5 Mindset Mistakes in Jewelry Marketing

In episode #116 of the podcast, I share some of the most common marketing mindset mistakes that I observe day in and day out. In my opinion, marketing is just as much about mindset as it is about the strategies you implement. If you’re able to master mindset and get out of your own way, then you’ll absolutely be able to achieve your dreams. The transcript of the episode is below.

0:00
I want to talk about the five most common marketing mindset mistakes that I see jewelry entrepreneurs make day in and day out. I’m constantly seeing the same patterns come up when I talk to people. They are: being afraid of change, being afraid of failure, chasing vanity metrics, having a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset, and expecting immediate results and then getting disappointed when you don’t achieve them. So let’s talk about the first one – being afraid of change.

6:50
When you embark on a new marketing journey for your business, especially if you’ve never formally done marketing before, or maybe you’re starting to commit to it in a way that you haven’t before, your business is definitely going to have to change in some way. Whether it means the way that you communicate with customers, or whether it means how you portray your brand, some kind of change is going to need to happen.

7:20
The longer that you’ve been in business, the harder it is to embrace that change. And I totally get that. But you have to kind of be open to it. And you have to recognize when you’re getting in your own way. Because I see a lot of entrepreneurs who come to me for advice. And I offer my professional expertise. And oftentimes, it’s not that they disagree, or they don’t think it won’t work or help them but they’re so afraid of stepping away from the status quo or whatever that they they’ve been doing, that they just can’t bring themselves to potentially try something new that may help them grow their business.

8:04
I’m not saying that I know everything, you know, I’m fine when I get pushback, but I think the closed mindedness can really be an issue. When someone from the outside who has the knowledge and experience is trying to help you, you’ll have to at least be open to that and consider the possibilities of it.

8:23
So the next common mistake that I see, is being afraid of failure. So this one’s a little bit more abstract, because it’s not always so obvious and easy to identify. But I think that some business owners are so maybe subconsciously afraid of how they will handle success once they get to that point. Or maybe they won’t know how to deal with it, that they kind of stand in their own way so that they won’t ever achieve it. I mean, I know I kind of struggle with this in my own business. Growing and scaling can be scary and overwhelming, because it means that you’re gonna have to learn new things, maybe you’re gonna have to learn how to delegate, maybe you’re gonna have to hire people, maybe you’re gonna have to like learn how to manage your business finances differently. Maybe you’re going to have to consult outside business partners. And all of that is scary and requires a learning curve.

9:26
So I think a lot of people kind of unintentionally sabotage themselves so that they won’t ever have to confront those difficult things. If you’re able to recognize that in yourself, then you’ll definitely be one step ahead of a lot of people that I encounter in my conversations on a daily basis.

9:47
Number three is chasing vanity metrics. What does that mean? So vanity metrics are like things that you measure in marketing that don’t actually have a real impact on your business, but they kind of look good and make you feel good, like you’re actually making progress. So, for example, vanity metrics on Instagram might be a post that got a lot of likes or comments or shares. And you see that and you’re like, oh, finally, this is like all I’ve ever wanted, I just want better Instagram engagement, I want people to like my post. Well, of course, you know, having that kind of outcome is a step in the right direction. But if those likes those comments, those shares aren’t actually by your target customers, and they’re not driving traffic to your site, and/or getting people legitimately interested in your jewelry, then all all that is, is a vanity metric. It’s just making you feel good about yourself and your brand, but not having a true impact.

10:58
I see jewelry entrepreneurs kind of getting distracted by opportunities to have vanity metrics for like a quick hit a quick dopamine hit that they feel like they’re doing something good for their business. But actually, for the long term for the long game, those vanity metrics aren’t going to have any sort of impact.

11:27
I’m trying to think of another example off the top of my head, I would say like boosted posts, or promoted posts on Instagram and Facebook are kind of an example of that. Because for a really quick hit for a pretty low amount of money, you can promote an Instagram post or boost post and get a lot of likes, and make yourself feel like you’re actually getting somewhere by reaching a bigger audience. But the reality is, in that setting, you have very little control over who’s actually seeing those posts, who’s actually liking them. Instagram is delivering on its promise by helping you get more likes. So they’re kind of like feeding your need to feel like you’re doing something positive for your brand. But as a long game strategy, that’s not going to help you get more customers. So that’s kind of an example of vanity metrics and why you should not chase them.

12:32
Always ask yourself, are the things I’m measuring actually having a true impact on my business and the bottom line? Or are they just making me feel good about myself and what I’m doing in the short term? Write that on a piece of paper and like, put it above your desk or workspace. Ask yourself that question.

