Here I’ll break down some common marketing goals into actionable steps, to help make it easier for you to accomplish your goals. Marketing is essential to every business, but it can look vastly different.

I will update this page with more goals after they have been featured in the Sunburst Success newsletter. If you’d like to request a specific marketing goal to be broken down, please subscribe to the newsletter and email me.

Goal: Create a website to attract clients

A website is one of the easiest ways to display what you do, who you work for, and how you do it. Even if you don’t have the time to commit to a blog, a so-called “business card website” can still help potential clients find and contact you.

Whether you want a simple one-page website or something bigger, here are some actions you could take to complete this goal:

• Create a plan (eg. a mind map, a list, a mock-up) of what you want your website to look like or include
  • Look at competitor websites to see what other people include and common themes in your industry
  • Find some websites you can take inspiration from
• Find a website builder that works for you
  • Common options in the UK include Squarespace, WordPress Hosting (via IONOS), and Wix
• Decide on a domain name (your URL) and check its availability
• Buy a domain name and hosting plan
• Create your website or hire a web designer to create it for you
• Write all of the copy you need, such as home page, about you, service or product descriptions
• Create or write a Privacy Policy (the ICO have a useful tool for creating your own privacy notice)
• Make sure everything is published and available online

At the minimum, you now have an online presence! It will take time for it to appear on search engines, and you’ll still need to do more to make it findable to potential clients. But you can still share the link when people ask, include the link in your email signature, and add a link to your social media profiles.

Goal: Be active on at least one social media platform

Social media marketing is another common aspect of marketing that business owners prioritise. This goal assumes that you haven’t got an active presence anywhere yet, though you may have set up profiles for your business.

To start being active on social media, try these steps:

• Research which social media platform(s) are best for you and your business
  • Consider what kind of content you want to make as well as what kind of content best represents what you’re selling. Anything visual could work with photos or videos, while anything textual could work with regular posts or articles
  • Think about who you’re selling to and what content is going to convince them to buy from you
• Pick one or two social media platforms you like and follow/connect with similar and/or local businesses
• Look at what others, especially competitors, are posting that you could also share or create
• Decide how often you can post to each social media platform
  • You could pick a specific day for marketing tasks, or schedule a month’s worth of posts at the beginning of each month
  • Don’t forget to include when you can spend time replying to comments or other people’s posts

There are plenty of resources online about social media marketing. If you have the budget, it might be worth talking to a marketing consultant or hiring a social media manager who can do the posts for you. One example is Vibrant Content, a friend of mine who posts marketing tips and works as a social media marketer.