There are never any guarantees when it comes to marketing. Even large well-known companies have their share of major marketing flops that cost them big time. Small businesses like yours, though, can’t afford to make those kinds of mistakes. It could bankrupt you. Which is why you need to be extra careful when it comes to how much you spend on marketing and who you trust to do it.
Have you ever seen a video of how a school of piranhas can devour an animal in minutes? While it may make for a crazy video, most of the time, piranhas are scavengers who prefer to go after weak or dying prey, instead of healthy, more difficult ones. Don’t be the weak prey for the marketing piranhas.
This is, of course, easier said than done, and if you’ve ever fallen prey before, there’s nothing to be ashamed of—it can happen to anyone. I just hope that you caught it early enough that you were able to recover financially.
Perhaps you’ve heard recently that the email marketing platform, Kit, has decided to eliminate their lowest paid tier, effectively increasing the rates for many small business owners. Maybe they’ll walk this back after they see all of the backlash from it, maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ve already walked it back by the time you’re reading this. It really doesn’t matter though, because my point here isn’t actually about Kit—it’s about all of the piranhas I saw swimming down the river since this news hit:
- People who are instantly trying to offer everyone their Flodesk affiliate links for a price point that costs MORE than Kit is raising their prices to. (Now I’m not saying that affiliate links or the people who market them are inherently piranha-like, just that you need to do your own research before jumping on board with anything.)
- People who are mocking those that can’t afford the increase for being horrible at email marketing and in turn are offering their services at rates that are ridiculous for someone who already can’t afford an increase!
I’ve been doing a bunch of market research on lead magnets recently and unfortunately that means signing up for a considerable amount of email lists. One of these new lists sent me an email which essentially said that if I’m one of those people concerned about Kit’s rate increases, then it’s definitely my email copy that’s lacking and not converting, and for $200 PER MONTH, they will help me with that. They’re offering $200/month to someone who is concerned about an increase to $390/year from $108/year. I can’t even with this kind of poor logic right now. Needless to say, I’ve unsubscribed from them already.
Remember when I said there were no guarantees in marketing? Well, it goes both ways. No one can say for certain what isn’t working with your email marketing without even looking at it first! There are a bazillion and one reasons why your email marketing isn’t making enough money to be able to afford an increase in rates. You could have the most beautiful, well-crafted, delightful email copy and still not be converting enough to justify $390/year on an email platform.
- Maybe you’re just starting out and your subscriber list is still small.
- Maybe your lead magnet isn’t well aligned with your product.
- Maybe the market you’ve been targeting isn’t the one you should be.
- Maybe your product isn’t as good as you think it is. (Sorry! But it happens.)
- Maybe you just have one product that is only needed one time, so once someone converts, you’re not going to get any more money from them.
- Maybe your business is in an industry that email marketing doesn’t work well with.
I could keep going, but I think you get my point. Your business model isn’t inherently terrible just because email marketing or social media marketing or content marketing or whatever marketing isn’t as profitable for you as someone else thinks it should be. Don’t let these marketing piranhas eat you alive, especially if you’re still in the growing stages! It takes time to grow and scale.
Now, there are good, honest marketers out there and I’m not trying to say that those ones aren’t worth every penny they charge. I just want you to be wary of the ones who will eat you up for dinner the moment they sense that you’re in a weakened state. Don’t fall into the piranha infested waters.
All the best,
Ryanne Zender
Disclaimer: While marketing is based in part on statistics and psychology, it is not an exact science. Every business and market are unique. What may work for one business, will not necessarily work for another. There are no guarantees in marketing, and this post is for informational and educational purposes only and does not replace professional advice. You can check out the full list of disclaimers and disclosures here.
