Is it possible to successfully market your solopreneur business without social media? Absolutely!

While social media has its benefits, it’s not a requirement in order to build or scale a successful business as a solopreneur. In this blog post, I’ll share with you why social media marketing may not work for you and what other options you have to market your business.

The Problem With Social Media Marketing

First things first: social media isn’t all bad.

Like anything else, it’s a tool. And right now, there’s no other marketing channel that allows you to connect directly to your ideal clients, in real time – for free.

However, my beef with social media is that in order for it to work, I’ve noticed that it requires a high output of attention, time, and content creation. All of which goes against my business model and nature as a lower-energy person (hello, Reflector in Human Design problems).

And if you’re reading this and nodding along, that means you feel similarly.

When you’re a solopreneur, you don’t have the huge team or massive budget required to have social media be your only marketing strategy. You deserve to have a business that feels safe taking time off from.

A successful solopreneur business knows how to build a business that can be trusted to work for you, even when you’re off living your life (and if this is something you’re still working on – let’s talk about work together.)

Putting all your eggs in the social media marketing basket means creating a business foundation on borrowed land that could go away at any time.

Even if you don’t want to give up social media marketing altogether, you need to learn how to build a marketing plan outside of social media if you want your solopreneur business to stand the test of time.

Why Market Without Social Media?

Marketing without social media builds longevity and legacy for your business.

When you reinvest your energy from prioritizing social platforms to your own platforms first, you’re able to have a more sustainable business. You strengthen your redistribution strategy, and marketing can actually become fun and sustainable again.

Marketing your business without social media isn’t just for those who are burnout, introverts, or building a solopreneur business.

Every kind of business benefits with assets that you own, not just rent on other platforms. So it benefits you to know what options are available for you to market your business beyond just posting to social media.

8 Ways to Market Your Business Without Social Media

If you’re wondering how to market your business without social media, there are plenty of options that are available to you.

1. Leverage SEO

I’m not going to lie – this is probably my favorite way to market my business.

Not only does SEO (or search engine optimization) work as a true evergreen strategy, it’s one of the best ways to own your content. I especially love to use this as my primary platform, for longform content creation.

You can leverage SEO by:

• Creating blog posts
• Repurposing other assets, such as your podcast or YouTube channel
• Create Pinterest pins redirecting back to your website

While SEO can be technical and time-consuming, the payoff is worth it. SEO creates longevity for your business and makes your best business asset – your website – even more valuable for you and your clients.

2. Prioritize Your Email List

Every business owner – whether you’re a solopreneur or not – should have an email list.

Aside from SEO, email marketing is my second most-used strategy to market my business without social media. It’s a direct line of communication with your community and a truly intimate way to communicate with them multiple times each week.

3. Book Guest Opportunities

What I love about guest opportunities is that even if your community isn’t large, as long as you can bring value, you can leverage someone else’s community and build that way. It can be a collaborative and truly equitable way to market your business without social media when you know how to do it right.

Guest opportunities can look like:

• Writing guest blog posts for other people’s blogs
• Teach in another business owner’s program or community
• Writing or advertising in another newsletter
• Hosting a podcast or YouTube interview
• Repurposing a guest livestream

4. Build a Strong Referral Network

A lot of business owners sleep on the power of referrals, but they can be a real benefit to your business.

Referrals are simply when another person recommends you and your business to someone else.

Many solopreneurs put referrals on the back burner because they seem unpredictable, but there are ways to automate and streamline the process. But the key to making referrals work is to have a strong system in place.

When you’re able to build a strong referral network, you can market your business almost on autopilot, without needing to post constantly to call in those same leads.

5. Join a Niche or Industry Directory

Another underutilized way to market your business without social media is by listing with a directory.

Business directories can be great for getting you directly in front of your ideal clients. Instead of pushing to get in front of them – it’s a way for your ideal clients to come to you.

I find that directories work best when you can connect through your niche or industry.

6. Network

Another way to market your business without social media is through networking.

Gone are the days of stuffy events in awkward hotel conference rooms. Modern networking can be as unique and individual as your business.

Networking can be an indirect way to market your business because it may lead to opportunities other than sales and client enrollments. But the beauty of it is that it can create ways to build the longevity of your business for the long haul.

7. Attend or Host In-Person Events

Remember these?

As so much of the business space stays online, there’s tons of opportunity for those who want an in-person connection. These can range from regular meetups with other entrepreneurs in your area or events that bring together your ideal clients looking for live teaching or resources.

And of course, if this isn’t something that already exists, you can create it yourself and build your marketing efforts that way.

In-person events can tap a whole new community for your business without social media.

8. Build Your Authority With PR

Another way to make your business without social media is by using PR.

PR boosts your credibility, which can deepen the trust that your ideal clients have in your business. It’s also a great way to widen the reach of your marketing efforts.

Even as a solopreneur, you can use PR to get the word out about your business. This can look like using services like HARO to connect with publications. Or if you want to use social media more intentionally, you can respond directly to writers’ and journalists’ calls for sources on places like Twitter or Reddit.

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As you can see, there are tons of ways you can market your business without social media. These are only a few ways to get started.

Let me know in the comments – which of these are you going to implement next to market your business without social media?