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Forbes
26-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
20 Expert Marketing Tips For Solopreneurs
For solopreneurs—especially those launching their very first business venture—marketing can feel like both the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge. With no team to delegate to and limited time and budget, every decision has to resonate, and every dollar spent has to count. The pressure to show up, build a brand and attract the right customers can be overwhelming, but it's also an opportunity to create outreach that's uniquely personal and effective. Below, members of Forbes Communication Council offer 20 practical and effective tips to help solopreneurs tackle marketing on their own. 1. Leverage Free Online Tools It is best to keep things simple at the beginning—trial and error will help you determine what works and what doesn't. There are many helpful tools online that can help you start, from logos to websites to business cards and personalized merchandise. Leaning on tools like AI can also be extremely beneficial; it can help with crafting messaging and with ideation and save you precious time as you are starting out. - Sabine Leveiller, VistaPrint 2. Don't Try To Tackle Every Platform At Once A solopreneur tackling marketing should start by focusing on one channel and doing it well. For example, rather than trying to manage accounts on all of the social media platforms, identify the one that most likely has your target audience. Then, go all-in on that channel. From there, you can start adding in additional social media channels as the content creation process is streamlined and effective. - Lyndsi Stevens, Celerium Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? 3. Let People In By Sharing Entrepreneurial Insights One of the most impactful ways of marketing a startup is to let people into your world. If you do one thing, focus on sharing insights regularly on LinkedIn. Don't push product; use it like a diary entry. A lens into an entrepreneur's world is far more interesting and builds a story that will serve as the bedrock for your brand when it's mature enough for a marketing function to take over. - Rosie Guest, Apex Group Ltd. 4. Leverage Customer Champions And Partners Focus on sales first, but bring in customer champions and partners to help you market. They can co-create content and amplify your reach while gaining visibility for themselves. This lets you test your messaging early without burning out or overinvesting in branding before it's proven. - Rebecca Takada, Outfoxr 5. Trust Your Gut I have a lot of love for solopreneurs. When it comes to marketing, trust your gut. You are the voice of your business, and that can't be outsourced. Bring in partners for tactical support, but your energy should go into shaping the story, your message and your positioning. That's the soul of it. Consultants can help, but don't let them steer you off course. - Liam Wade, Impression 6. Adopt Different Elements Of The Marketing Mix Don't steer away from adopting different parts of the marketing mix as needed. For example, it might be brand building and thought leadership through your website or content, outreach to local reporters to raise your profile and product awareness, or advocacy to authorities, regulators or industry bodies. Use whatever will have the most impact for your business goals at that specific time. - Sheryl Seitz, C4 Ventures 7. Prioritize Clear, Consistent Branding And A Strong Value Proposition Define a clear value proposition and invest in consistent branding early. Clearly stating who you help and how builds clarity in your messaging, while cohesive visuals and tone make your business look professional and trustworthy. Together, they create a strong, memorable identity that sets you apart and attracts the right audience. - Lauren Parr, RepuGen 8. Speak To Your Niche Be authentic and speak directly to your niche—trying to appeal to everyone dilutes your message. Focus only on channels you can manage consistently and professionally. Quality trumps quantity when you're building trust and credibility solo. - Lyric Mandell, PhD, MOXY Company 9. Conduct Your Own Competitive Analysis Don't forget competitive analysis. It is crucial to understand how your competitors are marketing their businesses to ensure you aren't left out of the conversation. You don't have to be an expert to explore their digital presences and discover where they are thriving. Use those insights to shape your marketing strategy, and research best practices for launching similar, effective campaigns. - Victoria Zelefsky, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation 10. Create A 'Value Flywheel' As A Guide I'd create a one-page 'value flywheel' that maps problem, promise, proof and path. It locks your story, guides every asset and lets you atomize content across channels. This keeps every post, pitch and DM coherent, letting a solo founder ship consistently instead of chasing shiny tactics every other week. - Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet 11. Get Comfortable Telling (And Retelling) Your Story As a solopreneur, it can feel like you've told your story a million times, in a million different ways. Keep telling it. Become comfortable with repetitive, authentic self-promotion. The more people you can reach, the more opportunities will open up for you. - Kelsey Flittner, Point One Navigation 12. Understand Your Ideal Customer And How Your Expertise Aligns With Their Needs When it comes to solopreneurship, your personal brand is your business brand. First, make the time and effort to understand your ideal customer profile and identify the intersection between your expertise and their business needs. Then, create valuable content that showcases your knowledge and experience by guiding and advising your target audience. - Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing 