A Simple Guide to Marketing for Introverts

In practically every profession, marketing is required, especially if you’re a solopreneur who is singularly responsible for running every aspect of your business. Marketing and sales require you to put yourself and your business out there, find people who may be interested in it, and then go deep with them to find out what they like, want, need, and will benefit from. You need to interact and engage with other people to do that; you can’t market a business in a bubble. However, when it comes to marketing for introverts, that can all feel threatening.

Being an introvert doesn’t mean you won’t be able to market effectively. Instead, it means that you’ll find a way of attracting and connecting with clients that’s different from how an extrovert approaches those tasks. You’ll discover marketing techniques that feel natural for you and that help you do more of what you enjoy and excel at.

What you shouldn’t do is try to swim upstream. If you’re constantly pushing against what feels enjoyable or natural to you, it’ll be impossible to make it work. Today, marketing is all about being authentic, helpful and engaging. Clients and customers want to deal with real people. If you’re busy covering up who you are and forcing being an extrovert, even though it’s not natural, people will see that and be turned off.

What is an Introvert? Your First Step to Mastering Marketing for Introverts

An introvert is not someone who dislikes people or who wants to be by themselves all the time. Instead, an introvert is a person who expends energy when around other people and recharges during alone time. By recharging, they can have energy again when it’s time to interact with people. This is in direct opposition to extroverts, who feel drained when they’re alone and get energy from being around others.

Introverts aren’t always shy or socially awkward. And they don’t necessarily dislike marketing. But since marketing can involve a lot of communication with fans, customers or clients, that level of engagement can zap an introvert’s energy and make them less efficient. Marketing also requires a lot of public visibility, and all of that attention can feel draining to an introvert. To be able to deliver what customers want, introverts have to take time away to recharge.

Marketing for Introverts Means Not Comparing Yourself to Extroverts

There’s a lot of noise out there from the world of extroverted marketers. It can be overwhelming to see how many people hustle all day long to market themselves, and if you compare yourself to them, you’ll feel like you’ll never measure up. You’ll assume you won’t be able to compete. Seeing what marketers put out there for the world to see isn’t the full picture, and they may be failing in ways you don’t notice. For everything your competitors are doing, there’s plenty they’re not doing.

Instead, research people in your field who cater to your same audience, and study what they do right and where they go wrong. Use what you learn to guide your own marketing for introverts campaigns. Try out what you think will work for your audience and for you; don’t worry about the rest.

Also, consider this: some extroverts may actually be introverts who don’t realize it. Overexposure leads to burnout, mistakes, and poor business choices. The fact that you understand that you’re an introvert and what that means for your energy and mood means you can manage it in a way that’s best for your business.

Professional Benefits of Being an Introvert and Understanding Marketing for Introverts

There are a lot of reasons why introversion is a blessing when it comes to marketing and the rest of your professional life:

• All of that self-imposed alone time leads to more thinking, creative ideas, and insightful things to say
• You may enjoy writing more than speaking, and marketing calls for a lot of writing
• You won’t post before thinking; you’ll take time to think about what you put out there and avoid making mistakes you have to make up for
• When you speak less often, people pay more attention when you do want to be heard, which makes what you say more powerful
• It’s easier for introverts to read their social environment; introverts are able to accurately pick up on social cues that others may miss

When it comes to online marketing, it’s a huge strength to be able to pinpoint social cues because you’re limited in terms of how you communicate. Face-to-face interaction and body language can’t be taken into account.

Pick and Choose Your Marketing for Introverts Techniques

To be an excellent marketer, you have to find the marketing activities that you enjoy and that work for your brand and audience, and then you have to maximize their capabilities so you can do more of what you like. Here are a few tips for choosing the best marketing activities for you.

Think About What You Love

What do you love about your job and your audience? Make a list. This is what you should revolve your marketing around. You can also make a list of everything you have to do for your business and then split it into “like” and “dislike.” Stop over-working on the “dislike” items – outsource them, simplify them, or ditch them, but don’t try to attach marketing to them.

P.S. You may notice that the responsibilities you like directly relate to your purpose – the idea, thought, or passion that got you into your career in the first place.

Embrace Social Media

Don’t let the “social” part fool you – social media can actually be an excellent and supportive tool for introverts. The main goal of social media is to increase brand awareness and nurture relationships, not to sell. You have a lot of time to get comfortable connecting with people, and you don’t need to rush or force it.

The most effective marketing connects with people, generously offers your expertise, and helps them solve the problems that trouble them the most. There’s no reason why an introvert can’t do those things, so long as your energy and output are managed.

There’s a lot of wiggle room with social media. You can automate so much of it, like posting, and then schedule and limit the times you actually log in and check notifications. You can also theme your profiles in a way that doesn’t garner feedback that requires your attention. For example, if you don’t like interacting on Facebook, don’t share product links there – they’ll only encourage people to ask questions about the product. Instead, invest in Facebook Ads that automatically gather leads, and use another outlet to go heavy with sales-focused content.

Choose the Best Outlets

Your brand and/or profession will determine the outlets that are best for you. If you’re a professional who offers B2B services, you should be on LinkedIn, but you may be able to skip the rest. If you have an eCommerce shop, you may want to do all your marketing through Pinterest. When you pick more outlets than you can handle, they’re only going to sit there unused and out-of-date, which is worse than not having them in the first place.

