If marketing your business is draining you, it’s likely because you’re doing too much or using strategies that are not a good fit for you.

Content marketing is a blanket term that means creating content in your business to get in front of your aligned audience, genuinely educate and help them, build trust, and hopefully work with them eventually.

Just because your end game is to work with your aligned clients in your zone of genius doesn’t mean you need to work yourself to exhaustion with content creation.

No good content comes from a weary service provider, so I’d like to introduce you to slow marketing and a straightforward way of creating a content strategy that serves your goals and feels good.

Choosing the right content marketing strategies helps you be more intentional and mindful with your content, share from your heart (and experience), and better speak to your right-fit humans.

What the Heck is Slow Marketing?

I learned about slow marketing after my social media exit in 2019. I felt validated because it embodied the values and approach to marketing I was naturally inclined towards as an introverted and sensitive person.

Slow marketing means not treating your marketing as a means to an end and your clients as a vehicle to make money. As a business owner, sharing your business online is inevitable, so you might as well take the time to do it really well with purpose and heart, listening to your moral compass and gut feeling.

Slow marketing means every piece of your (content) marketing is thoughtfully created and intended to be sustainable and ethical.

Slow marketing and marketing without social media* are not synonymous, but there is an overlap. Although slow marketing has been around for years, it’s now going mainstream because humans are exhausted from conventional marketing. The content treadmill is not a great place to be long-term because it’s not sustainable. We need a change of pace.

*It’s no coincidence that “I hate social media but need it for business” is a real thing people search for on Google.

Also in this post: how many times do I say “marketing”? It’s like it’s not even a word anymore.

Three Levels of Slow Content Marketing

Despite what some marketing gurus would like you to believe, there is no secret to content marketing, and it’s not witchcraft.

The best marketing is simple marketing you can stay on top of.

Again for the people in the back: the best marketing is sustainable marketing!

For content marketing to be sustainable, pick suitable platforms and strategies that play to your strengths without being overwhelming.

A common mistake I see is taking on too much or overthinking it, and boom, you’re in over your head.

Instead of blindly picking from a long list of platforms and strategies (or copying other people in your niche) and thinking you need to be everywhere, make sure you have each level of content marketing covered, and don’t worry about the rest.

It doesn’t matter what you use as long you have each category covered.

Below, I describe a basic slow marketing funnel where all levels are connected and work together to serve your aligned audience without pushing, convincing, or emotionally manipulating them to work with you.

There are three levels to your content marketing:

1. Expertise
2. Discoverability
3. Connection

So what does that mean?

Expertise

Expertise is the main level because your goal here is to share your knowledge, experience, and opinions and create a hub of content on a platform you own.

For service-based business, this usually means a website with long-form content. Your website with content is the foundation and roots of your content marketing. The other two levels build upon this level.

Long-form content can be in text, audio, or video format. If you hate writing, record a podcast. Not good in front of a camera? Write your heart out. It really doesn’t matter as long as you pick one.

You get to lean into your strengths and create in a way that comes most naturally to you.

If you host your video or audio content off-site (like YouTube or Spotify), embed it to a blog post with the transcript for added SEO and accessibility value.

Discoverability

The discoverability level is where you spread your work far and wide, and get in front of new people, including your aligned audience. For most service-based businesses, this is Pinterest or SEO.

This level also can include sharing short-form tips on Instagram. I recommend starting with a search-based strategy since it takes the longest to get the ball rolling, but you reap the benefits for years to come.

I recommend Pinterest or SEO because your ideal clients are already on Pinterest and Google intentionally searching for answers, so you’re offering help where it’s most needed.

Instagram, on the other hand, is not the first place to search for solutions to your problems.

Connection

The connection level is about nurturing relationships with your audience.

At this point, your funnel has narrowed, and the people left have intentionally opted to be there. They’re curious and want to know more.

For most service-based businesses, an email list makes the most sense. This could also be Threads or Instagram DMs (engaging directly with your audience), a private Facebook community, or a Substack paid newsletter.

In conclusion, here’s how to do content marketing in a slow and meaningful way:

1. Pick one method from each category.
2. Create and share your content with the best of intentions. It’s about serving and being helpful.
3. Foster relationships in a way that suits you. Be you, don’t filter out your personality and quirks! People bond over shared weirdness.

Let me know in the comment or via email which three strategies you like the most!

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