13. Build Meaningful Connections Within Your Sphere Build your brand first. Find your niche and carve out a space in that sphere. Build meaningful connections, share your insight and ask questions. Establishing this foundation will help you build your reputation and credibility. - Alanood Aldhaher, American University of Sharjah 14. Prioritize Consistency Over Perfection Focus on consistency over perfection. Whether it's posting on social, emailing your list or showing up in your community, staying visible builds trust and momentum. You don't need to do everything; just do a few things well and regularly. Marketing is a long game, and consistency is what compounds. - Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 15. Get Specific About Your Offer You build credibility by being specific about your offer. Most solopreneurs think their business will benefit from offering a variety of services. But when you try to offer everything, you dilute your message. Generalists are forgettable; specialists are remembered. That's how to build trust. Ask yourself, 'What problem do I solve? Who benefits most from my solution? What result can I consistently deliver?' - Andrea Ruskin, Blum Consulting Partners, Inc. 16. Post Your Story And Learnings On LinkedIn People buy from people they trust, and being active on LinkedIn is the fastest way to build that trust at scale. Show up consistently, talk about what you're learning and share your wins and your mess-ups. You don't need a marketing budget when you've got a story and the guts to tell it. - Bradley Keenan, DSMN8 (said Disseminate) 17. Aim To Build Trust And Fans Design your marketing around building trust and fans. A solopreneur is both brand and business, guiding each prospect through the marketing funnel from awareness to advocacy. When clients refer, repeat and review, they trigger an 'advocacy flywheel' and self-sustaining loop that fuels brand equity. - Toby Wong, Toby Wong Consulting 18. Address One Problem At A Time Marketing can mean many things. Don't try to do them all at once. Focus on one specific problem, address it and move to the next. This creates momentum. At the same time, invest in building your personal brand. It builds trust and becomes a long-term engine for leads, partnerships and credibility. - Prateek Panda, 19. Experiment With Different Approaches Don't be afraid to experiment and pivot. As a solopreneur, you have the flexibility to test different approaches without the weight of a large team's expectations. Use that to your advantage—try new content formats, different messaging styles or new tools to see what resonates with your audience. Adapt as you go, and make adjustments based on real feedback. - Katie Jewett, UPRAISE Marketing + Public Relations 20. Be Your Authentic Self Be unmistakably you. As a solopreneur, your voice, values and story are your most powerful marketing tools. People do not buy brands—they buy the person behind them. Authenticity is your strategic edge. - Marie O'Riordan
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Global Brands Can Avoid Cultural Missteps In New Markets
Expanding into a new market can offer incredible opportunities for growth. However, if not managed carefully and with sensitivity, it also comes with the risk of cultural missteps that can damage a brand's reputation. Larger or global brands with long-established processes and marketing strategies may be especially likely to fall prey to failing to adapt to the traditions and nuances of an unfamiliar culture. Understanding and respecting local customs, language and consumer behaviors is essential for building trust and connection when entering a new market. Below, 20 members of Forbes Communication Council share specific steps brands should take to ensure their outreach to a culture that's new to them is both respectful and effective. The key is to partner with cultural insiders, not just translators. Localization isn't a checklist—it's a conversation. You must engage trusted cultural insiders who live the nuance, not just language experts. They will flag blind spots you didn't know existed and surface opportunities you couldn't Google. Insight happens on the ground, not in the boardroom. - Janita Pannu, OPIIA Inc. You should start with local voices at the table. You are not just translating thoughts and context; you are translating values, humor, habits and meaning. The key is to bring local voices into the room early and listen like your brand depends on it—because it does! The brands that win globally do so because they show up with intention and respect. - Kristin Russel, symplr Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? Based on years of experience, I would say a critical yet oft-bungled step marketers make when entering new markets is leaving the localized version of the website only half-finished or not done at all. I've seen large and small companies send out email sequences with the same problem. You should not leave localization to chance or another team. Done properly, it is money well spent. - Rebecca Takada, Outfoxr You can easily get this one wrong. Marketers need to study and understand the market, ways of operating, and what's acceptable and not acceptable culturally. Every market will have its nuances; hence, a detailed study is important. What's also important is to realize how to go about things. There could be several barriers, including language, that may hinder progress when entering a market. - Fahad Qadir, Haleon Marketers must localize their messaging by collaborating with local agencies or partners. This ensures cultural understanding and prevents missteps. Adapting campaigns to fit local norms and preferences shows respect and enhances brand acceptance, ensuring successful market entry without offending or alienating the target audience. Tailored approaches build connections. - Arnav Sharma, Tech