Strategies to Make Solopreneur Marketing Easier
Your marketing efforts need a system.
You know you should be marketing yourself and your business. So why does it keep sliding to the bottom of your to-do list, week after week?
When you're a solopreneur running everything yourself, marketing is often the first thing to go. Clients have deadlines, after all. Marketing doesn’t… until you realize you haven't promoted your business in three months and your pipeline has dried up.
Cue panic.
I'm incredibly consistent about marketing my solo business. If I waited until I "needed" marketing efforts, then it's a game of catch-up.
What makes that possible among everything else I have going on is a system — building processes once and then running them on a schedule. That way, marketing isn’t dependent on how motivated I’m feeling when I sit down at my computer on a Tuesday.
Why marketing feels harder than it should
Every other part of your business has a trigger. A project wraps up, so you invoice. When a client signs a contract, you create a new folder on your Google Drive.
Marketing has no trigger. It only happens when you decide to make it happen.
According to small business marketing research from Constant Contact, 52% of small business owners routinely put off marketing tasks. It seems like creative work that can only happen when you’re in the right mood. And after you’re done with client deliverables, you may not have any creative juice left.
So marketing happens in bursts. When business slows down, you post for a couple of weeks, and when client work picks up again, you stop. Every restart means you have to regain momentum, which is exactly what makes marketing feel harder than it needs to be.
How to turn marketing into a repeatable system
The shift is to treat marketing like any other business function: something with a defined process and time set aside on your calendar.
Each tip below takes one decision off your plate. (And if you're already doing some of this and it still feels like a slog, your process might be too manual.)
Focus your efforts on one channel
Clients have to know you exist, which typically means posting on a social channel. But resist the urge to be everywhere. Pick the one place your audience already spends time — LinkedIn if your clients are businesses, Instagram if your work is visual — and put your effort there.
One channel done consistently will outperform four channels done sporadically. Spreading yourself thin is also the fastest route to burnout and creating content you don’t even like (and readers can tell).
Create a repeatable content format
A format means you're never starting from a blank page. It can be simple: a weekly tip, a behind-the-scenes look at how you built something, or a recurring section in your newsletter.
The format removes the friction and the frustration. You're filling in a structure instead of inventing something from scratch each time. It also makes marketing easier to knock out, since you’ll spend less time “thinking” about what you need to create.
I have a rotation of seven different formats I use for LinkedIn. It keeps my content varied, while also making it easy for me to come up with posts.
Also, a lot of my content comes from my recent blog posts. I turn the long-form format into social posts. That way, when I’m writing social posts, I have a specific source to reference. You can also use transcripts from calls or comments you’ve left on social media as inspiration.
Batch and schedule everything
Block time for marketing the way you'd block time for a client project. Then create in batches — several posts in one sitting — and use a scheduling tool to publish them across the week. I use Buffer [affiliate link].*
Creating content in batches turns marketing from a daily into a weekly (or even monthly) task.
Anna Burgess Yang
Keep up with platform changes
A system doesn't mean you set it up and never look at it again. Platforms add new features regularly, and the accounts that try them early tend to get more reach.
Algorithms shift too, and you have to play by the rules of the place you've chosen to show up.
If I gave up every time the algorithm changed, I would have quit sharing content a long time ago. Instead, I kept showing up, believing that what I share is valuable and that I'll be able to connect with the right audience.
I’ve been posting on LinkedIn for a long time, and know that the platform de-prioritizes external links (like to my blog posts). To get around this, I launched a LinkedIn newsletter — because I assumed the platform would give more attention to its own feature. And I was right.
Track what actually matters
Keeping up with platform changes also means knowing which algorithm shifts and new features are worth reacting to. You might experiment, but you only know if you’re successful if you measure the results.
Pick two to four numbers that connect to a real business goal — like email subscribers, inbound inquiries, or website visits.
Review them monthly rather than weekly or daily. Checking stats too often is just noise. Realistically, you should only make a shift every three months because you’ve got to give your tactics time to work. Compare this month to last month, and if you’re not seeing results after 90 days, then you can consider a different approach.
I've got Claude pulling some numbers for me. Not all are accessible, but what I can, I get Claude to do. Then I just review a dashboard I’ve created in Notion [affiliate link].*
The next step beyond social media
Here’s the thing: social media should have a goal of leading people somewhere else. It’s a discovery platform only. You’ve got to get people off of social and onto a platform where you can have more direct, meaningful communication with the audience.
That means you have to ask yourself, what comes next? Where do people go after they’ve found me? The answer depends on your goals and what you want the audience to buy from you.
- Email marketing: The only audience you truly own, because you can reach the audience at any time. You can speak to the audience directly instead of hoping an algorithm works in your favor.
- Content marketing: Write for your blog and go more in depth than you write in a social post. Pulls double duty, because you can also optimize for search.
- Podcast: Show off your expertise and personality to potential clients. Just make sure you mention how they can reach you (a link in the show notes).
- Direct Call-to-Action: If you want clients to reach out to talk to you, your CTA in social posts should be to send you a DM or visit your website. This works best for 1:1 services, like coaching.
With the exception of direct CTA, all of these require you to create additional, long-form content. Aim for two per month, but work your way up to weekly.
Once you have a rhythm, you start with long-form and then turn it into short form (social). That way you’re creating one long-form piece of content every week and repurposing it to social is a breeze.
Find a sustainable cadence
Part of building a sustainable business is investing time and money into systems and tools. Fly-by-the-seat-of-one's-pants doesn't work — a business can't grow that way.
The best time to build this is when you don't need it. A marketing system put together when your pipeline is empty is an emergency response, not a thoughtful plan.
Marketing is an essential part of building a sustainable business. Build your systems now; don’t put it off any more.
A checklist of repurposing ideas,
using everything from transcripts to carousels to videos.
FAQs
What is the most effective marketing strategy for solopreneurs?
Email marketing is one of the higheset-value tactics, because it builds an audience you own rather than tying you to a socal platform. The best strategy depends on where your clients spend time — pick one channel and show up consistently, driving people to your email list.
How much time should a solopreneur spend on marketing each week?
Most solopreneurs have very little time to give marketing, and that's fine. One to two focused hours per week, batched into a single session, is enough if you have a repeatable process in place. Start by being consistent, rather than producing a high volume of content.
How do I market my business with no budget?
Most solopreneurs don't need to spend money on marketing. All you need is time. Start with free channels like LinkedIn and email, since many email platforms offer free tiers for small lists. Focus on sharing what you already know from doing the work. Once your tactics start working, you can invest in tools like email automation to make your work easier.
Should solopreneurs use AI for marketing?
AI tools are useful for drafting content, brainstorming ideas, and repurposing material you've already published. They save real time on the production side. The strategy and the personal perspective still have to come from you.
How do I stay consistent with marketing when I'm busy with client work?
Batch your marketing into one time block per week instead of trying to do something daily. Use a scheduling tool so content publishes even when you're heads-down on a client project.
