2023 is all about getting back to basics. When the foundation of your business is strong, your business will grow. We tend to get sidetracked by all the pretty new things. I'm pushing them to the side and focusing on the things that I know will help me reach my goals. I'm shaing this basics with you to inspire you to think about how you're approaching your marketing in the upcoming year.

What you'll learn:

→ why I'm not going to be on all social media platforms.
→ what the basics are.
→ simplifying the things you offer.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[3:09] Remember the big goals that you have and what is really going to get you there. For me email list growth is one of my biggest priorities. Having a bigger email list with my target audience is one of of the best digital marketing strategies out there. Then it's working on the digital offerings I already have instead of constantly coming up with new ones. 
[10:24] It doesn't have to be all brand new. Pay attention to what people like and what they are engaging in. Do more of that and update the content you already have to reflect that. Figure out what products or services are really resonating and share those messages. 

Full Transcript

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] This is officially the last episode of The Year of 2020. I can't believe it. And it's fitting that as I'm recording this episode, we have a whole bunch of snow going on outside here in Minneapolis where I live in just kind of is bringing back the holiday spirit. I hope you and your family had an amazing holiday. And I hope that you've had an incredible year, I cannot wait to see what 2023 has in store for all of us, it's going to be amazing. So I thought to end the year, I would record a podcast about what I'm going to be doing going into 2023 with my marketing, where I'm going to be focusing in some ways that I'm bringing things back to basics. So I hope that you will join me in getting inspiration and how you might want to bring your business back to basics. Now I understand what you're saying, I'm a consultant, I'm coach, strategist, you might be a fundraiser, you might be an executive director, you might be a board member, you might be all of those things. And you might say to yourself, your business is run differently. And they do a little bit, but the common threads about how we move through our businesses are the same. And you can take these strategies and use them within your business as well, your nonprofit or small business, whatever it is, wherever you're going, these strategies will help support you in your growth as well. The thing that I noticed so much is that as we move through our businesses, we tend to just get like, way off kilter, I might write down my goals at the beginning of the year and not look at them for the rest of the year. And all of a sudden, I come to October, November. And I'm like, Oh, that's right, I forgot I was gonna do that. We were working towards that. And we've just slowly over time, gotten completely away from them. And so that's why I'm going back to basics this year. And really just focusing on the core things that I want my business to be, where I'm going and what I want to accomplish. So that's what I'm going to share with you in this episode.

But before we get into it, this episode is brought to you by our website Wednesday chats, go to https://thefirstclick.net/website-wednesdays  to see what this month's chats all about. These are 30 minute chats where I just come and show up and talk a little bit about a particular topic. We've covered things like your website footer, like content strategy, like your email, all those things. And then you have an opportunity for q&a. And you also get a freebie if you stick to the end. These are pitch free, just free ways to help you get your website converting more in the year to come. So again, https://thefirstclick.net/website-wednesdays check out the current date that's up and the topic we'll be discussing change every month. I can't wait to see you in there. But for now, let's get into the episode.

[INTRO] You're listening to the digital marketing therapy podcast. I'm your host, Sami Bedell-Mulhern. And each week, I bring you tips from myself and other experts, as well as hot seats with small business owners and entrepreneurs to demystify digital marketing and get you on your way to generating more leads and growing your business.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Okay, so you know me if you've been around for a little bit, and I don't like to have any strategies for where we're gonna go without knowing where we're gonna go. So getting back to basics, really drill down into refining my offers what I'm offering what I'm trying to accomplish. So for me, this looks like I have goals around email list growth, which is a big priority, I have goals around some of my digital products, which I've simplified, I have goals around one on one client work and things of that nature. So I put all of that into a plan, which is what is determining the things that I'm doing. So for you, it could be really taking a look at the events that you're running, and maybe simplifying some of that you may have had a change in your team. And so maybe it's paying attention to all of the different ways that you're bringing in income for your organization, and what is going to make the biggest impact. Because when you can have an easier way to bring in those funds, it makes it easier for you to do more with them. So it could be taking a look at how you're collaborating and working in the community. What are your goals around building? Bringing in your dollars? What are your goals around number of donations? Do you have a monthly giving program. And I'm not saying all of this to get you to go on this crazy brainstorm and say you need to do all these things. I'm saying this because I want you to really focus on the key drivers that are going to help your organization grow and thrive. And that's going to be a little bit for a little bit different for everybody. Your board is going to be a little bit different the two people you have on your team, their skill sets, it's all going to be a little different. So what makes the most sense for you and your organization. I really want you to be honest with yourself and drill it down. Pay attention to the things that are working well. And what's actually generating that revenue for your organization. Okay. So like I said, for me it is we're doing some one to two day workshops, virtual workshops four times a year, we have some bundles that are coming. We are doing a lot with Pinterest and LinkedIn. And those are the only two platforms we're going to be on, we have our podcast. And you know, there's a couple of things we're toying with sprinkling in here and there. But we're not worrying about those and q1 for sure. Everything else that kind of comes my way as we go in to 2023 is going to go into an idea folder. After q1, we'll evaluate where we're at with hitting our financial goals, our email list growth goals, because those are the two big drivers of our of our business success that we're tracking for 2023, We'll reevaluate and see what we may need to tweak and refine. So now that I know where I'm going, I have my specific strategies for how I'm going to get there. And that looks like and I kind of already shared some of that already. But becoming more active on LinkedIn, I'm excited to be doing some more live videos and live audio streams on there. And really being engaged with that networking community, we're going to be a lot more active on Pinterest, posting a lot more often. So hit us up at the first click marketing. We are there in posting all sorts of great information and resources for you to save, we will still be posting all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube channel, because that's an easy win, right? That's easy. It's just transferring that information over to that platform, we'll still be sending weekly emails out to our list. And so those are some of the things that we're doing. And then we're using our website Wednesday, which is our our free monthly chat that is going to help us with our list growth and are in LinkedIn is going to help us with this growth and our LinkedIn Pinterest in that are going to help us with our list growth. Those are our main drivers and we have some other things that we're going to be doing. So every single activity that we're doing is directly correlating with an action, something that we're working on in conversions of tracking. So there's all sorts of things we could be doing, we could be getting on tick tock, we could say we want to have a whole YouTube channel, we could say that we are going to start to do an in person live event. There's all of these things that are great, fabulous ideas, but they're just not getting back to the basics of what it is that's going to get us to our goals. So I want to spend the first six months of 2023 really drilling it down. Focusing on cleaning up our website, we have a website revamp for the first click in January, that's really going to help with this with the realignment of the conversations that we're having with organizations. We're working on a revamp of the podcast and the content that we're creating and how we're going about putting stuff out so that you have a better understanding of where to go to get the information that you need. And you're getting more step by step by step information to help you on your journey. Now, I hope you listen to all episodes. But what we're really hoping is that you'll be able to find the topics and the episodes that are going to make the most sense for you where you're at. And when you need to come back to another topic, you can easily find it to be able to dive deep on the things that you need more information on. So that's what I mean by getting back to basics, the core things that we have in our programs, in our outbound marketing, in our inbound marketing, and make sure everything is tidied up, buttoned up and perfect and working seamlessly. So what are the things that you're doing that you're not consistent with? That, you know, you should be right, I want to make sure I'm sending an email out getting a podcast out every single week, that is a priority, because that is the content that helps to drive everything else that drives my email newsletter that drives my LinkedIn copy that drives my conversations with potential customers. It gives me the ability to say, hey, we had this quick conversation about this topic, I'd love to send you some more additional resources. And your website can do that for you too. Whether it's a blog, whether you have a LinkedIn newsletter, whether you have long form posts on your Instagram, all of those things are going to help you to have better conversations and provide wins and resources for your potential donors, your existing donors, or for the community that you serve. We want to make sure that everything we do is with intention. And that's what back to basics in 2023 is for me. Now, when we think about tracking data, and how are we hitting our goals. That's where things get a little tricky, and a little less fun. In my opinion. I know there's some data geeks out there that really love to talk through this stuff. It's just not me. But what I am doing is making sure that I'm tracking the things that I'm doing in alignment with the goals so I recently had a conversation with someone and they said well, how much traffic should our website beginning

