How I Get Clients Without Social Media

Introduction

Hi, welcome back to the Website Success Show. It is Jules here, and I've had lots of conversations this week about the constant need for visibility in our business and how exhausting it is, especially as service providers, where we just want to work with clients and want to connect with people in a meaningful way, rather than just gathering more followers that never actually turn into anything that helps our business.

So today I want to talk to you about how I get clients without relying on social media and without having to build a massive audience, and the practical steps that you can take to apply this to your business as well.

First of all, I just want to mention, I'm sorry if you can hear thunder rumbling in the background. We've had a UK heatwave for a few days, which has been driving me mad, trying to keep the dog cool. Trying to keep the house cool. We live in a new build and they're just not designed for the hot weather really. So anyway, if you can hear the rain pattering on the window, then I'm sorry about that. Or if you hear thunder rumbling in the background, then I'm sorry about that, but I'm not sorry that it has cooled down massively. So I am enjoying the cooler weather today.

I have this conversation time and time again with people. It's probably one of the things that comes up the most often where I talk to service providers, whether they have a scalable offer or not. So whether they have something that can be sold one to many, such as a group programme, a course, whether they are selling something through e-commerce or even a physical store where they need a constant stream of clients and customers coming into their business, or even people who are just offering one-to-one time for money, where actually once they get fully booked, then that's it. Either way, both of these types of people are usually just burning out, trying to get more and more followers on social media without actually thinking about whether it's bringing the right people into their business.

Why Social Media Isn't Working for You

We have this pressure, I think, to post constantly, to show up on stories, to build this big following and to build a business that is scalable. Whereas for many people, they just want to build a business that supports them and supports their lifestyle. They're not necessarily looking to build an empire, and that's completely fine, especially for women. I think in particular, we have this pressure now to do everything. And we're often sold these lifestyles that aren't necessarily the next step to where we are in business right now.

And if you just want a steady stream of clients coming into your business and you need a handful of good clients, not thousands and thousands of followers, then social media platforms are probably not the best way to actually bring that into your business.

The marketing advice that we see is often aimed at people selling to huge audiences, or aimed at very generic strategies that are teachable, because it's easier to teach about social media and posting and creating content than thinking about the ways to actually go out and make the most of our network, make the most of the content that we own, and get clients that way.

How I Actually Get Clients

So I'm going to share with you today exactly how I get clients and social media isn't actually a part of that for me any more. I broke up with social media about three months ago where I made that decision to no longer use it in my business.

It's definitely been great for just clearing my headspace and just cutting down some of that noise and helping me to be intentional about how I'm spending my time in my business. I should say more intentional, because I definitely feel like this is a work in progress.

And I think the social media platforms themselves really contribute to this as well. They want you to believe that you need them. So the algorithms are stacked to keep you on the platform, to keep you feeling inadequate, to keep you feeling FOMO, to keep you feeling like that next scroll might just be the thing that delivers that dopamine hit for you.

I talked about this back in episode 105, Why Your Brain and Business Deserves a Break from Harmful Social Media, where I talk about the fact that the platforms are constructed on the same algorithms that gaming and gambling apps use to try and keep you there and keep you scrolling, keep you hooked to those platforms, keep you checking the notifications.

So we get told that we just need to post more, just need to create more content, just need to be more consistent, need to be more visible, and that if we keep doing that, then the results will pay off in time. But your website can be doing a lot of the work that social media promises and then never delivers.

And particularly if you're a local business, if you combine your Google Business Profile with that, people are out there searching for what you do and searching for a solution to their problem. And if you can be that person that shows up when they're searching, when they're ready to buy, then it's so much less difficult than trying to get them to convert from social media.

Building Your Network

I definitely would say, and I always say this, that above every other form of online marketing, so above my website, even above SEO, above my email list, above the podcast, above the speaking and the visibility talks that I do, the one thing that I would tell people to focus on, whether you are just starting out in business or if you've been in business for a long time, is your network, is the relationships that you build with people. Because no algorithm can take that away from you.

And I know networking in itself can often feel a bit icky and a lot of people don't like doing networking, but just thinking about how you can build relationships. The majority of clients that have come into my business over the last few years have realistically come from me getting to know people, having real conversations with people, regardless of whether I meet them networking or whether I meet them in places like my local NatWest accelerator where the networking is kind of incidental there really.

For example, I did a talk last week for somebody who had a group who needed some advice and training on SEO. They needed an SEO basics masterclass essentially, which I love delivering those kinds of talks. This group had already had somebody come in and train about SEO, and yet there was still a real demand for me to come in and just deliver it in a way that actually felt doable and felt actionable by the people in the group. So building that relationship and just making the offer of, would you like me to come in and do a talk for the group? And doing that meant that I could get in front of lots of new people. I think she said there were something like over 130 people who had already registered for the class that I was delivering.

And I honestly don't mind if I deliver that kind of class even to five people, if it's the right people who are in the position to be able to take action on it. I would much rather get in front of five people like that than 3,000 people who have no intention of doing anything with their website or don't even have a website or have a completely different business model to the one I help clients with.

So that is always my number one recommendation. Build your relationships. Think about who you already know. Think about how you can just reach out to people and say, hi, how's it going? It doesn't have to be that you are reaching out asking them to do something or asking them to buy something. Sometimes just tapping in with people and saying hi and checking up on how things are going for them is massively helpful.

