From the Codex //040: Why Your Marketing Feels Draining (And What That’s Telling You)

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This Is Not for Beginners

This article is not for beginners.

It’s for personal brands who’ve been marketing for months, years, or longer.

You show up, post consistently. Have an audience. And you know your positioning.

And yet, marketing still feels heavy.

You don’t (just) need a vacation (because yes, you probably do.)

Your marketing needs an evolution because it’s no longer aligned with who you’re becoming.

When Marketing Stops Feeling Expansive

Aligned marketing feels soul-fulfilling.

You are flooded with key insights and stories you want to share with your audience.

You know why you’re posting.

You know who you’re speaking to.

You know where it’s leading.

But, when marketing becomes misaligned, it starts to feel draining, even if you’re still making sales here and there.

That’s because even though your business has grown (more money, more clients, more sales) your marketing strategy has stayed the same.

When content that used to feel expansive starts to feel draining, that’s your sign your marketing strategy needs a makeover.

If Your Marketing Feels Draining, Look Here First

If your positioning is already in place, and marketing still feels heavy, these are the places to look.

1. Your Content Format No Longer Matches How You Express Yourself

You might be creating content in a format that no longer fits how you think or communicate best.

Examples:

• you’re forcing long-form video when you’d rather write

• you’re writing short-form posts when your insights need depth and long form video or blogs would be better

• you’re writing long form content when you’d rather share BRoll footage of your daily life

Even aligned messaging becomes exhausting when the format is wrong. Marketing should be a natural expression of you, your offers, and your brand.

2. You’re on the Wrong Platform for Your People

If your message feels solid and your positioning is clearly demonstrated in what you’re sharing, but your sales aren’t reflecting this, this is your problem.

That usually means your people:

• aren’t on that platform anymore, or

• aren’t in the right mindset when they’re there

Don’t forget that the marketing space evolves over time.

Maybe your audience used to love existing on that platform, but now they’ve moved to a new one.

3. You’re Attracting People You Don’t Want to Lead

If you like your content, feel proud of it, but aren’t enjoying the type of engagement or feedback that you’re getting, then this is your issue.

This means you’re speaking to the wrong person.

Your ICA (ideal client avatar) and USP (unique selling proposition) might technically be aligned, but you might be missing the mark slightly on where along this person is on their journey.

If this is where you’re finding yourself with your marketing, go back into your target demographic, and make sure you’re speaking to the type of person you really want to attract.

4. You’re Rushing Your Marketing

You’re rushing ideas out just to create more content. So instead of sharing what you actually want to say, you share the surface-level version.

And it makes you feel… honestly bored of your own content and marketing.

Over time, this creates resistance.

Because you can feel that you’re holding back.

When your marketing doesn’t reflect the full depth of your thinking, it stops feeling satisfying which results in more resistance and less sales.

5. Your Sales Aren’t a Match to the Effort You’re Putting in

I would say this is the most harmful to an effective marketing strategy.

If you’re putting a lot of effort in your marketing, but you’re not seeing an ROI that matches your effort, then of course you’re going to feel resistant or shaky with your marketing.

This is usually a sign that your offers, pricing, or positioning are no longer aligned with the amount of time and energy you’re putting into your content.

Your marketing should be generating profit, not just visibility.

If the effort feels disproportionate to the results, it’s time to look at whether what you’re selling and how you’re selling it, actually supports sustainable results.

What Aligned Marketing Actually Feels Like

Aligned marketing still requires effort, but you will feel a sense of fulfillment.

It clearly feels like an equal exchange:

I put in x amount of effort/time/resources into my marketing, and I receive y output.

You should feel that marketing is its own department within your business, and it’s doing the job it’s meant to do: consistently generating leads and increase influence.

What Comes Next

Next we’re going to dive straight into how to create a marketing strategy that actually generates leads, and the first step is understanding the pillars of marketing.

Coming next:

From the Codex //041: The Pillars of Marketing (How to Structure Content That Actually Converts)

That's a wrap on this week's article. From the Codex drops every Thursday; straight from my desk to yours. Join the list here so you never miss your next power move.