Hearts, Roses and Cornish Pasties
It's Valentine's Day on Friday - not a day I give a lot of thought to really. My husband and I don't tend to do gifts or make a big deal of it. But although I don't celebrate it personally, it's hard to ignore all the hundreds of love-themed marketing messages.
As someone who used to work in a chocolate shop, I get it. It's an opportunity to boost sales. We had special heart-shaped gifts. We'd have special heart-covered wrapping paper. We'd ice soppy messages on things and wear red. It was a big deal.
And I have no issue with it. If people want to celebrate Valentine's Day or any other date, then that's up to them. And if businesses want to try to cash in on it, then fine - they aren't forcing anyone to buy.
But it can get a little weird.
Last week, I saw an ad for a Cornish Pasty company claiming: "Nothing says 'I Love You' like a Cornish pasty."
That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?
I mean, I did once buy my husband a £5 Greggs gift voucher as a joke Valentine's gift, so maybe there is something in it, but I'm not convinced.
I don't think that company will sell more pasties because their ad was Valentine's themed. They might sell more because it made people fancy a Cornish pasty, but that has less to do with the theme or the copy and more to do with the picture of a pasty.
And if you can't find a genuine or authentic way to tie your products and services to a day in the calendar, is it worth doing? Or is it better to create non-themed marketing that makes more sense and might actually work?
Wouldn't a picture of a tasty pasty filling be more appealing than an ad trying to so obviously fit a product into a theme where it doesn't fit?
Nobody is going to see that ad and think: "That's it - that's the perfect gift to show my partner how much they mean to me."
Of course, it was probably done tongue in cheek which is fine if you have money to spend on "just for fun" advertising. But freelancers often don't have that luxury.
Themed marketing that works on any day of the year
Back in 2020, I wrote a (kind of) Valentine-themed article for LinkedIn:
Does your marketing attract one-night stands or long-term lovers?
There’s no doubt that a one-night stand will appeal to some. It’s fun and exciting – no strings, no commitment. Just two people satisfying a need.
But, the problem with one-night stands is that they only last one night. Then you’ve got to go out again and find someone else who’s looking for that quick fix. You never know if either one of you will be totally satisfied or if the whole thing will be a disappointment.
After a while, it can get tiring – never finding that meaningful connection and never knowing when you’ll next get lucky.
But why on earth am I talking about promiscuity? What does it have to do with business clients?
Well, imagine you go to a nightclub and ask every man and woman in there if they fancy coming home with you tonight for sexy time. You don’t know which ones are single, whether they are into men, women or both, whether they have any interest in hooking up or whether they are even compatible.
You’re just playing the numbers game, hoping somone will eventually say yes.
This to me is the equivalent of hashing together a generic LinkedIn message or email that pretty much says; “Hey – I don’t know anything about you, but do you fancy buying my stuff?” and then sending it out to everyone and anyone.
Chances are, someone will eventually say yes.
But is that what you want for your business? To be 'going out on the pull' week after week, hoping you’ll eventually come across someone who’s up for it? Never sure whether either of you will be truly satisfied after the deal is done?
Don’t you want to find someone who is on the same level as you and who will respect you afterwards – who values what you do and trusts you to deliver results?
Ok, it might mean putting in some extra work –like dating someone for a while before you bed them. You go out a few times, get to know each other, learn what you have in common. You send a few messages in between dates, maybe even have the odd call.
To me, this is the equivalent of content marketing.
You’re wooing your potential client. You’re letting them get to know you, showing them why you’d make a great partner and why they should choose you. You’re adding value, building their trust and creating a meaningful relationship.
Yes, it’s a longer-term strategy, but think how much more satisfying it will be when they finally take the plunge and decide to invest in your products or services? You’ll already have their respect and the confidence that you’ll both be satisfied.
And the best thing about client relationships, when compared to personal relationships, is that clients don’t mind you ‘dating’ other clients.
Now, I could go on to expand this analogy into orgies, but I won’t push my luck.
The point is, we all have a few one-night stands in business, a few short-term relationships that don’t work out. And then we have those meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships too.
I know which I prefer – how about you?
A few years later, I used this analogy in a talk I did about how to attract more of the clients you want.
So what's the difference between me sharing content that is loosely connected to Valentine's Day and the Cornish pasty company trying to tie their product in with Valentine's Day?
Well, the difference is I can share the content above on any day and the analogy will still work. Learning how to attract and 'woo' clients makes sense whether I share it on Feb 14th or October 8th.
On the other hand, I don't think "Nothing says 'I Love You' like a Cornish pasty" would be convincing any time of year.
If you want to use these events to promote your business, that's fine. But don't just do it for the sake of it. Instead, focus on creating strong marketing messages that work at any time of year.
And if you need help with that, you know where I am.
Your weekly ten-minute task
The weekly ten-minute tasks are short simple tasks that should take around ten minutes to complete (although you can spend longer if you want to). The goal is to help you improve your sales and marketing processes.
Completing these tasks won't magically transform your business, but doing one small thing each week to improve is better than doing nothing. So block out ten minutes in the next few days and complete the below task.
Check all links on your website and social media pages are working correctly.
This is a boring one, I know, but it's super important.
It's frustrating when you click a link and it doesn't take you anywhere. The last thing you want to do when someone is interested in you or your services is frustrate them with broken links or buttons that don't work.
So, as tedious as it is, this week's task is a maintenance task. Go through your website a page at a time and check all the links and buttons work correctly.
Another important thing to check is any contact forms or sign-up forms. If you have a test email (I use my old Hotmail account), you can sign up or complete the contact form. Does the enquiry come through to the right place? I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of contact forms not working and people missing out on business.
Once you've finished with your website, check your social media pages - do they link to your website and are your contact details up to date?
This is something you should be checking every few months (or more frequently if you get a lot of traffic to your site). Make sure your potential clients can get in touch with you.
Weekly anagrams
Sometimes you need a little break from work or something to get your brain going while you have your morning brew. That's where the weekly anagrams come in.
And this week they are all American Baseball teams:
- any seeker wonky
- toxic ice hogwash
- angel dogsled roses
- fascinating on scars
- nods to boxers
If you are unfamiliar with how anagrams work: An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, using all the original letters only once.
Feel free to send me your answers once you’ve got them all – there’s no prize, but it’s always good to share your achievements. I'll give you the answers in next week's email.
And talking of answers, here are the answers to last week's fast food anagrams:
- kerb urging = Burger King
- buy saw = Subway
- dime soon = Dominoes
- cold damns = McDonald’s
- and son = Nando’s
Thanks for reading
That's it from me this week. As always, if you'd like my help with anything sales, marketing or business-related, you can book 90 minutes with me.
