(last week I mentioned ‘marketing maps’ and enough of you said ‘yes!’ to me talking about them this week so… here you are, friends)

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Have you ever done a close-listen to a song, Reader?

I’m not saying listening to a song on repeat in the car while you sing your vocal chords hoarse.

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I’m saying sitting down, closing your eyes, and really listening to the song.

Listen to the structure.

How it begins.

How it transitions between verses and chorus.

How the bridge lifts or drops.

When it hooks you in and why that is.

I recently had to do a close-listen to a song for my band so we could cover it.

It is one of my favorite songs of all time. (Maps by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

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At first listen, it seems pretty simple.

1. Intro
2. Verse
3. Chorus
4. Verse
5. Chorus (x2)
6. Bridge
7. Chorus (x2)
8. Bridge
9. Outro
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Not so.

That list up there is the song’s bones, what makes it stand up on two legs.

But within those bullet points, instruments build on each other, play off each other, echo each other, change timbre, change rhythm.

It’s complex and way harder than we all thought to cover.

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It took a lot of close listening, song diagramming, and practice to get it right.

But we did it.

And we slayed at the show. (if I say so myself)

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Creating a marketing map for your business is pretty darn similar to close-listening to a song.

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If you were asked how you market your business, you’d probably say something like this:

1. Social media
2. Website
3. Word of mouth
4. Referrals
5. Email marketing

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Mmhmm, easy to list, yeah?

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Yet… is that really all?

And how do they connect to each other?

How do they play off each other, integrate, support, and drive each other?​
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That’s the key to understanding how your marketing works.
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Last month we created a marketing map for a client so we could understand all of the moving pieces it takes to build their audience, convert them into users, and retain them.

Spoiler: it takes a lot of pieces.

The map helped us identify bottlenecks, weak points, and areas that were business-critical to hitting their goals.

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Of course, when Janel and I did our Strange Birds summit we HAD to do the same for ourselves!

We need a more consistent and intentional way of marketing because now there are two.

That means the business needs to generate nearly double, which is a big ask.

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With permission from my esteemed colleague Janel, I present to you the marketing map for Strange Birds.

I had never done this for my business before, and let me tell you what.

It was very illuminating.

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We identified bottlenecks. (our inboxes)

We were able to prioritize what to work on first. (our new offer, name TBD)

We were able to flag what we could work on later and what we should work on next. (later: podcast, next: website)

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I look at this constantly now.

I have SO many ideas on how to make it efficient, as automated as possible, and easy to keep up with.
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Let’s go, 2024.

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The Go-Try-It-Out Section​

Get out some paper and a pen.

Or a whiteboard.

Or MIRO.

Or whatever tool you like, I don’t care.

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Start drawing out your map.

What surprised you?

What’s missing?

What’s mission-critical?

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Marketing is a complicated beast.

🐉 There are dragons and sea monsters and giants.

But with a clear map, you can chart a safe path forward.

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Our new offer (placeholder name in the map is “Hitchcockian Bird Talons”... we're so good at naming) does exactly this kind of work for our clients.
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It’s designed to give you full access to our brains, years of experience, and our oodles of creativity.
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Curious to learn more?
Hit reply.

We don’t have any marketing verbiage for it yet because, um, see placeholder name above.

But we have tested it with a client and wowzer kawowzer did they love it. (and we did too)

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Cheers,

Anna (they/them)

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What I'm (still) reading​

​A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers​

Still good. Still brilliant.

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