Mahindra Taking the time to listen to and do your research about a new market is essential for companies. Rather than rush, take the time to learn what you don't know and observe before executing. - Lyndsi Stevens, Celerium Marketers should get to know local customs by genuine cultural consultation, not just rely on literal translations or general data. They should work with experts who are there, study how consumers behave and adjust their messages, visuals and offerings based on what they learn. An empathetic approach shows respect, builds community trust and makes sure the global brand resonates without offending local audiences. - Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet There are over 200 languages and more than a thousand cultural organizations in New York City alone. In each place, diversity is driven by language, origin and more. It is important not to imagine anywhere in the world as homogeneous. Analytics play a key role in identifying the hundreds or thousands of subsegments in each city or location that we must understand to align with our audience. - Bob Pearson, The Next Practices Group Before launching a campaign on a large scale, marketers should test it with a small local audience to gather feedback. This helps identify any elements that might cause confusion, misinterpretation or offense. By making adjustments based on this feedback, marketers can ensure the final campaign is culturally sensitive, resonates authentically and aligns with local values and expectations. - Lauren Parr, RepuGen If possible, marketers should hire people who are local to a new market. It's important not to make assumptions based on what you read, hear or perceive, and having someone with firsthand knowledge of the area can significantly improve your efforts. This local perspective can ensure your content lands appropriately, and they can also help you shape strategies, bringing valuable context that an outsider might miss. - Victoria Zelefsky, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation Marketers should ensure their campaigns reflect local preferences and sensitivities, not just language. This means adapting visuals, tone and even storytelling to better resonate with the local culture. Small adjustments, like using culturally relevant imagery or humor, can go a long way in showing respect and building trust. - Katie Jewett, UPRAISE Marketing + Public Relations As basic as it sounds, engaging and empowering marketing leadership talent in the new market is crucial to ensuring that your brand keeps cultural nuances in sight. The kind of local understanding that those individuals can bring to your brand strategy will provide eye-opening perspectives that you may have otherwise missed as an international brand. - Kerry-Ann Betton Stimpson, JMMB Group One crucial step marketers must take when expanding into a new market is conducting in-depth cultural and linguistic localization research—beyond just translation. To avoid issues, marketers can collaborate with local experts, cultural consultants and native speakers who understand nuances that AI or basic translation tools might miss. - Kurt Allen, Notre Dame de Namur University One nonnegotiable is to embed deep local insight from day one. Scale means nothing if you miss cultural nuance. Do not delegate understanding—co-create with trusted local voices. If you skip this process, you risk missteps or losing your license to operate. - Marie O'Riordan Cultural missteps often stem from brands trying to look identical everywhere—few, if any, are truly big enough to pull that off. Success lies in balancing global identity with local relevance. Marketers shouldn't overlook visuals—imagery is every bit as culturally loaded as language and tone. - Liam Wade, Impression Expanding into a new market requires a fundamental shift in mindset. Translating your positioning, messaging, campaigns and content word-for-word is not enough. What's needed is true localization, where content, visuals, design, currency, tone and context are adapted to fit local culture. Companies that understand this nuance are able to successfully enter new regions without cultural missteps. - Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing Global brand strategy is as strong as its local activation. Strategic CMOs design for local creation from the start. Nike gets this right—building deep connections with consumers and fans, activating trusted voices and local athletes in key sports, shaping culturally relevant messaging, and building products that serve and fit local consumers while embedding themselves into the soul of sports culture. - Toby Wong, Toby Wong Consulting You must learn to listen first. Before launching anything, it's crucial to understand the local culture—its values, language and nuance. Marketers need to partner with people who live it. What feels universal may not land the same way everywhere. Humility and curiosity go a long way when building something meant to connect. - Rich Bornstein, Bornstein Media Marketers need to identify the nuances of customer behavior and the expectations of the local market and adapt their marketing approach based on what matters to that audience (prioritize 'must have' over 'good to have'). This can be in terms of the channels they use to communicate with the audience (for example, Baidu versus Google or the use of business cards) or the communication and language preferences. - Aditi Uppal, Teradata When entering a new market, there's no single step, unfortunately—but one can use design thinking principles: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. Testing with the local audience is key; it may send you back to the drawing board, but it ensures cultural fit. Also, marketers must involve local voices early—not just in feedback, but in co-creation. Authenticity grows when locals help shape the message. - Suneeta Motala, Stewards Investment Capital
