Have you ever looked up from your desk and thought, “Is this why I built my business?”

If you're like me, you built a business to spend less – no more – time at your desk. You wanted time for your family, new business ideas and, frankly, just more time away from work.

We all go into business to create amazing and valuable offerings that transform the lives of our customers, not to spend every waking minute stuck at our desks running our businesses.

I used to listen to others digital business owners discuss their free challenges and 80 hour weeks before launch. But I didn't want to invest too much time and energy into people who hadn't paid me anything neglecting those who HAD invested in my programs.

I knew there had to be another way – an easier way that would allow me to make sales without sacrificing my health and sanity.

“Everybody's Doing It” Marketing Tactics (But You Shouldn't).

The online business world is an echo chamber of bad advice. And when whole digital marketing space convinces us that we *must* sell our program a certain way, it's easy to lose perspective.

I thought the “everyone's doing it” marketing tactics that work for the big names in the industry would work for me too: live pitching, memberships, challenges, SLOs, the whole thing. But I found out the hard way ($55k in consumer debt kinda hard) that if you haven't made a name for yourself, they're pretty sweet marketing tactics for the rest of us.

Here's what I've learned about why these methods often fail.

Direct launch is a gamble

Direct launch often seems to be the ultimate marketing strategy. But in reality, it is chaotic, dangerous and emotionally draining.

Yes, live launching *can* work and many business owners achieve their goals. The problem is that subsequent releases – in which they do exactly the same things – don't see equal success. This means that live launch is massively unpredictable, making planning and running a business almost impossible.

With your audience in the same recording period, you're essentially gambling away all of your income in one or two weeks a year. What if you get sick or a major public health crisis hits? (Covid, I'm looking at you.)

With so much driving around, it's no wonder many business owners crumble under the pressure. The emotional toll of not knowing the outcome of your startup and not having control over the future of your business is exhausting. And when you don't hit your numbers, you're left questioning the validity of your entire business — when it's most likely the method you're using to market your business that's the problem, not the business itself.

Connected: Launching a new brand? 6 ways to maximize your impact with first impressions

Evergreen fails to convert – as most people do

An evergreen offer is often positioned as an alternative to the never-ending live launch cycle, allowing you to sell your offer at any time. While this seems like an “easier” strategy, there are two main reasons why it is extremely ineffective:

1. Lack of urgency: No TIMEthere is no reason to take action.
2. education forward Selling: People are most excited when they meet you for the first time. The longer you feed them, the more that excitement goes down.

Our potential customers need our offer. We need to give them what they want when they want it and how they want it. Direct launch and evergreen discourage people from making purchases. We don't want to be road block – we want to be the solution.

So what do you do instead? These are some of the strategies that have worked for my business and may be useful for yours as well.

Capture customers in maximum excitement

People will never be more excited or motivated than when they first meet you and your offer. The key is to capitalize on that excitement and motivation by immediately giving them your most irresistible offer.

We're often told to “feed first” – otherwise, it's like proposing to a stranger. But here's the thing: our customers came in looking for one solution. It's not like proposing in everything!

If customers have to go through a series of emails, watch multiple videos, or participate in a multi-day challenge before they have any chance to buy, their excitement will decrease. Instead, you can sell AND feed it simultaneously, focusing on your most compelling offer to maximize sales before their motivation wanes.

Connected: You have 8 seconds to get a customer's attention. Here's what needs to be done.

Give customers deadlines

People are not forced to buy when they can get something “anytime”. They are motivated to act when they have a deadline. There is a very clear, strategic reason why sales and promotions have end dates – urgency tends INCREASES conversions.

Plus, giving a deadline, you are helping your customers prioritize your offer or product. And, therefore, making your offer a priority means they are themselves a priority.

But you have to use it true deadlines. We've all gotten those “Extended Sale!” email after a “limited time” offer. Using fake deadlines like this will only damage your reputation and erode the trust of your audience.

Build confidence with breakthroughs

Many digital marketers encourage us to learn like crazy, running webinars and challenges so that potential customers win and want to buy more. But learning does NO lead to purchase.

Sharing breakthroughs that change the way your audience thinks and offer hope where they previously suffered builds trust. For example, you can show how your financial planning service can turn financial stress into money confidence. Demonstrating how your solution revolutionizes a fundamental aspect of their lives makes people clamor to hear more—and ultimately buy—from you.

If you've been following traditional marketing tactics without success, it's not your fault! This is what we have been said to do. The good news is that you can free yourself from the stress and limitations of outdated approaches like live and evergreen launch.

When you stop following the next great marketing tactic “everyone is doing” and get into the tactics that JOBS ABOUT YOUR business, then you will experience your greatest business breakthroughs.