DIY vs Done For You Marketing
We get it: your small business is your baby. Our business is our baby, too! And we’ve worked with dozens of entrepreneurs who are in your same exact position, wondering whether you should keep doing all your marketing, or finally outsource to an expert.
DIY marketing is usually only right for your business if you are brand new with very limited funds, or if you happen to have marketing experience and extra time on your hands. ‘Done For You’ (DFY) marketing is the better choice for most businesses, because it’s more cost effective and higher quality, and it frees you as the owner to focus on what you do best.
Still wondering whether do-it-yourself or done-for-you marketing is right for your business? Keep reading!
Do It Yourself Marketing
First, let’s start with the drawbacks of DIY marketing.
It’s time consuming, taking you (and maybe your team) away from important tasks, like serving customers, making your stellar products, or dreaming up new ideas – you know, all the stuff you’re good at!
Also, good marketing is consistent marketing. You need to be putting out marketing materials on a very regular basis. We don’t know many entrepreneurs who have time for that!
And, yes, there are lots of great DIY tools out there now, like Wix and Canva. And they can technically work – you can easily set up an account and start designing right away.
But without expertise and experience, you’re liable to make mistakes. And – let’s be honest – how professional are your Canva graphics really looking?
The reality is that these tools can make web and graphic design a lot easier, but there’s more to web and graphic design than just hitting buttons and clicking ‘publish.’ These are skills that people take years to master. Without those years of experience, your content is going to have a hard time getting noticed.
And don’t get us started on how difficult it can be to set up an effective online ads campaign!
So those are the pitfalls of DIY marketing that you might be bumping up against.
But who should stick to do-it-yourself marketing?
There are two types of entrepreneurs for whom DIY marketing makes sense.
First, if you are a brand-new business with very limited (or no) marketing budget, then of course – it probably makes sense for you to go the free route and handle all your marketing yourself. At least for now.
And second, if you’ve got a background in marketing for other companies and are finally starting your own, then you probably don’t need us to tell you that you’ve got this! (Although even if you’ve got this, a helping hand could still save you a lot of precious, precious time).
Done For You Marketing
DFY marketing offers so many benefits, that it’s usually the best choice for most companies and entrepreneurs. Basically, if you’re stuck on DIY marketing, or your business is stalling, it’s time to consider the switch.
You probably know that you’d get much higher quality and much more consistent work with DFY marketing.
You might not realize that DFY marketing can actually be much more cost effective in the long run.
That’s because by enlisting experts, you’re going to get expert results. In other words, your marketing ROI will be much greater.
Plus, like we’ve covered, when you’re not scrambling to get your Facebook posts made and scheduled, you can actually focus on the things that actually bring in money.
And even if you’re pretty comfortable with marketing, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t benefit from new creative ideas. There’s a reason the ‘big guys’ employ dozens or even hundreds of marketers. At the end of the day, marketing is a creative endeavour, and creative endeavours always benefit from fresh eyes and fresh ideas.
Ultimately, when you work with a marketing collective, you’ve basically got a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) in your back pocket – without having to set up an expensive marketing department. It’s the best of both worlds.