Also, be honest about what each platform requires. How does it audience like to interact? How often you’ll need to post? For example, if you post thought-provoking Tweets, your audience will expect to have a conversation with you. If you can’t keep up, this isn’t the outlet or tactic for you. Think about what you can handle and if that matches the platform and its users.

Prioritize Email Marketing

When it comes to email marketing, you may feel like it’s too important to skip, and you’re probably right. However, you don’t have to churn out content every single day. Even the most dedicated subscribers and true blue fans can get fatigued when too much ends up in their inboxes. One great email every month is better than creating content that reflects how exhausted you are by the whole process. Know your market and ask yourself how much your subscribers need to be contacted to take the steps you need them to take, then don’t pressure yourself to deliver more than that.

Start Slow

There’s so much hype out there that you can feel like you’ve lost before you’ve even begun. Do you have a Facebook page? Great, now you have to create Instagram Stories. Do you already post Stories every week? Now it’s time to set up an email list. Have your email list? Get your first bazillion followers.

It’s exhausting! For an introvert, thinking about doing that much personal interaction all at once is completely overwhelming, and it feels hopeless.

In the long run, rolling out one – and just one – marketing for introverts strategy or technique and perfecting it before adding another one will benefit your business, especially when the alternative is burning out right from the start.

Marketing for Introverts Means Managing Your Time and Energy

As an introvert, you’re not automatically unhelpful or lacking generosity. You don’t dislike connecting with others. Your energy just operates in a distinct way, and you have to protect it. Here’s how to do that.

Choose Your Preferred Modes of Communication

You need to stay in touch to some degree, but the direct communication part of marketing feels draining to introverts. For example, you may be able to answer emails all day long without feeling tired, but a few phone calls may zap your energy. Or, you may like the flexibility of live chat but hate conversations that are drawn out on social media. So long as your customers are getting what they need within a reasonable amount of time, you’re free to set your communication methods. Having so many ways to get in touch is there for your convenience, too, not just the customers.

Set and Clarify Your Availability

As an introvert, you can’t be available all day, every day. People are so used to instant responses, though, that some customers may find this unacceptable at first. Instead of caving to their demands, manage their expectations by making it very clear when you are and are not available. Post your business hours on your website, on social media, and in your email signature. Set up autoresponders so people know you received their message and when they can plan to hear back. If your business deals in any sort of emergency – any reason why a client would absolutely need you right now instead of waiting – set up one mode of communication that can always reach you and communicate strict guidelines for what constitutes an emergency.

Make Information Available

Since you’ll be limiting how much interaction you have with your audience, make sure all of the information they need is somewhere they can easily find. Your website and your social media profiles should be filled out as much as possible. Also, automate whatever you can so your business can continue to function even when you’re taking a break behind-the-scenes. Here are some ideas:

• Post contact and availability information everywhere you can
• Add email signups and a freebie that’s auto-delivered to your website and social media accounts
• Create a website page with pricing information
• Set up automation for buying online, checking account status, etc.
• Use online appointment booking plugins that connect with your website and sync with your calendar
• Direct people to other ways to find your content, like your blog or social media profiles
• FAQ

Give your customers and leads as much information as you can so they can self-serve and feel connected to your brand even when you’re not available to them.

Prepare for Meetings Ahead of Time

Introverts do their best creative work when they’re alone, but your marketing team may regularly get together for brainstorming sessions. All of that interaction combined with creative thinking is a recipe for making an introvert need a dark, quiet room for the rest of the day. It’s okay to do some brainstorming on your own and come into the meeting with a few ideas ready to go. You may still feel a bit tired post-meeting, but it won’t be as bad as if you went in unarmed.

Know When to Step Away

The most important thing an introvert can do is step away from people when they feel their energy draining. You have to know your limits and then leave work for a while when you’re nearing them. Otherwise, you evoke the law of diminishing returns, which means you continue to work on marketing but get worse and worse results. Nobody benefits, and it’ll be even longer until you can show up for work again refreshed and ready for anything. Plan ahead by thinking about the times when you always need a break, like after a marketing campaign launch. Schedule it in now to save yourself the stress of having to squeeze a break in later.

Manage Your Phone Time

You know you need time to recharge and you’ve shut off most communication channels. You still have your iPhone, though, and even though you’re sick of looking at your accounts, you can’t help but click and refresh. Don’t let your phone become a minefield. Routinely delete marketing tools from your phone and then add them back when you’re truly ready to have them at your fingertips.

Make the Most of it When You do Show Up

It’s better to delay a response and make the response count than to respond poorly because you’re afraid of pushing it off. When you’ve had a chance to recharge, it’s easier to be happy and friendly when it’s time to be “on.” Make the most of those “on” times to show your audience that even if you’re not available and present around the clock, you’re all-in when you are available.

Use people’s first names. Respond genuinely and thoroughly. If a customer asks a question and has to wait two days for a response, at least give them a completely thorough response that acknowledges all of their concerns. Compliment your customers and thank them for trusting you or your brand.

Final Thoughts About Marketing for Introverts

When you make yourself do something that feels wrong, others will notice the shift in energy and be turned off. Don’t try to force-fit the marketing tactics that work for extroverts. There’s another way.

Find marketing methods that feel aligned with your energy and excitement for your career. You’ll have a much easier time putting yourself out there, connecting and interacting with others, and allowing yourself time to recuperate. In those moments when you do have to retreat, you’ll be happy knowing you’re doing an excellent job when you’re “on.”

It pays to know you’re not alone. Check out our article about Famous Introverts and What You Can Learn From Them.