What I'm actually focusing on now is the groups that I'm in outside of social media. So the communities I'm in, the WhatsApp groups, some of the Skool communities, the Circle communities I'm in. I've actually found some communities around people who are building businesses without social media, and I'm really loving just starting to explore those as well and just building some relationships in there.

I'm also launching my own community called Success Without Socials. Visit my website to find out more. It may or may not already have been launched depending on when you're listening to this podcast, or if not then get on the waiting list so you can come in as soon as the doors open.

Your Own Content: Website, Podcast and SEO

So then next on the list is my own content, whether that is my website, my podcast, or essentially my email list as well. But specifically starting with the podcast. So when I'm creating content, I'm always thinking about the fact that it's content that I own first.

I'm now also starting to think about how I can create content that is non-commodity content. And I talked about this last week in episode 135, where I talked about how algorithms are now prioritising content that shows your unique perspective. It's not something that can just be generated by AI and it shows your real lived experience.

So when I'm thinking about my website, my website is set up to be found. I'm really clear on what I do and who I help. I'm focusing on solving four core problems that hold many business owners back. Number one is visibility, which is getting your business to show up when people are searching for what you offer, whether that's on Google, in Maps, or even through AI tools. Number two is conversions, turning visitors into real bookings and sales. Number three, making social media optional, optimising your website so that it does the heavy lifting for your business. And number four is clarity and focus, knowing what to prioritise first so you stop wasting your precious time and start building visibility that lasts.

Especially with the podcast, people tell me that they have found the podcast and I love it when they tell me they found it through a Google search. My podcast itself is also set up to show up in search, within Buzzsprout, which is my podcast hosting platform, and also within the episodes on my website as well. So people listen to episodes and will often then book a discovery call or send me a message, and they already feel like they know me because they've heard me talking, they've heard what I am all about.

Having guests onto my podcast has been something that I've moved a bit more into this year. And also being a guest on other people's podcasts has helped me to build those relationships with people as well.

Referrals, Guest Talks and Evergreen Content

Building that referral network, existing clients recommending me to new people, word of mouth is one of the things that I think a lot of business owners are afraid of relying on. I often speak to business owners who say that most of their clients come through recommendations and referrals, but then they want to focus on other marketing beyond that in case the referrals dry up.

But I think that referrals are probably one of the most reliable ways of growing your business, because as long as you're still doing the things that encourage the referrals, so asking for referrals, providing a good service, letting people know if you have space for some clients, building your network, if you keep doing those, then why should your referrals dry up?

From doing guest talks and through being visible in other people's groups, I have definitely found that this has brought clients in. I've had lots of discovery calls booked recently from me being in places and being the guest expert and doing talks around SEO, around social media being optional, around Google Business Profiles. Doing lots of talks has definitely been helpful for me, especially if it's in places where it stays there as evergreen content.

I've had the first podcast I was ever on, which was the Beauty Business Secrets podcast with Adam Chatterley, and then that brought me a client two years after I was on that podcast, which is the ultimate goal, right? That you are marketing and the things that you do in your business don't just pay dividends for today. They're not just like a post where you post it and then an hour later that content is forgotten about, 24 hours later it's disappeared entirely. Whereas this long-form sustainable content that could be found over and over again can keep bringing clients into your business for years to come.

Your Email List

My email list as well. I have quite a small email list. I think at the moment I've only got about 700 people on my email list, but my email list consistently brings money into my business, whether that's people booking discovery calls or buying from me or listening to the podcast.

The email list is a way that, rather than just trying to interrupt their scroll on social media, I can connect with people directly in their inbox. And I know we all feel like we get so many emails, but when people have joined your list and asked to hear from you, then assuming that they want to hear from you is probably a more positive way to think of it really.

If you are growing an email list, then clearing it out at the other end is important. And that's probably why my list is quite small, because I have an automation set up that if people haven't opened my emails within 90 days then they get taken off the subscribers list, which just reminds me that I need to get more people coming in at the other end.

I listen to Liz Wilcox, I'm a member of her membership, and one of the things she says is that your email list is like a river and you should have new people flowing into your email list all of the time, and people will flow out at the other end as well.

Focus on the Right Strategy for Your Business

So all this to say you might be feeling like you're doing all the marketing, you're doing all the things, and it's still not necessarily bringing you that steady stream of clients into your business. But it might just be that you're not following the strategy that is actually right for your business model.

You probably don't need just a bigger following and more likes and more posting and more content. You need to get your website working for your business and the content that you own as your focus. Working out what works for your type of business beats hustling and trying to work harder and just trying to do more.

I'm really focusing this year on doing the right things and trying to remove a lot of the noise from both my business and my personal life as well. Just trying to simplify life and just make it a bit easier so it doesn't feel like a constant slog to be running a business as a solopreneur. And you don't have to be everywhere. You don't have to be creating content all the time. You need to have your content findable so that you connect with people when they're actually searching for businesses like yours.

Call to Action and Wrap Up

So if this has resonated with you, come and join us inside the Website Growth Club. It's where we do exactly this: build websites and systems that bring clients to you consistently, regardless of whether you are working in your business, walking the dog, or sitting on the beach. I'll link in the show notes so you can find out more about the Website Growth Club.

And if you're not sure if it's right for you, then send me a message. Or if you feel like you want more one-to-one help with your business, book a discovery call. We can have a chat about where you are, where you are hoping to get to, and if any of my programmes or my content can help you with that, I'll point you in the right direction.

So I hope you found this helpful. Remember, you can build the business that you want and you can market it in the way that actually feels enjoyable to you. And most of all, remember that social media is optional. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you soon. Bye.