I can't believe I missed this one.

​I was a guest on a podcast a few years ago and the host asked me something along the lines of, "What skills do people need to be good at marketing?"

I replied that marketing comes down to a combination of three skills, really. Most people are not naturally gifted in all three, but if you have two out of the three, you can usually get by.

I still stand by those three, but there's a fourth one I missed that's actually the most important.

We determined last week that our marketing is worthy of being done well, since we're doing it for the Lord, and since good marketing helps us to best love and serve our neighbor.

So now let's review the four elements that actually make for good marketing.*

Good Marketing Element #1: Tech

Email, social media, websites, webinars, advertising — it's inevitable that in today's digital world, if you want to market in the online space, you need some amount of tech skills.

To be honest, though, this is the one I worry least about someone being naturally good at. There are so many tools out there to make tech easier nowadays and tons of resources to help you learn.

Is it easier if you have a natural gift for understanding tech? Definitely. But it is also 100% learnable, and so I would say that the skill is more being willing to learn technology versus needing an innate understanding of it.

(This is also the easiest to hire out in my opinion, because all you need to do is explain what you want to happen for someone with tech skills to make it work.)

Good Marketing Element #2: Design

Most marketing has some element of design, from your social media posts to your video ads to your website. And in order to stand out, it needs to be visually attractive.

This is something else that you can definitely learn the specifics of, but I've found that people tend to either have an eye for design or they don't. The key is being honest with yourself (and maybe seeking out the constructive criticism of someone who will be honest with you).

Good Marketing Element #3: Copy

From your website to social media captions to short form video scripts to ad copy to emails and everything in between: All marketing requires some sort of communication, written or spoken.

The most important parts of copy for marketing are persuasion, storytelling, and realness. You don't need to be a TED speaker or a master grammarian to be a good marketing communicator — you just need to be able to tell a story that intrigues people, speak/write naturally and relatably, and be convincing.

In my opinion, copy is the hardest to hire out for because you really need to make sure you find someone who understands your mission and voice. But it is also the most crucial to get right, so if you are not naturally skilled in this area, this is the first place I'd invest in!

So these were what I shared on that podcast.

But I can't believe I missed the fourth, the one that every Catholic business or ministry needs to market well, but most don't have.

And it's the one that pretty much only you can do.

Good Marketing Element #4: Strategy

If you want to market well, you have to have a plan.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a formal, written out corporate-style marketing plan (in fact, most marketing plan templates you find online won't work for small businesses and ministries).

But you need to be crystal clear on your mission, who you're trying to reach, and the steps you're going to use to reach them and get them to take action.

In fact, I'd go so bold as to say that not having a marketing strategy is why you're not getting results from the marketing you're already doing.

It's like going on a trip to the Vatican without having a travel plan.

Like you spend MONTHS on the details:

• Picking out the perfect shoes and luggage (➡ finding the right trending music or "hook" for short form video content to go viral)
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• Developing a "down to the minute" overzealous itinerary to see all the sites (➡ following every new product/offering idea without launching it well or even researching if it is what your audience wants)
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• Intricately creating your sign to greet the Pope during his Wednesday audience (➡ laboring on your website, Canva design, or social media caption that then no one sees)
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• Getting all the snacks (➡ posting or emailing randomly and hoping something sticks)

But then you show up to the airport without your passport, no flights booked, and zero clue of how you're going to physically travel from where you are to the Vatican.

That's the "boring" work, you think. I'll just figure it out as we go along.

And when you inevitably don't make it to the Vatican, you proclaim: "I hate going on pilgrimage! I did all of this work, and we've got nothing to show for it!"

But you don't hate pilgrimages. You just focused on the details, not the overall plan, so you didn't have the foundations for your trip to be successful.

Likewise, you don't hate marketing, and you're not bad at it because what you're doing isn't working — you're just too busy focusing on the details instead of creating a plan to connect all those details together so they actually work towards your goal.

"Figuring it out as you go along" will only get you so far in marketing (not very far).

Having a strategy will.

And listen, I get it, creating a marketing strategy is not the flashy, sparkly work that gets you the dopamine hit of going viral.

But it's the #1 thing you need to actually market your business or ministry well.

(I promise, I would tell you if there was an easier or faster way.)

And it's the only way we'll have the ability to truly serve and accompany others through our marketing as ministry, by having a plan on how we'll journey with them instead of just winging it.

The other unfortunate news? This is the element of marketing that really needs to come from you.

The direction and vision, the answers to those questions like who you're trying to reach and how you're going to reach them, need to come from you and the Holy Spirit.

Now here's the good news:

Yes, you need to create your own marketing strategy.

But you likely don't even know where to start.

I can't create your marketing strategy for you...but I can teach you how to develop a marketing strategy.

One that works for you and your unique business or ministry (because no, not every marketing technique and platform is right for everyone).

I'll be walking you through the basics of this kind of marketing strategy for the rest of this month.

And for those who want more help, I'll be offering a more full marketing strategy development experience after Memorial Day.

But for now, here's your challenge for today:

So go do your challenge, and then on Thursday, I want to show you where I learned how to create a marketing strategy.

It's from my favorite book on marketing...and I guarantee you won't find it on any "best marketing books" recommendation lists.

For His greater glory,

Emily

*Good marketing, not perfect. With all of these, the most important is to try your best, not be perfect. In fact, perfection in marketing can actually be disingenuous these days with everything being so polished and fake. Realness and doing your best is best.

Random Things From My Life Round-Up

Random snippets from real life!

• Though I've had the idea for years now, I decided this year I really wanted to lean into our family's patron saints' feast days. I'd had their feast days in my digital calendar for the past few years, but would always forget to do something. Enter: A giant, year-at-a-glance wall calendar in the kitchen. I LOVE it. I color coded and marked off all sorts of dates for the family to look forward to: Feast days, birthdays, baptism anniversaries, vacations, octaves, etc. I can't tell you the number of times I look at it per day to remember what day of the week it is and am then reminded of joyous times ahead. Highly recommend.
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• ​This handmade granola bar recipe has been on repeat in my house for the past few months. They're amazing and super yummy without a ton of sweetener.
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• One of our family's guiding principles that has never let me down yet: The truth is in the middle.
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• I am officially halfway through Bible in a Year! This is my third or fourth attempt to go through it (I typically fell off somewhere around day 40 or so), but it's finally stuck this time. My favorite quote thus far (besides Fr. Mike saying "this is the last thing" when it's definitely not the last thing): "Hearing about God can never replace worship of God."