5 unconventional ways to level up your marketing

When it comes to marketing your business and sharing your creativity, there’s a lot of advice out there. Today I want to share five unconventional tips that you might not have considered before to step things up a level.

These days, marketing is about content and connection: sharing ideas and inspiration with people who feel the same way and like what you’re about, plus – of course – sharing those for-sale creations you’ve made.

So there’s a whole load of content to create, photographs to take, videos to play with, captions to write. There can be a lot to learn about making a content plan, figuring out your key messages, and figuring out hashtags and scheduling apps.

It’s a lot of action to take, right?

Well, what would you say if I told you that successful marketing is about 80% mindset and energy?

I know. It’s a lot.

Even before you start creating and taking all that action, having your head and heart lined up and your energy in a good place can make alllllll the difference.

So today I’m not sharing tips for creating killer content or hacks for hastags or Reels.

Instead, my unconventional wisdom is to upgrade your marketing energy.

How do we do that? Well, we need to tap into the power of your chakra system and combine the physical, emotional, and psychological energy you’re bringing to the table.

To transform your marketing energy, I recommend focusing on your throat chakra – that’s the area near your vocal chords, but also links to your shoulders, jaw, nose and ears.

This chakra represents (in Western modern and Jungian interpretations) our ability to express ourselves and our ability to receive (it’s where we swallow and absorb nutrients) – which are deeply related to marketing our businesses.

You throat chakra might be out of alignment, overworked or underworked. If that’s the case, you might find yourself with a lump in your throat when you think about your business or a specific project, or you might be prone to sore throats, colds and coughs. You might find that you hold a lot of tension in your jaw or your shoulders – holding things in, or tensing up against potential threats. You might even find you have more dental issues!

These are all ways your subconscious mind manifests your mental blocks in your body, and vice versa.

When you’re not blocked, you’ll find you’re able to express yourself easily, through words, actions and creativity. You’ll find yourself wanting to share your ideas and inspiration! You’ll also find it easier to receive good things, whether that’s sales, money, compliments, good feedback, good news, and good ideas.

So how can we realign your throat chakra, clear those unhelpful thoughts, and improve your marketing energy?

1. Pay attention to your throat chakra

Notice, right now, how you’re feeling in that area of your body. Does it feel tight, over-stretched, blocked? Or are you feeling fairly comfortable and able to receive?

You might find that certain activities have you tensing your jaw more than others – spot where you might need more support.

2. Drink hot lemon (and honey)

This home remedy for sore throats is also a great first step in caring for your throat chakra. Grab some lemons and start each day with a healing and opening drink of hot lemon juice in hot water. (I use half a lemon for an average mug.)

If you’re in need of soothing, or are struggling to receive, add a little honey. It’ll heal any raspy voices and ease those good vibes.

3. Play some chakra-healing music

Yogic traditions typically have chants to instill specific qualities in the different chakras. There are also powerful practices in using healing bowl music to do the same. When I’m feeling stuck or tense in my throat, I use healing music designed specifically for the throat chakra on the Insight Timer app. It’s easy to put on in the background while I’m working, or while I’m relaxing or falling asleep.

4. Use chakra-opening essential oils

Spearmint, chamomile, and even eucalyptus are great essential oils to use when you’re feeling stuck in your marketing. You can pop them in a diffuser with water or a base oil, use them in a spray, or use a roll-on like this one by Eve & Keel on your pulse points. I like to put it on my wrists and behind my ears. Don’t forget to breathe deeply!

5. Choose a mantra or affirmation, and say it aloud

Having a positive mantra or affirmation can help to re-program your subconscious thoughts and beliefs, and instills a new belief instead. I recommend choosing one and using it daily for a week or two. Pop it somewhere you can see it, and, crucially, say it out loud. Ultimately, you shift your throat chakra energy when you speak truth, so actually saying your affirmation to yourself will help you to practice sharing positive things and receiving positivity in return.

Try: Marketing my business is creative, fun, and offers endless opportunities for success.

You could also sing, dance, shake off your blocks, double down on your flossing habit, practice yoga, and meditate to help realign your chakras and shift your energy.

Okay, I told you this was going to be unconventional…

Nothing removes the need for content creation and putting in some work to marketing your business (and you might like my 30 Email Subject Lines cheat sheet to get going with email marketing). But clearing out unconscious energy and old beliefs can really get things moving!

What do you think? Is there anything you think you might try?

