What's your next marketing move?

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Quiz Questions

1.
Which statement best describes how you feel about marketing right now?

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- A.
  
  I hate marketing.
- B.
  
  Marketing feels like it takes a lot of time without a lot of payoff.
- C.
  
  I don't mind marketing, but I often feel uncertain if I'm doing the right things.
- D.
  
  I have so many ideas that it's hard to prioritize which marketing activities should come first.
- E.
  
  I'm good at marketing but sometimes my leads can't afford my services/products.
- F.
  
  I'm been very successful at marketing, and I want to be even better.
2.
How does your audience respond to your marketing?
- A.
  
  They can't wait to buy! My people love what I offer.
- B.
  
  I spend a lot of time answering questions, but they often buy from me.
- C.
  
  My audience says they love what I do but rarely make a purchase.
- D.
  
  My audience is focused on my portfolio, not my message.
- E.
  
  Honestly, I don't really have an audience—reaching the right people is hard.
3.
Do you have a framework or model you use for marketing and service/offer development?
- A.
  
  What's a framework?
- B.
  
  Yes, but our business has changed a lot since it was developed.
- C.
  
  Yes, and I use it, but not all the time.
- D.
  
  I have a framework but I haven't evaluated my business model and services since I developed it.
- E.
  
  Yes, and everything I do flows from the framework.
- F.
  
  I have a framework or model but it's in my head.
4.
What kind of content do you create for your business?
- A.
  
  We follow a strategic marketing plan and have several themes we use for blogs, newsletters, and social media.
- B.
  
  We create content on one or two platforms, but don't have a content marketing plan that we follow.
- C.
  
  I'm great at one platform but haven't figured out how to translate that to evergreen marketing.
- D.
  
  Real talk? I follow the post and pray school of thought.
5.
Let's talk clients! Can you define the transformation you help create for your clients?
- A.
  
  I think I am but get distracted by “shiny objects” and am still tinkering—I keep getting in my own way.
- B.
  
  Both my clients and I are on the same page about the transformation—my testimonials speak for themselves.
- C.
  
  I often feel like I'm reinventing the wheel with each client.
- D.
  
  My reviews and testimonials speak for themselves.
6.
Do you have strong business foundations?
- A.
  
  I have a written mission, vision, and values statement—and I share it publicly.
- B.
  
  I have a written mission, vision, and values statement—but I don't share it.
- C.
  
  I can talk about my mission, vision, and values—but I've not written it down or shared it publicly.
- D.
  
  I haven't thought about this much—it feels like one more thing for the to-do list.
7.
Let's think about your content some more. Check all of the descriptions that sound like you.

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- A.
  
  I have a documented catalog of our past content.
- B.
  
  I have a system for reusing my content.
- C.
  
  I don't have any content to catalog.
- D.
  
  I create something new every time I post, send a newsletter, or make a video.
- E.
  
  I know what I have but it's not organized.
- F.
  
  I know my general themes but I haven't organized my content to match them.
- G.
  
  I've organized my content into 3-5 core themes.
8.
How successful are your current services/offers?

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- A.
  
  I love everything about them and they're quite profitable.
- B.
  
  I like what I do but sometimes it's not as profitable as I'd like.
- C.
  
  I create new services for each client.
- D.
  
  My services/offers are dialed in and my next step is training my team to help in delivery.
- E.
  
  I'm constantly creating new things, trying to figure out what works.
9.
How do you get new clients/customers?

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- A.
  
  My business is referral based.
- B.
  
  I regularly get organic leads.
- C.
  
  I bid on RFPs.
- D.
  
  I leverage advertising.
- E.
  
  Uhhhh... I'm not sure.
10.
What's your biggest challenge right now?

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- A.
  
  Growing my revenue.
- B.
  
  Reaching a bigger audience.
- C.
  
  Making a pivot.
- D.
  
  Reducing stress in my work.
- E.
  
  Eliminating "scope creep" in my projects.
- F.
  
  Finding perfect fit clients.
11.
We find that many industries face the same challenges—what do you identify as? (You can pick more than one!)

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- A.
  
  I'm a consultant to small businesses or corporations.
- B.
  
  I coach individuals or executives.
- C.
  
  I'm a professional service provider like an attorney, financial advisor, or accountant.
- D.
  
  I'm a creative such as a designer, writer, or illustrator.
- E.
  
  I'm a health care provider (physician/nurse practitioner/licensed therapist/etc).
- F.
  
  I am an alternative health/wellness provider (acupuncturist, massage therapist, ND, etc)/.
- G.
  
  I'm a fellow marketing/communications pro.

Quiz Outcomes

1.

