08: How I’d Market My Brand From Scratch If I Had To Start All Over

Get ready to take notes because I'm giving you a full game plan for how to market your business from scratch.

Feb 13, 2025

Time travel with me for a sec, would you?

Let’s rewind half a decade and pretend we’re sitting on Cold Storage Beach, Cape Cod, setting up our chairs in the sand, getting ready to chat for hours while the waves roll out. (You’re my best friend in this scenario, by the way. Just go with it.)

We’re talking about how I became a freelance copywriter despite my three and a half degrees that have nothing to do with marketing.

By the way, does anyone use their college degrees? If you do, tell me what you do, because I’m convinced the only people who use theirs are doctors and engineers.

I laugh, thinking about how I have a formal education in philosophy for no reason (other than I thought it would make for a good foundation in my nonexistent law career).

“I literally spent tens of thousands of dollars to learn how to read between the lines,” I say.

And then it hits me: Between The Lines. Shit, that’s good.

And just like that, Between The Lines Copy is born.

…Now I just have to figure out how the hell to market myself on the internet and actually get clients.

That's where this podcast episode meets thought experiment comes in.

Let's pretend I have to go back and market my business from scratch. In this scenario, I have…

Business name: Between The Lines Copywriting
What I want to offer: Website copywriting services
Who I want to serve: Service-based business owners who want to get found online & book more projects
Marketing budget: preferably zero!

And here’s what I would do…

Step 1: Gain an In-Depth Understanding of My Target Audience

Before I start marketing, I need to know who I’m marketing to, so I can make sure my marketing efforts are actually going to work.

The best way to ensure that you’ll get RESULTS from your marketing is to be super specific, speak directly to your target audience, and communicate exactly which solution you’re providing. You need to demonstrate why they’d want your offer, what the transformation can look like for them, and how great their life will be once they have it.

You can’t do any of that if you don’t know what your target audience WANTS.

Or who they are.

Or why they need you.

Or what their current situation is like.

Or why they’re frustrated with their current situation.

So, first things first: I’d develop a deep understanding of my target audience.

Questions I’d ask myself:

Who are they?
What do they do?
What do they want? (And what do they really want?)
Why do they need me?
How can I serve them?
How can I relate to them?
How can I differentiate myself from my competition?

This sounds kinda hard, but it’s actually pretty simple — just a strategic brainstorm session and a solid Google Doc will do.

(Side note: If this step sounds overwhelming, this is literally what I walk you through in my Wicked Easy Website Copy Guide & Website Copywriting Course.)

Step 2: Buy My Website Domain & Choose My Website Builder

Next up, I need a home base for my brand. That means buying my website domain and deciding where I’m going to build my site.

As a service-based business owner, I know that most people would recommend either Squarespace or Showit.

If I were brand new, I’d go with Squarespace because it’s beginner-friendly and a lot easier to customize without any prior knowledge. But knowing what I know now, I’d choose Showit because it offers way more design flexibility.

(Btw, I have a deep-dive blog post on this same debate here.)

Either way, website first. Always.

So for step #2, I’d buy “betweenthelinescopy.com” from Google Domains, then sign up for Showit.

Step 3: Start with a Website Instead of Social Media

When you first start your business, I strongly advise beginning with a WEBSITE instead of beginning with SOCIAL MEDIA.

Why? Because when you're just starting, you want to focus on growing your foundation, not growing your following.

Sure, social media is great and can help you attract some ideal clients, but in the beginning, it takes a lot of time to create content, foster relationships, and stay consistent. And it’s wayyyyy too easy to get discouraged when you don’t see instant results.

Your website, on the other hand:

Doesn’t show people how new you are
Is owned by you (no algorithm mood swings screwing you over)
Gives you the space to explain who you are, what you do, and who you do it for in an engaging, in-depth way

Website first, social second.

Step 4: Do Keyword Research & Write My Website Copy

SEO matters, even in the early days. So before writing my website copy, I for sure would want to do some keyword research to see which keywords I have a good chance of ranking for.

BUDGET FRIENDLY MOMENT: I’d use a combination of Ubersuggest, Google, Pinterest, and the free trial of SEMRush to do this.

Then, I’d write my website copy with those keywords in mind.

Pages I’d launch with:

Home
About
Services
Blog*
Contact

*I’d launch with 7–10 blog posts so my site doesn’t look empty and brand new. A sad, lonely, empty blog page is the easiest way to tell if someone has just launched their site. (More on blogging soon!)

Step 5: Choose My Website Design Option

After finalizing my website copy, I’d choose my website design option. The options from least expensive to most expensive are:

DIY my site
DIY with a template
Buy a template & have a designer customize it
Hire a designer for custom design

I'd choose whichever one my budget supported.

(In real life, I DIY-ed my first Squarespace site, then hired a very affordable designer for it, and THEN hired the amazing Sarah Kleist to create my website on Showit. She’s currently on the third iteration of it, but that’s just because I’m dramatic.)

Once the design is set, I’d proofread everything, check all my links, add my SEO metadata, and get ready to show off my sexy new site to the world.

Step 6: Blog Up a Storm

No clients yet? Blog.

Sitting around waiting? Blog.

Since I'm still starting my business, I have plenty of time to build up my blog archive. But soon I’ll be inundated with inquiries for dream projects, and I won’t have as much time, so I’d be smart to do as much as I can right now.

I’d make a BIG list of topics based on:

The "people also ask" section of my Google searches
What my future clients are looking for
What they need to know before working with me
Industry-adjacent topics

Then, I’d do some keyword research to see if I can rank for any keywords related to these topics, and, finally, I'd blog up a storm.

Step 7: Take Advantage of Pinterest Marketing

Since I wouldn’t be hiring a Pinterest manager right away, I’d go full DIY mode.

I’d consume all of Sarah Burk’s freebies and newsletters on Pinterest marketing
I’d create 5–7 pins per blog post
I’d schedule my pins using Tailwind.

This will amplify the reach of my blog posts.

Step 8: Set Up My Email Marketing Efforts

Now that my beautiful website is up, I’d make sure I have a way to keep in touch with visitors who aren’t ready to book me yet.

That means:

Creating a relevant freebie
Setting up an opt-in form inside Flodesk
Adding a pop-up of that form to my website
Writing a simple welcome sequence to ensure my readers get the freebie, get to know me, and are interested enough to stay on my list
Brainstorming topics for a weekly newsletter and get started on that

Then, I’d focus on blogging & email marketing for a while before jumping into social media.

And all the while I’d likely be cold pitching to get my first few projects under my belt and working for free on small projects to get good testimonials to add to my site, but that’s a whole other podcast episode.

Point of the Story

If I had to start my brand from scratch, these are the exact 8 steps I’d follow.

And if you take away one thing from this episode, let it be this:

Grow your FOUNDATION before you grow your FOLLOWING.

I’m not saying social media isn’t important — I’m just saying your business should be able to stand on its own without relying on Instagram trends or algorithm changes.

Okay? Okay.

Love you, mean it. Bye!

BTL Links

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