Are you looking to gain new clients, sell more products, and grow your creative business? Then today’s post is for you! I’m sharing five different ways that to market your business online as a creative entrepreneur.

Before we dive into, I want to add a disclaimer because I know marketing your business can feel super overwhelming, especially at the beginning:

You don’t need to use all of these channels. And there is no one right way to do it (!!). There are countless articles out there telling you that you NEED to get on Instagram right now or that you’re doomed for failure if you don’t have an email list.

But it’s just not true! Yes, you need to market yourself, but you don’t need to do it all. Play around, experiment, find the channels you enjoy and will stick with and that are working for your business. Your marketing should work for you- you don’t work for your marketing. 

I never want to contribute to a business owner’s feeling of overwhelm or confusion, so I wanted to clear that up before we jump in!

And now that that’s out of the way :p let’s jump into five ways you can market your business online.

1. Blog Posts

Blogging offers a ton of great marketing opportunities and benefits, and I like to say that blog posts are about so much more than the blog post itself.

Writing blog posts allows you to improve your website SEO, position yourself as an authority in your field, and reach a wider audience.

If you’re being strategic with your marketing efforts, you can repurpose each blog post into a ton of great marketing content. One blog post can become an IG Reel, and IG post, and IG carousel, a TikTok, multiple Pinterest Pins, a Pinterest Story, and a Facebook post (and more!).

And finally, a blog post can be an important part of your sales funnel if you set it up to convert. This means including links to things like other blog posts, your services page, your email list, your online store, etc.

One thing to keep in mind is to think about what your ideal audience wants. For example, if you’re a web designer looking to book new clients, you probably don’t want to write posts about how to do web design because your ideal audience wants to hire someone, not DIY.

Instead, they probably want to hear about the differences between different website providers, what a new website can do for their business, the importance of branding and good design, etc.

If however, you’re a web designer selling courses or mentorship services to other web designers, educational content about web design itself will attract your ideal audience.

2. Podcast guesting

Guesting on podcasts is an amazing way to build trust and authority as an expert in your field and reach a brand new audience. If this is a marketing channel that interests you, start seeking out podcasts in your niche and building relationships with podcasters you align with. Then make your pitch!

Of course, you can also start your own podcast to market your business. This can be a really great way to build your community and business, but of course it involves a lot more work than guesting.

3. Pinterest Marketing

As a visual search engine, marketers can use Pinterest to build brand awareness and drive traffic to their websites. What’s amazing about Pinterest is that users are in “discovery mode.” This means they’re actively searching for what you’re offering, so you’re getting your products/services in front of an audience that is ready to take action.

Pinterest is best for promoting evergreen content, so this is where you want to promote things like your services, products, email list, blog posts, etc. rather than timely offerings like sales and promotions.

Creative entrepreneurs can really thrive on the platform because typically you’re creating really visually appealing and informative content (double whammy!) AND your audience is on the platform.

Want to learn more about growing your business with Pinterest? Grab my FREE guide here!

4. Instagram Marketing

Instagram is a social media channel, so users are there to be social, engage with each other, and build connections.

From a marketing perspective, Instagram is a great way to not only promote your offerings but to also make one-on-one connections with others in your industry and with potential customers and clients. The user intent is to socialize and catch up on the latest news, so they’re not in discovery mode like they are on Pinterest.

Instagram is often more of a slow build where a user will come across your content and engage for a while before considering the next step. It’s a “getting to know you” platform and its real strengths lie in brand awareness, community building, and sharing timely info.

As creative entrepreneurs, creating a strong community with other entrepreneurs can be so powerful and inspiring (I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true!). For the most part we work from home (even pre-pandemic) so making connections and relationships online is great. 

Instagram allows you to market yourself and connect with potential customers and clients, but it also allows you to connect with others in your field, and I love it for that!

I spoke more about how to use Instagram as a marketing channel here.

5. Email marketing

Email marketing may seem a bit outdated but let me tell you- it is alive and well! 

Building your email list is an amazing way to grow and market your business because you are creating a community of people invested in you and what you offer (following on IG is one thing- signing up for an email list shows another level of interest) and you’re reaching them directly (think of the likelihood of them seeing your email in their inbox rather than in their social media feeds).

Email marketing always allows you to really build up the like, know, and trust factor, and conversion rates are usually much higher via email than other channels. I see more sales when I talk about my services to my email list than when I post about it on IG because these are my people and they are on my list because they are interested in what I have to offer.

You can learn more about growing your email list with Pinterest here!

As you can see, these five marketing channels all offer something different to your creative business and your audience.

Each marketing channel offers different benefits and requires different skillsets. Choose the ones that best fit you and your business and start marketing! Choosing ones you enjoy and have the time and resources to take on will minimize overwhelm so you can spend less time stressing about marketing and more time on your amazing offerings.

Ready to see what Pinterest can do for you business? Head over to my services page to see how we can work together!

PIN FOR LATER!