If your content attracts attention but few prospects, you’ll want to read this week’s issue. (OK, read it even if that isn’t your big problem :-)

I’d love it if you could forward this email to a friend who's in business and interested in content to help their marketing. I would appreciate it. And if you’re that friend? Subscribe today.

— Ann Gynn

🟩 ATTRACT → 🟧 CONVERT → ⬜ RETAIN → ⬛ AMPLIFY

I get people who like my content on social media and regularly gain followers. But I’m not getting them to visit my website or subscribe to my newsletter, let alone buy my services. What am I doing wrong?

First, congratulations. You’re getting people to be aware of you and your services. But as you’re learning, an audience and a target audience aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Your audience may be peers, competitors, potential buyers, referral sources, or people who simply enjoy your content.

Your target audience includes people who are more likely to need and buy your services. Others, such as referral sources and advocates, can help you reach them.

So, now’s the time to find out who’s paying attention, why they’re interested, and whether they’re the people you really want to reach. You can do a simple version this investigation without hiring a research firm, creating elaborate buyer personas, or investing in expensive analytics tools.

1. Investigate your followers: LinkedIn already has a lot of the answers; you just need to do the research. Analyze a sample of the people who follow you or regularly engage with your content. What are their roles, organizations, and industries? 

2. Analyze your clients: Look at who’s already hired you. Are they your ideal clients? If so, what are their roles, organizations, and industries? If not, who is your ideal future client? What is their role? Business? Industry? Why would they need to hire you?

3. Compare and contrast: How closely do their followers’ profiles resemble your ideal clients’ profiles?

If your followers resemble your ideal clients: You’re reaching your target audience. However, you may not be giving them a compelling reason to take the next step. Look at your calls to action, your offers, and whether your content connects to the problems your services solve. 

If your followers don't resemble your ideal clients: You’re not reaching your target audience. Examine your topics, examples, and distribution channels. What would appeal to the people you actually want to hire you? Where do those people spend their time? 

If your audience is a mix: That's OK. Peers and other followers may become valuable referral sources or advocates. But consider what changes could help you attract more members of your target audience.

Update your strategy with what you learn, even if it means attracting fewer new followers. Reaching more potential buyers matters more than growing your audience for the sake of numbers.

And remember, even your ideal target audience may not need your services right now, so give them a reason to stay connected until they do.

Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

This week: Find your three most-engaged social media posts from the past month. Look at who's commenting and sharing. Are they potential buyers, referral sources, or people who simply enjoy your content?

I used Claude to help synthesize my experience into a client proposal. I have resumes, portfolios, and RFP responses in my folders. So, having AI dig through them and connect the relevant details was helpful.

Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

Two full days of email marketing tips and trends, powered by Constant Contact. Famous keynotes (Molly Ringwald, Dan Levy, Amy Porterfield!), DJs, world-record breaking, rom-com fun, and networking.

Save your spot!

Look for a call to action that isn’t performing well. Change it. For example, instead of “subscribe to my newsletter,” use “Get one practical idea you can put to work every Friday.”

🗣️ Just talk: Ask YouTube, the platform’s conversational AI tool, rolled out to all US users this month. You can use it to research your competitors more easily. Ask the questions your audience wants to know the answers to and see how well they’re answered. There may be an opportunity for you.

🤖 Brandless: Conductor’s AI Brand Recommendation Study finds 72% of AI responses to educational queries don’t mention a single brand name. So, think differently about how your brand can earn visibility in AI answers.

🧳 Trip differently: Visit Carlsbad can talk all about Legoland, but it found a unique way to get people talking about the destination that offers a lot more than the amusement park. I got to talk with the vice president of marketing about how they turned the same old topics into an award-winning campaign.

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Got a question you’d like me to answer in The Hotline? Email me. Even better: Text or leave a message on the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.