12:51
So the fourth common marketing mindset mistake that I see is having a fixed mindset as opposed to a growth mindset. So I wrote down the definition, this is the only part of this podcast that is scripted, because I wanted to make sure I explained it correctly. So in a fixed mindset, people believe that their qualities are fixed traits, and therefore they can’t be changed. These people document their intelligence and talents rather than working to develop and improve them. So they kind of get in this stuck mentality. And they say things like, I’ve never understood marketing, marketing is hard. I’m never going to understand marketing.

13:37
I agree that marketing can be challenging. I agree that not everyone has the right disposition to naturally understand it. And maybe you know that right brain left brain thing, some people just naturally get certain topics better than others. So you know, maybe it’s not your natural inclination to understand marketing. But if you constantly tell yourself that marketing is hard, and I see this all the time, marketing is hard. I don’t get it. Why isn’t it working for me, you’re subconsciously feeding yourself that belief.

14:13
If marketing is hard for you, you have two choices. You can invest the time to read books, take courses, whatever it is to kind of help you understand it better, at least to the level that you feel comfortable embracing that subject. If you don’t have the time for it, which a lot of busy entrepreneurs do not have, then you need to partner with someone who can either do it for you or help you understand better. However, I’m of the belief that even if you are going to outsource something, a smart business owner at least understands the very basics or the theory, the like skeleton of it. So that they know that when they do hire a team member or an outsourced partner, then that person is not just BS-ing you, but you can understand that like, okay, this person is talented and knows what they’re talking about. So you should at least have the foundation. I recommend my book Jewelry Marketing Joy, if you want that foundation, you know, not to plug myself or anything but, but I think it’s important anyway. So stop telling yourself, it’s hard. Okay? A lot of things in life are hard. And start figuring out how you can empower yourself because you’re creating a roadblock that doesn’t need to be there.

15:40
And the fifth marketing mindset mistake that I see is, and we talked about this a little bit on last week’s episode with Jason is expecting immediate results, and then getting disappointed when you don’t achieve those results.

15:57
So here’s a little bit about me, and why I feel qualified to talk about this. So back in the day, my very first job when I was 16 years old, was I worked at a gym/tennis club, I worked the front desk. And over the course of a few years, from even through when I was in grad school, like 23-24 years old, I always had a job at a gym. In some regard, I really, like got sucked into this culture. I even got a personal training certification, I taught group fitness classes. So I know what it’s like to interact with people who have goals. This is so common, it’s like many people set a New Year’s resolution to get fit, lose weight, start exercising being more active, but then they stand in their own way. Or they give up very quickly when they realize that it’s a commitment, that it’s not easy to work out on a regular basis that sometimes you get achy, sometimes it’s tiring, whatever, whatever. And I know this because I was like in this world for a long time. And I also know from like my passion of fitness, and that whole space, that seeing results and gaining results takes a long time. People who are fitness competitors, many of them don’t naturally have bodies like that they often started their journey because they wanted to make a change of their physique or their lifestyle. And then they committed themselves to that journey. And they will tell you that it took them years to get to the point that they want to be.

17:38
How does this relate to marketing? It relates a ton to marketing, because marketing is more about consistency, number one than about anything else, just like exercise, even if you didn’t do the most intense exercise or like the best exercise for you, as long as you were doing it safely. You know, over time, you would see some kind of change if you did it enough. With marketing, it’s the same thing: you get out of it what you put into it. And you have to be committed to it for the long game. I always ask people, it’s like, how long do you want to have your business? If you’re truly committed to your business, the answer probably is “for life”, or like until I can sell it or give it to like my children or something like that. Usually, it’s a long term answer.

18:37
For as long as you want to have your business, you’re going to need to be marketing. That’s how it is. And you’re not going to see results in the first few weeks or even the first few months. Just like with exercise, you can’t expect to go from a couch potato to a marathon runner in just a few months. Same thing with marketing. I also work with clients that are at many different stages of their business, a lot of them are just starting out, but some of them have been at it for many years, even decades. And I can tell you that one thing is true about all of those clients is no matter how much success they have achieved, or no matter how far they have gotten. There’s always something else that they can be doing to go to the next level. I’ve never encountered anyone in my career where I was like, perfect. They’re good on marketing. Nothing to be said here drop mic by like there’s always something else the same thing like with exercise, you know, Olympic athletes. Yeah, they’re probably at the top of their game, but I’m sure even those people think that they can be improving always. And because the situation is constantly fluid and changing day by day. Your business is changing. Your customers are changing. Your products are changing. You need to be committed to this for the long term.

20:02
If you go into any sort of marketing effort expecting immediate results, you will be sorely disappointed. And you’re in for a rude awakening. And that’s for sure. A mindset thing, you have to be patient and realize that marketing is your business and your business is marketing they go hand in hand more than most people realize. That’s all I have to say for today. I hope that was helpful. I’m trying to be a little bit more honest and unscripted in some of these episodes. And these are just my thoughts and observations based on real interactions that I have with people on an everyday basis.

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