Everyone's looking for a good story.
A good story to tell, share, and read. This has certainly been true for myself as I've gotten my business busier.
Over the past two years, I had a few media hits that have given me many leads, which has led to incredible business opportunities. These articles live in the places my primary customer looks for my services (Google). What a contrast of twiddling my thumbs with internal work starting out VS being so busy I hardly have time for internal work now!
I've gotten my name on as many platforms as possible: Relevant Radio, the Catholic Spirit, business directories, my own website, and more. These endeavors improved my SEO and credibility tremendously. When a potential client Googles "Catholic Graphic Designer," a Catholic Spirit article is one of the first results, which leads them to my website, which leads them to my blog, which leads them to contacting me, which leads to PAID opportunities, WHOLESOME people, and LIFE GIVING projects.
I couldn't recommend enough reaching out to channels your ideal customer will find your story and simply share it. Publishing companies are constantly looking for a story to tell. Relevant Radio and the Catholic Spirit reached out to me.
Your story might be more remarkable than you think.
I suppose I’m simply experiencing and realizing the magic of effective marketing. However, the cherry on top is that these experiences were fun for me! I’m not slapping my logo on the back of a bulletin or a highway billboard, spending hundreds of dollars. I’m doing what I love: Catholic Graphic Design, writing amateur blogs, and sharing my story. I haven’t paid a cent to do these things. In fact, I’m being paid for it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you feel called to launch a dream... Do it!! It's better to try and fail than to never try at all. Who knows? Someone might delight in hearing whatever your story is in a few years.
Here are the articles that are giving me the most traffic. Both over a year old and only took me 5 hours total to produce:
My personal blog
March 2021
The Catholic Spirit
September 2021
Photo credit: Lens Go Wander