How to make better business decisions by balancing head and heart

I’m a big believer in balancing our heads and hearts as business owners, founders, and creatives. Building a business requires savvy decisions, smart strategy, and ongoing education, but building a business that’s right for you and aligns with the life you really want — that’s all heart, and maybe some soul too.

So as a small business owner, whether you’re a one-woman-band solopreneur or creative founder with a fantastic team supporting you, how do you engage both your whip-smart head and your super-strong heart?

Before I share three things that will help you use both, let me explain a bit about what happens when you’re out of balance.

Too headstrong (and not in a good way)

If you’re in your head too much, you probably experience some or all of these things:

  • You overthink everything
  • You get caught up in what other people are thinking or doing
  • You spend ages making decisions, even for small things
  • Or you make quick decisions, without really considering whether it’s the right option for you
  • You’re ticking all the boxes of what you “should” be doing, but you’re not seeing the results or feeling the satisfaction
  • You create new products and new marketing content regularly, but it doesn’t seem to connect with your customer base
  • You’ve reached a turnover or income plateau and don’t seem to be able to break through it

Our brains are really clever. Like, better-than-your-computer clever. But they also get stuck in problem-solving and worrying mode really easily. Unchecked, our heads are too logical (think Mr Spock in Star Trek) and have a tendency to lead us down paths that “make sense” but don’t feel good.

Too much heart

If you’re in your heart too much, there are some things you might experience:

  • You have no idea what you made last month, quarter, or year
  • You have lots of creative ideas, but not so much follow through
  • You find yourself doing a lot of tasks manually when they could be automated
  • You get caught out by unexpected bills you could have anticipated
  • Even though you have a team, you end up doing too much yourself because you aren’t managing the people or the work effectively
  • You spend a lot on pretty things or fun-sounding education, but you don’t see an ROI
  • You often under-price your products and services, or offer discounts
  • You LOVE to go with the flow, but important tasks get neglected until they’re really urgent (I see you, tax return avoiders)

Our hearts are our pathfinders. They’re the creative epicentre of our lives and businesses. All things considered, I believe our hearts and souls are the best bosses. But without the wisdom and savvy of our minds, they can get a bit floaty, a bit ungrounded, and kind of exhausted.

In balance

When our heads and hearts are in balance, we’re in flow. We’ve got the gorgeous creative direction, the vision, and the unique creativity that we’re here to share. Plus we’ve got structure and systems that help us to stay creative – and stay in business.

You might find that you nodded your head to some things on the head list AND some things on the heart list. That’s not unusual. It means that you’re giving your heart some of the head’s jobs and vice versa. Balance means you’re strong and healthy in both areas.

Balance is a verb rather than a noun – it’s something we practice rather than something we achieve.

So how can we practice balance between head and heart more?

  1. Give your brain information

Because our brains are super-computers, they thrive when they have accurate data to play with. When we give our brains information, it filters into our unconscious, giving our “gut” (aka subconscious / heart / soul) more powerful responses.

In practice, this means reviewing your sales figures regularly (I’d say once a month), understanding what your bestsellers are, checking your most popular search terms or website pages, and checking how customers actually reach your website. There might be other pieces of data you want to feed your brain, but these are some good starting points.

  1. Let your heart do the talking

Once your brain has data, it will filter it through to your heart. Which means we can fully trust our hearts to be the strongest compass for our decisions and our direction.

If something looks right but feels wrong, that’s your brain doing the talking. If something looks weird but feels really right, that’s your heart and soul shining through. 

  1. Hire your brain as your heart’s VA

Ever fancy getting a virtual assistant to get things done? Your brain is a really, really good VA. When you let your heart set the agenda, figuring out your vision and where you want to go, you can then plug in your brain to do that tippity top problem-solving it’s so good at.

Your head can check out the numbers on that new product you’ve designed to make sure they add up. Or perhaps you set your head the task of creating a nice smooth process for your order management so that your heart has space to create and dream and feel passionate about what you’re doing.

Whatever you do, don’t let your heart do your mind’s job – or vice versa.

So, are you more head or more heart? What can you do to regain some balance and make wiser business decisions?

Jenny x

PS If you’d like to learn how to feed your brain good data and then let your heart lead, this free workshop is for you.

optin-cup

Enter The Forge

Life's too damn short to chase someone else's definition of success. I'm here to give you the courage and tools to forge your own path.