It’s Friday the 13th. Make it the day (or week) to manifest good marketing to grow your business.

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

Q: Some of my posts get good engagement, but the people responding aren’t the kind of clients I want to work with. Is there a way to design content so it attracts the right people from the start?

A: Yes. But it requires a big commitment: narrowing your content so it attracts the customers you actually want, not as many people as possible. It seems counterintuitive. After all, who wouldn’t want to reach more people? But if they’re not in your target audience, who cares if you reach them?

Specificity is your marketing advantage. Here's how to build it into each content type:

Short-form social (LinkedIn, Threads): Speak to a symptom only your ideal customer has. "Tips for better marketing" attracts curious scrollers. "Why your expertise doesn’t show up in your pricing conversations" attracts a specific buyer with a specific frustration. The more precisely you name the problem, the more the right person thinks, “This is for me.” And the wrong person keeps scrolling. 

Long-form content (blogs, newsletters): Show how you think, not just what you know. Your target clients don’t just hire your expertise; they hire your judgment. Long-form content allows you to showcase that. In this case, specificity means writing something only you could write. Write with a perspective. Take a position. The clients who resonate with how you see things are almost always the ones who are easiest and most rewarding.

Lead magnets: Use specificity as a filter. When you ask someone to hand over their contact information, make sure you’re attracting viable customers, not just collecting email addresses. Tailor the free resource — and most importantly, your title — to entice them. For example, "The Marketing Checklist for Freelancers" pulls in any type of freelancer. However, "The Marketing Checklist for Independent Consultants Ready to Raise Their Rates" speaks directly to the right person and filters out everyone else.

Video and audio: Let prospects hear how you think before they reach out. A short YouTube video or podcast episode lets your prospects listen and see you in action. Use visual and audio formats to break down a real scenario. It lets people experience what it's like to work with you. Clients who've watched or listened before reaching out almost always say some version of "I already knew you were the right fit." That's not an accident; it's the content doing its job.

Engagement from the wrong people isn't failure. It’s feedback. It means your content is visible, but not yet specific enough. Increase the specificity, and the audience changes.

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: Audit your last five pieces of content. Did they attract prospects or scrollers? If they responded to your call to action, consumed other content, or provided viable email addresses, you’re in a good place. If they didn’t, reassess your content audience.

I worked on a book list with women-author recommendations. (It will be published by the Content Marketing Institute later this month. I’ll share a link when it’s live.) With so many titles and recommenders, I asked Claude to organize the titles by category, alphabetize the titles within each category, and format the recommendations as I shared.

One bug – it put books with “The” in the title in the T section. But once I told it to ignore that word, it alphabetized correctly.

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

Manual tax processes drain your team's time and energy, leaving no time for analysis.

When you automate and centralize your tax data your team can access what they need, when they need it and confidently make decisions.

The best part? Your team gets time back to focus on strategic initiatives.

Download the paper

Check that your bio links work and point to the intended destinations.

📉 Death of the click: “If Google is sending you less traffic, it’s time to stop relying on one source and build a more resilient strategy,” Freemius CEO tells Wordstream. Durability, thy name is email.

📚 Tell me a story: Jade Beason suggests series-based content works better than the “hamster wheel” of daily posting. Watch her share how brands are building habits with their audience through recurring themes.

⏱️ Formulate your time: The Mean CEO reveals a helpful 30-30-30 rule for social media marketing: 30% of posts should be brand-related; 30% curated or user-generated content; and 30% entertaining or engaging material. What about the last 10% of your social media time? Spend it on real-time interactions and spontaneous updates.

Not a subscriber? Join the Marketing By One community today. Sign up for the free weekly newsletter!

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