There are hundreds of marketing platforms, channels and activities to choose from.

The list goes on. And even within social media, you have multiple platforms to choose from and multiple ways to use those platforms.

So how do you figure out which activities to invest time and money into? How can you get the best return possible without working round the clock or burning through all your savings?

The first thing to consider is your target audience. Who do you want to reach with your marketing?

If you understand this, then it’s easier to figure out where you can find them and what kind of marketing will appeal to them.

There’s not much point in being on a platform if hardly anyone there is your ideal client. It wouldn’t really make sense to advertise baking equipment in a magazine about monster trucks. Sure - there might be the odd monster truck enthusiast who also enjoys baking, but there are plenty of more relevant publications.

While it is important to consider your target audience when choosing your marketing activities, it also helps to consider yourself. If you are the person doing all your marketing, it’ll help if you actually enjoy it.

I’ve met too many people who are forcing themselves to do stuff they don’t enjoy because they feel as though they “should” be doing it. And most of the time they feel like marketing is a slog. They dread doing it and they aren’;t getting results.

If you hate making video, or can’t stand writing blog posts, or absolutely hate networking, don’t do it. I’ve listed 25 different marketing activities above and I could probably list another 25.

I like to think about it like exercise. There are hundreds of different things you can do to lose weight, build strength or get fit. You don’t have to run if dance is more your thing. You don’t have to work out solo if team sports are more your thing. You have choice.

It’s the same with marketing. You have a choice. Just because someone says “you should be doing X” doesn’t mean you have to do it.

Most people opt for the free marketing activities because they don’t want to waste money. But wasting time can be just as costly. What’s the point of spending hours doing something each day if it never generates business?

Social media is a prime example. It’s free to use, so it’s appealing as a marketing channel. But getting business from social media isn’t as simple as just posting once a week and hoping for the best. You need to post regularly, which means time for creating content. You need to respond to comments and messages. You need to engage with other people - it’s a two-way street. You need to follow up.

And if you’re not doing it with a strategy, you can end up wasting hours building a big following that never buys from you. I’ve known people to spend two to three hours a day “doing social media” and not get a single client from it in months.

So decide whether you want to invest time, money or both into your marketing and come up with a plan for how to use that time and money effectively. What is sustainable long-term? What will you measure?

I really dislike the term funnel - I prefer to call it a process - but the idea is that you move your ideal clients through different stages. And you need marketing activities for each stage.

If you Google marketing funnel, there are hundreds of versions. I keep mine simple: Attract-Nurture-Convert.

Essentially, you need to consider each stage.

Attract - How will you get in front of your ideal clients? For example, this might be through ads, social media, SEO or direct marketing. The idea is to get noticed by the right people.

Nurture - Once you have the attention of your ideal clients, how will you hold it? For example, you might do this by getting them to subscribe to an email newsletter, private community or podcast.

Convert - This is where your sales copy comes in. Website, landing pages, promotional emails, call to actions and member offers. If you never tell people about your products or services, how can you expect them to buy?

So when you are choosing your marketing activities, think about the entire journey. How and where will you get in front of your ideal clients? Where will you send them next? How will you convert them from “maybe one day” to “let’s do this”?

And if you need help with that, check out my 1-2-1 services below.

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