For the last week I’ve been digging into the hardest part of starting an online business – letting people know you exist. In the e-commerce industry it’s called eyeballs but it’s marketing. Billions of dollars are spent each year by companies to let us know about their brand, new, shiny product and to keep older products top-of-mind for us.
Working in the e-commerce space with small businesses over the past 14 years, I know this is the biggest challenge for small brands with limited funds. The days of ‘if you build it they will come’ internet marketing are long past. The cost of running online ads has quadrupled as there is more competition for placement and fewer opportunities to place due to privacy concerns.
I knew solving this for Reconnecting Rainbows became my challenge for last week. Where I’ve landed is not having a concrete plan on how to make thousands of people know about R2. I know the tactics I can use but they are not guaranteed to succeed. Even if they do, success is a very low bar as NONE of them will deliver more than a 3% return. Meaning, if my ad is shown to 1000 people, only 3 will actually buy something or join my mailing list. #LeSigh
I did some testing with Facebook Ads and the results were expected, but disappointing none the less. I’m thinking ‘how in the world am I going to let people know I exist – with basically $0?” I heard the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit say, “start with who you know.” I understood it immediately. Instead of trying to find thousands of unknow people from all over the world, start with your current network of family, friends, church members, and lovely folks you’ve connected with online. It’s probably less than 100 people, but that’s a start. Besides, God has NEVER needed big numbers to do big things!
Gideon & The Midianites – Judges 7
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”
8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were [c]without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.
22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to [d]Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
I was creating a video and some graphics to post asking my network to participate in a #StyleTheRainbow campaign on launch day. I was kinda discouraged, partly because I’m not used to asking for help and I’m not sure anyone will be willing to do it. I’ll be providing free t-shirts to everyone who agrees to participate so I’m also thinking about the cost vs number of participants I can support. It’s just a log of things to consider.
A verse popped into my head – Zechariah 4:6, “Not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” I thought this is the right scripture to go with one of my new designs that I have that did not have a verse references. So I opened that file and started working on that. While adding the verse and meditating, I thought about how timely the Holy Spirit bringing this verse to me today. It comforted me by reminding me that this launch will be successful, not because I figure everything out, have the best marketing strategies, or the biggest budget. It will be successful because the Spirit of God will cause it to work out, to bring glory to Him and for His purposes.
This takes the pressure off. I just have to show-up, do the work – planting and watering ( ) – my theme scripture for this brand – and God will give the increase. Praise the Lord!
With much humble gratitude,
