A marketing tactic often overlooked by small businesses.

When I start working with small business owners, one of the first things I check in on is their knowledge and investment in marketing.

With every new business I guide to the next level of growth, I end up imparting some key lessons and tools around marketing.

Now, I’m no marketing expert - and that’s not the core thing we help owners with at Grow A Small Business - but as I wrote about last week, it’s one of the two Pillars on the small business Growth Seesaw.

Even if you don’t own the marketing corner of your business, or use an outsourced agency, it’s critical that you know the basics of marketing - and what is worth investing time and money into.

Otherwise, how can you make an informed decision - especially when recruiting marketing team members, or an agency?

So, we wrote a 41 page “Marketing Funding Flywheel” eBook with 50+ tools and resources, to help get a small business owner up to the level I think they need around marketing, at a minimum.

It starts by outline the three principles in sustainable marketing for small businesses:

After diving deeper into each of those principles, one of the lessons we write about in the eBook is something that took me the last few years to realise - the power of words.

Like most owners, I thought well-designed images and ads were the key, but it’s the words we use that will ultimately influence a prospects’ behaviour to move further down your sales funnel.

Copy, or the words used in marketing, can be immensely powerful to increase your sales conversations.

Starting with prospects hanging around on your website for longer, reading more pages - to more deciding to buy your product or service.

It’s easy to put too much weight on the design of the flyer, website or ad when in reality, the most powerful piece is the copy - the words you use.

While design is an important part of your marketing, you should invest more time in

becoming a better copywriter (or understanding the principles, even if you have a good writer in or outside the business).

The great advertising genius of the 50s (the “Mad Men” TV series is apparently based on

him), David Ogilvy, sums up the power of copy in this quote:

Here are three actions that a small business owner can take to improve their copywriting skills:

Take the time to educate yourself on the principles of effective copywriting.

There are various online courses, books, and resources dedicated to teaching the art of persuasive writing.

Platforms like Skillshare, Udemy, and Copyblogger offer courses ranging from basic to advanced copywriting techniques.

And listen to the small business podcasts on marketing and digital marketing we’ve done to date.

Study and analyse successful copywriting examples in your industry and beyond.

Examine what makes headlines compelling, how the copy engages the reader, and what techniques are used to drive action.

Dissecting well-performing copy can provide insights into effective language, tone, and structure.

Practice is key to improving any skill, including copywriting.

Write regularly, whether it's creating social media posts, blog articles, or email newsletters.

Actively seek feedback from peers, mentors, or even your target audience.

Constructive criticism can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your writing style.

Here’s an example:

As with anything when growing a small business, you need to invest time to educate yourself in this powerful corner of the business.

And, it’s fun!!

Who doesn’t enjoy learning something new, especially when it will increase your sales, profits and overall valuation on your business.

Be sure to grab a copy of our “Marketing Funding Flywheel” eBook. We include the best marketing books, podcasts and the #1 marketing course we recommend small business owners do (it’s online and opens in April and September each year).

And check out the podcast with Crystalee Beck, founder of Comma Copywriters, which went live this week.

Cheers,

Troy | Founder | Grow A Small Business