I like minimalism in lots of areas of my life from music to material possessions. There’s something about paring something back to its essence that makes it both useful and attractive.   So it is with marketing. There have never been more ways to promote your firm. Yet are firms doing better marketing? I’d argue that too much choice is a bad thing and that taking a minimalist approach to marketing would better serve many firms. So this week’s bulletin is dedicated to no-frills marketing.  

1. The write stuff

Professional copywriters extol the virtues of long copy. But if you’re not a seasoned writer, less is always more when it comes to marketing. Doubly so if you’re writing for digital media.   Ruthlessly edit your copy, removing adverbs and adjectives. Trim out redundancy and use short words in place of long words.   A great guide is the BBC website. See how much their writers pack into tiny headlines and short blurbs.  

2. Simple site

Most accounting websites have too much on them. Most business owners don’t know what they don’t know. It’s pointless serving them up pages of services when they want you to tell them what they need.   Home, About, Services, Blog, Contact is a totally acceptable site map.  

3. Be real

Your marketing needn’t be polished. I’m a big fan of adding “realness” to marketing.   For example, offer a useful spreadsheet as a download or share the actual template you use for business planning.   People respond to real things that don’t feel like marketing. Being “on brand” all the time is very 1990s.  

4. Hedgehog marketing

In the classic book Good to Great, Jim Collins reveals the parable of the Hedgehog and the Fox. A cunning fox uses many tricks to try and attack a hedgehog which relies on its singular skill of curling into a spiny ball.   “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”   The hedgehog wins and you can be a marketing minimalist by applying the same logic.   Stick with a handful of tactics that work for you. Don’t get distracted by shiny new things, of which there is an endless supply when it comes to marketing.  

5. Do nothing

I saved the most minimal tactic of all until last: do nothing.   Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you do, your marketing will generate little to no results. Perhaps it’s school holiday time or your target market is seasonal. Marketing during these periods is, at best, ineffective. At worst it’s annoying.   I always preach consistency in marketing but that doesn’t mean full-on all time. If you’ve nothing to say or it’s not the right time, doing nothing can be the best strategy.   6. Get a branded brochure for your firm

• Professionally written
• Designed for you
• Digital and print versions
• Low price
• Editable - make changes later

Taken from Bizink's CEO, Matt Wilkinson's email newsletter, the Bizink Bulletin.