Spring is upon us. It has finally arrived, I’m feeling super pumped, and I’m here to talk about how to run a marketing blitz for your business, even as a side hustle. How do you get the word out that you’re doing this brand new thing, and it’s exciting? That people should support you and come check you out? And that they need to associate these products and services with you from now on? How do you do that especially if you’ve got some other stuff going on that’s kind of making it messy, (like your full time job)?

How do you market your side hustle, even when you have a full time job!?

So let’s jump in. I’m giving you today 10 things you can do to run a marketing blitz for your side hustle business and for your new brand. And some of these are super, super easy. Some of these are a little bit more involved, but I just wanted to give you some different ideas for when you do start a new business, how can you immediately put the word out. All points blast, APB, “Hey, I’m Marie. This what I’m doing, rocking it out.”

This list started as a top 20 but it was a crazy long post, so if you nail these 10 and are ready for more, just check back in next week and I’ll give you the other half of these amazing marketing tactics. Some of these things I do already, which I think you might recognize from this list as I go through. And some of them I’m like, “oh, aspirational, wouldn’t it be nice?” But take what you can from it. Leverage some of these ideas to help get the word out, craft your brand identity and really start marketing who you want to be in the space or niche that you are calling your own.

#1. Change your Facebook Title

So first up, number one, as part of your side hustle blitz, go ahead and change your Facebook title. This is easy. If you’re already on Facebook a lot and people know you or your job to be one thing, go ahead and switch that up and change it to what you want it to be. What’s the title that you would like to take on as a new business owner or a side hustler? So maybe you’re now a health coach or a money consultant or an after school learning center owner. Whatever that is, change that up on your Facebook. Baby step, big impact. Because of course, on Facebook, anytime you change something, you can also allow it to share that with the world that that thing has changed. And then people will congratulate you and say, “Good job,” and all of that good stuff.

#2. Change or Add your Business on LinkedIn

Also, do the same thing on your LinkedIn title. Better yet, change or add your side hustle business as a new job on your LinkedIn profile. Immediately, people will get that alert and then shout you out, which then creates more buzz. “Oh, congratulations on the new role. So excited for you,” and then you can start a dialogue telling more people about it.

#3. Start an Instagram Account for your Brand

Number three, start an Instagram account specific to your brand or your niche. If you’re not already on Instagram, like I wasn’t when I started, then this is a great opportunity to start a new channel, start fresh with some social media that is all dedicated towards whatever it is you’re doing in business instead of leaving that to some of your personal networks that you already have going.

#4. Set up Coffee dates with Everyone!

Set up coffee dates and talk to everyone. When I first branched out on my own as a business owner, I swear my full time job was going to the coffee shop because I was meeting up with any and everyone for coffee, for tea, for lunch, for after dinner drinks, just telling people, “Hey, this is what I’m doing. I’m so excited. This is what I got going on. Spread the word, share the love.” This one works especially great if you recently left a full time job, but you were the bomb.com there and everyone loved you. Everyone will want to meet with you and throw some support your way. And it’s a good way to get some of those good vibes early.

#5. Pitch to 30 People

Those of you who are plugged in to the Pitch like a PSA, the elevator pitch post, you know that there’s three easy steps to get your elevator pitch going. But once you have crafted it, you definitely need to practice it – I would say at least 30 times – so that you can feel like it’s in your muscle memory and rolls off the tongue when people ask, “Hey, what do you do?” Perfect Pitch Practice Guide: High-Tides-Pitch-Better-Than-a-PSA-Worksheet.pdf (2103 downloads )

#6. Update your Email Signature

This is a good one especially if you have one primary email account that you use for everything, go ahead and add a signature line in there that has your name and your new title or the business that you own, so then people will start asking about it. If you have your website up, you can add a link directly there, or a way for people to schedule time with you to talk about it. Just link all that stuff up in your signature so every single person who interacts with you on email knows that you’re doing this thing.

#7. Start a Blog/Video Series

Start a blog or video series about your area of expertise. Now, this one, if you’re a service provider, obviously, having a blog where you can showcase your knowledge is a great idea. If you’re really comfortable with the camera, then a vlog works even better because then we can double down on search engine optimization, which we talked about a little bit earlier this month with the optimizing your LinkedIn post. But start a blog. Video more your speed? Check out an example of what a video series could look like. Our very popular Essential Guide for Effective Managers is a perfect example of how to drip content and add high value while demonstrating your expertise.

#8. Host a Kickoff Party

Number eight, host a kickoff party. Invite some friends over to celebrate this new thing you’re doing in your life. Sometimes if you just quit a job, you can also have this as a quit my job, starting a new side hustle kind of a party, which can be really fun. And again, people are always in a good mood when it’s about supporting you in a new thing.

#9. Tell People about your New Venture

Set a goal and tell a certain amount of people a day about your new venture. So this is something where you mix that up with some of the coffee dates you’re having, but who else can you call or text about it or have a conversation about it and say, “Hey, I’m starting this side hustle. What do you think?” One of the first things I did early in my business was stopped by one of my friend’s house unexpectedly. He’s a huge influencer. He’s a poet on Instagram, who wrote a book. Still has his full time job. And I went to him, and I was like, “Hey, I’m thinking about doing this. What do you think?” And one, talking to someone who’s already been there and took the jump is tremendous inspiration, but two, the outpouring of support was phenomenal.

#10. Text Blast your Phone Contacts

So the tenth tip is to text blast your whole entire phone. Now this one, it sounds crazy, but it actually works like gangbusters. You just go through your phone. Maybe you do 20 people a day, and you send a text message that’s like, “Hey, I’m thinking of branching off and doing this thing independently. Do you think it sounds interesting? Would you support me?” And if you have something set up, a way for people to keep in contact with you or support, “Hey, like my Facebook page,” or, “Would you mind if I added you to the newsletter?” Something like that is gonna be a good way to spread the word too. And whether they say yes or no, it doesn’t matter because you just sending it means that they’re on notice, on blast, that you’re doing these things. All right, those are my top ten things for running a side hustle marketing blitz. Yep, some of them are kind of hard. Don’t do them all at once. Pick a few you like, know them out the park and let me know how it goes. Still on the fence about how to get your ball rolling? I got 10 more of these tips to give you. . . part 2 of this post coming soon.