in order for it to be successful? I don't know, that's not really an easy question or a fair question, because all goes back to your goals. So you could have 100,000 people hitting your website every month, but nobody's converting. Or you might have 500 people on your website every month, and they're all taking action, and you're seeing results. So what is it that makes the most sense for your organization? What content? Are people engaging in? What content? Are people really excited about? What are they sharing, and then do more of that, we don't always have to recreate the wheel. And we don't always have to do something new and splashy in order to get people's attention. It feels that way. Because consistency is a little bit boring. We feel like we're saying the same thing over and over again. But we have to understand there's so much noise in the marketplace right now. And it takes people a lot longer to hear you in a way where it reminds them to be like, oh, yeah, I wanted to go check out that organization, they're doing really cool stuff. So don't be afraid to double down on the things that your audience is telling you that they like. Maybe you have a blog post on, maybe you're an environmental organization, and you have a blog post that does really well every year on the holidays about how to reduce waste when you have extra people in your home, or how to reduce waste with all of the holiday wrapping paper. And you say, Oh, we did it last year, we want to we don't want to do it this year, well, maybe there's some new products or services that have come up since last year, double down on the things that you know that work, don't be afraid to do it again. And save, you might have something that comes up in the summer around gardening, that's the same and has a ton of traffic year over year, update it and reuse it. We don't have to think outside the box all the time, we don't always have to be creating new. And that's about getting back to basics. So I know I've kind of been all over the place with this episode. But I wanted to just really give you that reminder at year end that you're doing great work. And your organization is making great impact. And going into 2023 I love January is like this fresh start this breath of fresh air, we can kind of do things all over again. But that doesn't mean we need to do everything, new CIO, really be honest with yourself and take stock in what your organization is really doing well at what's coming with ease, what feels good. And then switch it up with some things that maybe aren't doing as well aren't performing as well. Or what new things then can you do to replace that but always taking it back to what are we trying to achieve? And will this get us there, because if it won't, then there's no purpose. There's no reasoning behind it, we don't need to do it, it's just going to be a waste of time and energy, even if it feels fun and exciting. So that is my pep talk for you. At the end of this 2022. I want to just give you a big thank you, whether you're a new listener, whether you've been around, thank you so much for trusting me for being here for listening to my voice and all of our amazing guest experts. This year, we have some incredible things lined up. And I'm so excited to be booking more podcast episodes with nonprofits just like you. So if you have a strategy that you want to learn more about, if you have a way that one of the strategies that we've shared on this podcast have really impacted you and you want to share the results that you've gotten, if you just want to be a guest, so I can chat with you on this podcast, I would love to hear from you. You can send me an email at CME at the first click.net That's S A M i and i would love to interview you. Like I said, we have some new fun things coming in at the end of q1 next next year, and it's going to be amazing. We're not going anywhere. Just time for just to recap, we're going to hit 200 episodes next year, and I'm so thrilled for them. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Make sure you subscribe wherever you listen and please share this podcast with a friend that you think could use some support and their digital marketing strategies going in 2023 so they can also increase and multiply their impact. Okay, I appreciate you all. Make sure you watch these episodes in video format at YouTube or the first clip.net forward slash YouTube and subscribe where you listen so you don't miss an episode will continue to come here every Tuesday and thank you so much. Happy New Year.