Small Biz 101 Podcast · Connie Whitesell - Business Planner, Strategist, Coach

Strategic Steps to Marketing Success - SB025

·31 min·2 clips

Christy says LinkedIn and social media can disappear, but an email list is something you own.

1. Small Biz 101 Podcast SB025 centers on strategic marketing choices for small business owners who feel pulled in too many directions. 2. Connie Weissel hosts, and marketing strategist Christy Mitchell is the guest because she advises clients on marketing strategy, consulting, and fractional CMO work. 3. The episode asks what solo business owners should prioritize when marketing feels overwhelming, and Christy’s answer is to use strategy instead of “throwing spaghetti at the wall.” 4. Christy says her business shifted after she left a corporate role five years ago and later realized she preferred strategy and planning over execution work. 5. She describes herself as a marketing generalist who had offered social media, email writing, website updates, content strategy, and other services before narrowing her focus. 6. The pandemic cost her most of her clients, which pushed her to rethink her business and move into consulting and mentoring. 7. Her core framework is a four-step marketing funnel: attract, convert, nurture, and close the deal. 8. She says this framework helps clients see where their marketing is strong and where they have a gap, especially in the middle of the funnel. 9. Christy says many small business owners focus on top-of-funnel visibility but do not build enough systems to bring people in and stay in touch with them. 10. She repeatedly points to email marketing as a key owned channel because social media platforms can be hacked, suspended, or otherwise taken away. 11. She says she did not start her own email list until year two or three of her business, and she treats that as a mistake with real consequences. 12. One tactic she recommends is adding an opt-in question to coffee-chat or networking booking forms, and she says nine out of 10 people say yes in her experience. 13. She also suggests exporting existing contacts and asking permission to add them to a list, which she frames as a compliance-friendly way to start from zero. 14. For lead magnets, she recommends starting with the audience’s pain points and creating something that solves a real problem rather than making more noise. 15. She says a quiz can work, but not as a first lead magnet, because quizzes take too much time and thought for someone starting from nothing. 16. Her examples of usable lead magnets include guides, checklists, Excel tools, blog subscriptions, LinkedIn posts, and a masterclass or webinar with a registration form. 17. She says LinkedIn works best when the profile is current, the feed is curated, and the user comments instead of only posting. 18. She warns against “posting and ghosting,” saying LinkedIn rewards community building and responses to comments. 19. People building a service business or solo practice would get the most from this episode. 20. People looking for broad theory without practical tactics may skip it.

As heard by us

Practical marketing advice for small-business owners who want a clearer next step.

Connie Weissel frames this as a practical marketing reset for small-business owners who need to decide where limited time should go. The conversation stays focused on the questions that matter most at an operator's desk: how to grow an email list, what makes a lead magnet worth…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a clearer way to use limited marketing time and grow your email list without guessing.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Small Biz 101 Podcast