Define the Destination

It's time to get laser focused on outcomes, not outputs. This step is all about defining exactly how you help your audience make progress.We often see clients ready for this step once they've had some success or following a business pivot, especially if they're freelancers or solo consultants—but sometimes more established businesses need to step back and work through this as well.Your first step is codifying your business framework. Think of this as the model that drives everything you do from service delivery to content marketing. Ours looks like this:🌟 3 Tips for Developing Your Framework 🌟1. Conduct a SWOT analysis.What's working, what's not. Create a four-square grid that gives you a clear-eyed look at what's working and what's not. S: StrengthsW: WeaknessesO: Opportunities:T: ThreatsWe have a great template that you can use as well. Snag that here.This is a great way to examine your business' "state of the union" prior to creating your framework. Many of our clients find that they can remove work that's not longer serving them and fine-tune so they are focused on exactly what matters.2. Explore the different types of models and find one that feels good to you.You are the same as everyone else and your framework shouldn't be either. We believe that models are useful tools, not dogma, so explore a few and see what matches your business and approach.For inspiration, read my article about four useful frameworks that we use with our clients.3. Talk to past clients and ask them what the biggest impact your work together was—the answer may surprise you.Listen, really listen, to what your clients say about your work together. What was the biggest takeaway they had? Their answers may surprise you. Believe it or not, we use to believe that our biggest impact was in the work we produced and the ease and revenue that work created. Then we started paying close attention to what our clients told us, and we realized that the transformation was far bigger than that. It changed how people felt, it changed the way they viewed their audience, and it changed what they believed was possible. In short, it built their authority, inside and out. 👉 Looking for some marketing wins? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Design your framework with me! Our Spark Sessions program was developed for our clients who need an expert strategist by their side while developing their frameworks. Six weeks and three 1:1 working sessions together focused on what really matters is all it takes. Get started right here.Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.
2.

Pinpoint Perspective

You’re ready to step into your role as a thought leader! You—yes, you—are a thought leader, so let's prove it to the world.You are probably admired by your peers and contribute for more to your clients' successes than you know. This is scary, I know—don't let all those feelings hold you back, however. This is all part of clarifying the foundations of your business.🌟 3 Keys to Pinpointing Perspective 🌟1. Determine your core values. What you stand for and what you're against (aka your values) are the backbone of your thought leadership. When our clients need to clarify their values, we do a simple exercise together: Get a blank sheet of paper and your favorite pen. One one side, right down all the things you stand for—what are your non-negotiables?On the other side, write down all the things you're against, the stuff in your industry and world that made you really mad and you'd love to change. Set that aside for at least 24 hours.Come back to it, and circle all the elements that stand out to you. 5-7 of the most important, most aligned elements should be developed into your values. 2. Ensure your framework or model are updated and reflect you and your business.The why and how behind your business is essential to be able to leverage your marketing to its fullest and have big impact. If it's been awhile since you've explored your framework, or you've never really formalized it, now is the time! To learn more about marketing models and how to use them in your business, read my article all about marketing frameworks.3. Start collecting stories, stats, and successes to prove your credibility.Audiences today are savvy and need to know that you're not just an expert because you say you are. In fact, according to Edelman, decision makers expect to see helpful, high quality thought leadership from those they buy from—and place a premium on that. This means that you need to not only know what you're all about, but have the receipts to back it up. We recommend collecting stories (think anecdotes that prove your point), stats (numbers like I used in the above paragraph), and successes (think testimonials and case studies) that you can reuse across your marketing and in your sales process. 👉 Looking for some marketing wins? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Work with me and my team in our Aligned Authority Accelerator! In this process we'll collaborate for three months to develop the marketing backbone of your business using our signature SEO-fueled marketing magic. Get started right here.Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.
3.

