The key standing out as a marketing consultant is specificity.

If you focus too broadly either in who you're for or what you promise, you'll blend in with the rest of the world.

I prefer to make one specific promise to one specific market segment and focus everything I have on that outcome.

For me, I help marketing consultants build a more profitable business. That's the core mission.

This singular focus informs the content I create, how I show up, and even the products and services I offer.

I also tailor my content and messaging specifically for this audience. Not freelancers, not agency owners—consultants.

The marketing consultant is the bullseye for everything I do.

But guess what? The subscribers of my email list and members of the Mindshare community include freelancers, agency owners, and consultants.

And that's a good thing.

Just because I lead with one promise for one sub-market doesn't mean I can't work with others or have extended promises.

I just don't lead with that.

Picking a narrow lane helps you get noticed and allows you to go deep on the nuances of the core problem you solve.

As Blair Enns says, "the target is not the market".

Find your specific promise for a specific audience and watch your business expand beyond your expectations.

You will still do more than you promise, and that's okay.

Full post:

Seth Godin wrote a post last week that resonated with me.

I’ll copy it below in it’s entirety because it’s short:

Very few things scale forever.

The hardest moment to stop scaling our work is the moment when it’s working the best.

And that’s precisely the moment when we need to have the guts to stop making it bigger.

The business world seems to be focused on scale and growth at all costs.

But in my experience, marketing professionals who pursue it without a throttle often find themselves doing shoddy work for unpleasant clients at low margins.

So what if you could have a highly effective, profitable, and small business?

I believe you can.

In fact, I think it’s the better way to operate a marketing practice.

Distribute your free content widely and sell your products at scale. But keep your services limited.

You’ll likely sell more easily (due to inherent scarcity), at higher prices, for more loyal clients, while delivering even better results because your focus is not watered down.

It’s also a lot less stress.

One of the bigger red flags I see during sales discussions is a need for immediate results. Usually financial ones.

If your prospects need results yesterday, it’s usually a good idea to either reset expectations or turn them away.

Don’t be the miracle worker or the firefighter. Save that work for people who don’t have a choice. It rarely results in a positive outcome for anyone.

Instead, be the farmer who plans crops years in advance and nurtures them consistently over time until they reliably bear produce each year.

Sure, you might be able to get some quick wins early in your engagement—and it’s a good idea to try—but quick wins don’t build a business.

Do things the right way. Do things that take time.

It all starts with the upfront expectations.