliefs your audience is facing.
That ensures you’re proactive and consistent in warming your audience to your offers while taking the pressure off when business picks up again.
A little hack for you:
Consider re-purposing existing blog posts and turning them into a bite-sized mini-series on social media. Or explore the FAQ section on your website as inspiration to help you bust myths.
Now’s the time to keep showing up so you can build and maintain a relationship with your audience and be front of mind when they’re ready to invest.
10. Revamp your about page
Does your about page do your genius justice?
And, more importantly, is it about your customer rather than you?
Because it shouldn’t read like a CV-style compilation of your biggest achievements.
What it should do is give people answers to these questions:
What’s in it for me? And why should I trust in you over ALL THE OTHER options?
It’s time to share your why beyond making a profit and the bigger impact you want to have with your business.
People buy from people, not from businesses.
So share your unique story and get the reader to come along for the ride.
And my FREE 4-day About Page Sprint might just be what you need to get started:
11. Create an FAQ page
Rather than seeing your inbox drowning in a tidal wave of customer questions, take the time to write a dedicated FAQ page that lives on your website and can take the weight off your shoulders.
It makes your processes transparent, shows that you have your systems sorted and truly understand what’s happening in your customer’s life.
It also allows you to address any misconceptions or objections BEFORE they become a dealbreaker for the purchase.
12. Embrace blogging for organic traffic
Blog posts are powerful tools to improve your Google rankings and establish yourself as a leader within your field.
They also set you up with content and topics you can repurpose in newsletters and across social media.
Focusing on evergreen topics that don’t date (or need minimal tweaking) and cover popular search queries on Google will work in your favour for months, possibly years to come.
Start with your SEO research, write for humans first and provide no-fluff, super-valuable content for blogging success.
13. Guest blog for juicy backlinks
Consider sharing your genius on trusted media platforms or on aligned business buddies’ websites. This approach not only gets you in front of new audiences, it also delivers a backlink to your website, which signals to Google that you’re the real deal.
Pitch relevant ideas to blogs and media outlets, and you might become the next blogging superstar sooner than you think.
I recently wrote a guest blog article for the Being Boss community. Suss it out right here to demystify the process.
14. Show your team member profiles some love
If you employ a team, now’s the time to acknowledge the heart and soul they pour into your brand.
Do their profiles reflect how much value they add to your business? Do they feature at all?
Consider spicing up your staff profiles with fun facts that add depth to their role and character.
Show your team that you genuinely care about them. It’ll take their commitment to a whole new level!
15. Audit your website SEO
Was your website built and written with SEO in mind?
If it’s a DIY job, did you ever bother plugging in all the right info to make your site appear on Google?
If it’s an outsourced job, was SEO part of the package?
Optimising your entire website for organic traffic involves more than just your copy. It involves your site speed, your image and URL optimisation, and many other aspects.
Thankfully, there are high-quality resources out there to help you become the SEO genius of your business and attract organic traffic along the way. One of those must-visit online destinations is SEO queen, Kate Toon, who comes through with the goods with countless free and low-priced resources to get you started.
16. Set up canned email templates
If you respond to inquiries with written-from-scratch emails, then now’s the time to save yourself some serious time and energy.
Turn your most common customer emails into canned email templates that only need slight tweaking as needed.
The time you invest in these templates now that business is slow will save your sanity once business picks up again. It also reduces sneaky typos and tone variations when you need to rush things.
If you’re a service provider and want to take it a step further, then I highly recommend investing in a system like Dubsado to automate your customer onboarding and off-boarding processes. Dubsado has literally transformed my business! You can score 20% off your first month or year with Dubsado right here with code candovip.
17. Pitch media outlets and podcasts
Have you considered sharing your story with news outlets or on podcasts?
You’d be surprised how many visibility opportunities strategic pitches can open up if done right.
Start by exploring your unique angle and package it correctly in a targeted, personalised pitch to your local paper or business publications within your niche.
Check out just how effective pitching has been for my podcast guesting journey:
If pitching podcast hosts is something you want to explore, then you can grab my proven pitch template for only AUD9 to set you up for success:
18. Refine your elevator pitch
This one is crucial but often the last thing business owners get to.
An elevator pitch tells your story and sums up what you do, who you do it for and poeple they should care.
Once you nail this powerful blurb you’ll never walk into a networking event again stumbling over your intro. You’ll show up confidently and can own your zone of genius each and every time someone asks you: “So, what do you do?”
Sidenote: It should also live in a prominent spot on your home page for all to see.
Ready to DIY the copy in your business for a recession-proof business?
Then suss out my free or budget-friendly resources to support you on this journey
