I know it sounds like a contradiction, but trust me when I say that effective marketing isn’t about you. It’s about them — your ideal clients.

Here’s what I mean (complete with links to one of my favorite recent client sites, to demonstrate exactly what I’m talking about):

• On your homepage, speak directly to them in their language, rather than yours. Learn their language, use their vocabulary be sure to use the word “you.” (See how Wendy Wood does this.)
• On your services page, talk about their needs, not your services. (I love how Wendy Wood does this!)
• In your portfolio, don’t just show “the work” or the deliverable. Instead show a case study that describes in detail how you help others just like them. (This is one of my favorite things about Wendy Wood’s site.)
• For your content marketing, develop material that addresses the struggles they have, instead of content that appeals to you. (You can even quote them, like Wendy Wood does here.)

Wendy really “got” this idea and wove it all the way through her marketing.

This is not easy — it requires a bit of a mind shift and that was reaffirmed recently when I stumbled upon “Thriving a Business,” an interview with Emily Lewis and Lea Alcantara, co-founders of web design and development agency, Bright Umbrella, (and new Marketing Mentor clients with whom I’d been working just a couple of months).

Imagine my surprise, when, in this interview (listen from the beginning or pick up where they talk about their shifting mindset), they describe the effect of our work together and their “a-ha” moments about speaking the client’s language.

If you also know you need to shift the way you think about your own marketing, but just aren’t sure how, let me help! Take advantage of my “free session” or send me a tweet: @ilisebenun.