Address Your Audience

We've all been here! Your vision and your audience are mis-matched. But here's a secret: This happens to every business, multiple times. As you grow, change, and adapt, so does your audience. 🌟 Three Steps to Audience Clarity 🌟1. Identify 2-3 core problems/aspirations this audience has.We often focus on our audience's problems, but we also want to think about their aspirations. You can learn both of these things from LISTENING to your audience. If you're new, maybe that means looking on the sites and platforms your audience hangs out (reddit, Facebook, twitter, whatever). If you're established, mine your notes from calls, your emails, recordings from meetings—you get the picture. The answers are there.You will see the themes—trust me. Write these down and really prioritize what's the most important theme. This is your top audience problem/aspiration.2. Think beyond demographics to what matters.Go beyond demographics or "what kind of music do they like" (come on, that's just fluff), and think deeply about what this audience's desires, problems, and aspirations are. Get very granular. Think about one or two real life people who fit this ideal client. What excites them? What scares them? What language do they use when they talk about what you do? You want to understand this audience better than you understand yourself.Write all this down and really spend time with it. Narrow, narrow, narrow.3. Understand the ancillary audiences you have to reach as well. Have you ever really thought about how your audience finds you?I don't mean if they're Googling or searching on LinkedIn. What I mean is WHO is doing that initial discovery?Here are some examples:A specialty physician writing about skin health directly serves patients; however, the primary people finding their content are other physicians looking for trustworthy referrals for their patients.An attorney wanting to start an email marketing campaign asks their administrative assistant to research agencies that can handle this seemingly overwhelming task. While the attorney ultimately is the client, those agencies have to pass the scrutiny of that assistant to even get their names in front of the assistant.A corporate HR specialist wants to add a health coaching benefit to their employee services: An assistant researches options, the C-suite ultimately signs off, and the service is delivered to the employees.I have dozens of similar examples, but you get the picture.Our end customer/client isn't always the individual who receives our products or services. Do you have to win over someone else before you can even reach your target audience? If so, you need a strategy for talking to that ancillary audience. Read my article about this challenge/opportunity here.👉 Looking for some marketing wins? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Clarify your audience with me! Our SparkSessions program was developed for our clients who need an expert strategist by their side. Six weeks and three 1:1 working sessions together focused on what really matters is all it takes. Get started right here. Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.
4.

Commit to Content

Networking and referrals have gotten you this far, but it's time to create a body of work that can carry you farther than you ever imagined. One of the biggest mistakes we discover when working with clients is that they’ve grossly underestimated the value of what we call their body of work. This is, effectively, intellectual property, and it’s the engine powering all of your marketing. It’s more important than any singular asset like your website, newsletter, socials, what have you. 🌟 3 Marketing Moves to Create a Body of Work 🌟1. Catalogue Your ContentWe hate starting from scratch—and most of the time, it's unnecessary. Instead of staring at a blank page with that awful blinking cursor, look deep into what you've already created. In that, you'll likely find piles of resources just waiting to be turned into high-quality, public facing content. Here are some places you may find content: Client emailsProcess documentsQuestionnairesBlog commentsNewsletters you've writtenReviews from clients PresentationsTalks at conferences and industry events2. Follow the Aligned Authority Topic Cluster framework when planning your content.Quality is always better than quantity if you're building your authority. That's why we make it super clear in our methodology for building authority in the search engine and with our existing audience by following a topic cluster framework. Pick a topic, and use this checklist to plan your posts. This can be applied to your blog, newsletter, LinkedIn profile, podcast—whatever medium you love, start there and repurpose back to the other platforms. Remember, whether you're starting with your blog or socials, keywords eventually matter a lot, so don't ignore the search engine, even if SEO isn't in your plans right now. Trust me, you'll be glad you did! (Pro tip: Keywords Everywhere is a great tool for easily finding keywords.) If you'd like to DIY your content plan, we have a great workshop series on this subject! Get your all access pass to all three at a special price using the code QUIZ right here.3. Rethink your resources.Too often we start from scratch instead of leveraging what we already have. That's why we take a different approach to content planning and urge you to do step one in this list, build a content catalogue, first. Once you've done this, you can then begin creatively repurposing the resources you've already created. We know that you don't have unlimited time for marketing and content creation—so, armed with your content catalogue and your topic cluster framework, you can create a repurposing strategy. First, download our repurposing cheatsheet and get in the rhythm of repurposing. Then, follow this strategy we've laid out for you to repurpose content.Don't be afraid to rework this to suit you! Our guidance is a starting point, not an end.👉 Ready for some marketing wins? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Design your content plan with me! Our Spark Sessions program was developed for our clients who need an expert strategist by their side while developing their content plan. Six weeks and three 1:1 workshops focused on what really matters is all it takes. Get started right here.Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.
5.

