I’m a content creator. A storyteller. I constantly circulate in story ideas as I digest research for an article to see what it all means and how it will fit together. However, it can be hard to stop that story cycle in order to make space for telling my audience what they can buy from my business.
While I market other companies for a living, and train people like you in how to do it, it’s easy to forget to market my own.
What Marketing Wrench Do I Use?
The marketing wrench is needed to throw into the wheels of the day to day - no matter how creatively enjoyable - to stop them in order to think of how to market your own business. What marketing wrench do I use? For inspiration and a nudge, I look to salon owner, Audrina Clyde who opened Ladi Jai Luxury Hair and Beauty Salon in Grayson, Georgia.
Both her business Instagram and her personal Instagram.
For my situation, what I sell is content. Words. Pictures. Stories. Ideas. For Audrina, she sells tangible things. Hair styling. Color. Braiding. Cuts. If I’m constantly researching, writing and publishing articles, I need to stop sometimes to show and tell people how to buy advertising or my content production services. To throw the wrench to stop the wheels, I check in on how Audrina is doing it. I put myself behind the chair (a salon term), and let the market wheels turn.
Audrina is constantly showcasing her work - the hair of her clients. She includes the mood. The vibe of how her clients feel after they leave her chair.
Audrina let’s you know when there is an opening. She reminds you to book before a holiday. Audrina is tapped in to her client base. She is leading them to where she needs them to buy.
If you’re a creative, your comfort zone may be circulating in your ideas and then finishing those ideas. Luckily for a salon owner, they have to be out there, in the world with other people, to show up and put out. They need people to walk through the door.
Getting the money is very clear for a salon owner: you have a salon, which pays rent, and you need clients to book their times in your chair. You get the money, you pay the rent. You hire employees, or other stylists who are renting chairs, and you get the money, pay the rent, pay yourself to pay your house rent or mortgage, all your bills, all your bills for your kids, and then some profit for your savings, for your future self in retirement, and for your present self for your own hair upkeep, etc.
Once thought of in this formula , marketing becomes much easier.
When Audrina first opened Ladi Jai, she threw herself a red carpet ribbon cutting. She called the local Chamber, and everyone got dressed.
Audrina used to be my neighbor in Beacon, NY, where I live. Then, after years of waiting in the wings until I broke up with my stylist (a good breakup, just needed a new thing), Audrina became my stylist. I’ve watched her blossom and now command her marketing moves.
Audrina is a gifted colorist. A solid hustler.
Here’s the short list of how she spins it on her personal and professional Instagrams:
Book your spot now.
Showing off her work: client’s hair.
Announcing when she’s hiring.
Motivational quotes. Audrina is FIRE with pushing people ahead and to keep going.
She’s always taking people through the salon. Showing them what they can expect. How they will feel in Lady Jai.
She’s constantly thinking of new ideas, and executing them. Key to any business owner is to turn that idea into action. Audrina does that. And then she tells you about it.
Need a bump into the direction of action? Join Tin Shingle’s Community and start tossing around you ideas. Our weekly TuneUps or Editorial Meetings will be your space to hold you accountable. Need specialized help? Book a Private Training Session, or upgrade your membership for regular access as needed.
