Not for Everyone. And That’s the Point

For years, I told clients to narrow their focus, but behind the scenes, I was hedging my bets with broader messaging. That hesitation cost me visibility, clarity, and customers

For decades I told clients over and over that they needed to narrow their focus if they wanted to build an effective marketing plan. “You have to define who you’re talking to,” I would say. “You can’t market to everyone.” But while I was telling them that, I was quietly hedging my own bets.

When I rand my agency our best results, our biggest wins, and happiest clients came from that service companies. But I was always a little reluctant to fully commit. I kept the messaging broad. I wanted to leave the door open for other types of businesses … just in case.

And that hesitation had a cost. While I was being vague, others went all in. Agencies like Service America dominated the contractor market. They were the featured speakers at conferences I wasn’t even attending. Not because I didn’t have the skills or the stories, but because I hadn’t clearly staked a claim in that niche.

When I started a podcast, More than a Few Words. I told myself it was for business owners too, but if I am honest, it wasn’t. Not really.

The show was packed with marketing tips, trends, and tools. It was full of strategy talk and techy marketing conversations. It wasn’t what my clients needed to hear. It was what I wanted to talk about. It was for other marketers. My peers, my tribe, but not my customers.

When I sold the agency, I kept the podcast. I still considered it a “marketing conversations for business owners.” But the longer I’ve been on my own, the harder that label is to justify. My real audience, never was and still isn’t business owners. The content is too deep in the weeds for them, and occasionally too feminine leaning.

So it is time to stop hiding behind vague definitions and really own my audience.

More than a Few Words isn’t just a generic business podcast. It’s for marketing professionals and students. For women who are building businesses around their marketing knowledge. For those who geek out over strategy and still worry they’re missing something.

Meet Marketing Melissa

Let me introduce you to Marketing Melissa. She’s 35, has a degree in marketing, and spent the first decade of her career in corporate roles. Now she’s out on her own, coaching small businesses and startups. She’s smart. She’s scrappy. She’s got a client roster, but every now and then, she wonders if she’s in over her head.

She worries that her next campaign might flop. That her ideas aren’t fresh enough or she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. And that’s why she listens.

She wants inspiration. She wants real stories. She wants to know what works and what went wrong. Not the theory, but conversations which pull back the curtain and let her learn from the missteps, not just the wins.

So if that sounds like you, I hope you’ll subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And join the conversation here on Substack