Engineer Luck

It’s easy to think that luck can’t be created—but it can, and your body of work is the key. Smart strategies mean that luck comes your way and ease follows. You've got a great foundation—it's time for the next big move, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy.If you've gotten this far, you know how to create visibility for yourself. Whether it's through your network, great referrals, or the beast that's social media. It's also not surprising that you may feel a smidgen burned out, overwhelmed, and unsure about how to keep up the momentum you've built. That's why your next marketing move is so exciting: It's time to create the backbone for an evergreen, sustainable marketing strategy thanks to SEO magic.🌟 3 Marketing Moves to Engineer Luck in Google 🌟1. Develop your search-driven content through research and active listening. Your search-fueled content isn't simply shoving a bunch of keywords into your website. Instead, it's understanding what your ideal audience wants and needs. We teach this kind of thought leadership-field, content-first SEO in our SEO Funnel Workshop series. Grab this content-revolutionizing series right here with the code QUIZ.2. Audit your website to know just how search-friendly your most important asset is.Your website is your competitive advantage. Only six percent of websites rank in the top ten results in Google, which means that if you become visible in Google, it can change everything. The first step is understanding your technical health and where you stand in terms of rankings. A tool we recommend is SEM Rush, if you want to get started on your own (we're a partner of theirs). You can also grab our free audit guide from our website.If you'd prefer to get help from a pro, learn about our website Assessment & Opportunities Program.3. Get serious about your SEO strategy.When you're ready, adding a comprehensive SEO strategy to the mix is a great next step. Since 90 percent of online experiences start in the search engine, if you're ignoring search, you're missing out on big impact on your audience. Learn how to hire an SEO expert in this comprehensive guide.👉 Ready to amplify your authority? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Work with me and my team in our Aligned Authority Accelerator! We can help you with your SEO strategy in a couple of ways, the most impactful being through our Aligned Authority Accelerator, a three month long one on one program designed to amplify your authority and accelerate your visibility. Learn all about this one of a kind solution right here.Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.
6.

Fund Your Movement

You're at the stage where more marketing could actually break your business—it's time to get serious about sustainable revenue that won't keep your pounding away at the keyboard all hours of the day.If you've gotten this far, you've got a solid set of skills and a unique perspective—the pieces are there, it's just time to make sure you're not trading time for money and you're setting yourself up for the long haul.🌟 3 Big Moves to Scale & Sustain Your Revenue 🌟1. Consider a scalable productized service. We built SM&Co on a successful, innovative productized service. This is a business model that allows you to provide high quality, thoughtful 1:1 services without sacrificing all of your time and well-being. It's repeatable, scalable, and teachable—this method of service delivery is the best answer for people who love working with clients directly but have found themselves edging towards burnout. Check out our article about this innovative business modelTake our course about creating a productized service Listen to Sarah on CounselCast to hear more about productized services2. Reduce discovery/sales calls and start offering paid consults.This big move was a gamechanger for us! While we still offer limited get to know you calls for free to qualified potential clients, the vast majority of our clients start with a paid strategy session to help them take immediate action on their biggest challenge. This is helpful to everyone in a number of ways: It changes the dynamic of the initial connection—you immediately can help your new clientYour new client gets a quick win and this builds belief in your system and methodsIt helps fund your movement! We recommend Acuity for making this dead simple. 3. Add a paid lead magnet or "lead product" to fill your pipeline with qualified buyers.Even B2B service providers can diversify their revenue streams and build a cadre of success stories—promise! Do you have an ebook you could sell that gives people a taste of your methodology? Could you offer a private podcast (for example, 30 days of tips) that people pay for using Hello Audio? Did you previous teach a workshop and can now offer that as a paid recording? All of these tactics increase your bottom line, but more importantly, prove to your potential clients that you know your stuff and can help facilitate their progress. A win-win!👉 Want to grow with integrity? 👈1. Read the Aligned Authority blog. Ready for actionable tips, tricks, and ideas? I've been writing about marketing and business strategy for 15 years and you can dive into the archives right here.2. Follow me on LinkedIn. Connect with me for regular discussion about ethical marketing and business strategy.3. Refine your services, develop a productized service, or create your corporate offer with Spark Sessions! In this process we'll collaborate for six weeks over three one to one sessions to develop your new services or corporate offer. Get started right here.Hi👋, I’m Sarah Moon!I’m a marketing and business strategist who’s on a big mission to transform modern marketing so more incredible visionaries get found and make an impact.Let’s be real, modern marketing has a whole lot of big problems. It doesn’t serve people, too often it obfuscates and twists the knife in our pain—instead of helping, marketing hurts. And that’s bad for the world.In the world of marketing online, growth hacking, manipulation, and bait and switch tactics are all too common. Ethical marketing is simply a buzzword with no real meaning to many.If you’re anything like me, you want to make an impact in your industry, your community, your world. That’s what truly matters. And for many of us, it feels like marketing is holding us back from doing just that.But it doesn’t have to be that way—and that’s what drives our team at SM&Co every day.And be sure to check your inbox, because you'll get fluff-free weekly insights from me that you can take action on right away.

What's your next marketing move?

Take this assessment and discover what your best next step is in your marketing strategy—using our unique Aligned Authority System. Each result not only identifies your next move, but provides at least three actionable tips or resources to support your journey.

Quiz Questions

Quiz Outcomes