"I'm just not a marketer." "I hate marketing." "I just want to hire it out so I can do the thing I'm actually good at."
If any of those have come out of your mouth, this post is for you. I say this with love, because I've said the same thing about parts of my own business, and it bit me in the butt.
Here's the truth about marketing for local businesses that nobody tells you when you open your doors: you're not bad at marketing. You're just new at it. And the only way to become a marketer is to market often, on purpose, and long enough to get good.
The Short Answer: How Local Business Owners Become Good Marketers
Marketing for local businesses is a skill you build through reps, not a talent you're born with. Local business owners get better at marketing the same way runners get faster: by doing it consistently, on purpose, over time.
You can outsource marketing tasks, but not marketing leadership. The owner still sets the direction.
Marketing is simple, but it isn't easy. Simple means the steps are clear. Easy would mean no effort, and that's not how it works.
Paid ads build commitment. Putting money behind Facebook and Instagram ads gives you a reason to stay consistent and keep optimizing.
Past failures are progress. Ads that flopped or courses you didn't finish put you ahead of owners who never tried.
Why "I'm Not a Marketer" Holds Local Businesses Back
Whether you run a craft studio, a photography business, a lash studio, or a cleaning company, here's the hard truth: you don't get to be the best at your craft in your town until you become the best marketer of your craft in your town.
Try this. Imagine your role as the owner had a job description. Would you light up reading it? If not, that's okay. Keyword: yet. We all started businesses for the freedom to write our own job description.
For me, I don't actually want to work less. I love learning about marketing, coaching, and leading my team. What I don't love? Customer support emails, building SOPs, fighting with website builders, and making Canva graphics and reels.
You earn the job description you want. And part of earning it is becoming a marketer. If you want to do more of a specific service, you have to talk about it even more. People can't read your mind and pay you for something you never mention.
You Can Outsource Marketing Tasks, Not Marketing Leadership
I recently hired an Online Business Manager (OBM), and she's amazing. I hired her because I kept telling myself, "I'm just not an operations person. It's not my wheelhouse. I need to stay in my zone of genius."
That advice steered me wrong. My OBM isn't the owner of my business. She couldn't make every decision for me, fix things she didn't know were broken, or take over without my leadership first. You can't decide something is too hard and pay your way out of it.
The same goes for marketing for local businesses. Most small business owners can't yet afford a $250,000 CMO, and that's okay. You absolutely can hire help. But you still have to oversee it, lead it, and grow it. The person you hire handles the day-to-day doing.
How to Get Better at Marketing for Local Businesses: Simple Isn't Easy
How do you become a runner? You start running. How do you become a good runner? Keep running. How do you get faster? Run harder and keep running.
Marketing works exactly the same way:
To become a marketer: start marketing.
To become a good marketer: keep marketing.
To get good faster: market a lot, and keep doing it.
It sounds almost too simple. That's where people get stuck. Somewhere along the way, they were sold the idea that growing a business should be fast and low effort. But simple and easy are two different words with two different meanings.
If you can claim it out loud ("I am a marketer because I market, and I'll get good because I'll keep marketing"), you'll be ahead of 95% of local business owners.
Where Facebook and Instagram Ads Fit Into Local Business Marketing
Okay, it takes reps. But how do you stay motivated? For a lot of us, the answer starts with an M: money.
In college, my parents made me a deal. Every semester I made the dean's list, they'd pay that semester's student loan. I didn't make it every semester, but I made it most of them. When I missed, I was frustrated, we made a plan, and I tried again.
Ads work the same way. Many owners avoid Facebook ads for local business because they're scared to spend money. I see it the opposite way: spending money is the reason to do it. When you put your chips in, you're more dedicated to adjusting and optimizing your ads than you'd ever be to posting another reel seen by 106 people who don't even live in your town.
To become something new, you go all in. Money is a great way to help you do that.
Why Past Marketing Failures Put You Ahead
"But what if I lose all that money?" "I tried ads before and it was a waste." "I hired someone and it went nowhere." "I never finished that course."
My honest first reaction? That's amazing. You've already taken steps most owners haven't. Failure is inevitable when you're building something you've never done before, so if you've already been through some, you're ahead.
It reminds me of my daughter learning to ride her bike. When it's time to let go of the handlebars, you can't promise she won't fall. She will. Recently she spun in circles with a friend, fell hard, and scraped up her elbow. It hurt, there were tears, and I felt awful.
But holding the handlebars forever would be a disservice. Today she's whizzing around faster and smoother than ever. Your marketing works the same way.
And if you've never tried anything yet? That's okay too. Jump in.
The Identity Shift That Grows Your Revenue
You've heard it: what got you here won't get you there. Maybe you want to go from 5K months to 15K months, from 10K to 30K, or from $100,000 a year to $300,000. Something has to give.
That something is the identity shift from "I started this business because I'm good at my craft" to "I'm the go-to local business in my niche, and I market like it."
My programs teach marketing for local businesses step by step: click this button, write this word, use this strategy. But if you're stuck thinking "this just isn't my thing," you won't stick with it long enough to make it past the first fail.
I've invested $6,000, $11,000, and more in coaches and programs. Not all of them went the way I hoped, but I've never seen one as a failure. Every time I put my chips in, I learned something. Compare that to the graveyard of freebies in your inbox that mostly helped you procrastinate.
FAQ: Marketing for Local Businesses
What's the best way to start marketing a local business if I've never done it? Start marketing, then keep going. Pick one channel, show up consistently, and talk about the services you want to sell more of. Skill comes from reps, not from waiting until you feel ready.
Can I just outsource marketing for my local business? You can outsource tasks, but not leadership. Even with help, the owner sets direction, makes decisions, and oversees results.
Are Facebook ads worth it for local businesses? Facebook and Instagram ads can reach people in your town rather than random viewers, and spending money builds the commitment to keep testing and optimizing.
What if I've already tried ads and they didn't work? That experience puts you ahead. Failed attempts teach you what to change, and most owners who succeed with ads failed first.
How long does it take to get good at marketing? There's no shortcut. You get good by marketing often, on purpose, and long enough. The more reps you put in, the faster you improve.
Your Next Step
If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: you're not bad at marketing, you're just new at it. The only way to become a marketer is to market. The only way to become an advertiser is to advertise. Do it often, on purpose, and long enough to get good, and push your chips in, my friend.
Ready to stop guessing with your ads? Hometown ADvantage is my monthly membership that walks local business owners through running profitable Facebook and Instagram ads, without becoming a content creator or hiring an agency. You'll get my full local ad strategy course, weekly personalized ad reviews from me and my team, and a community of local business owners doing exactly what you're doing. Join here.
And come say hi on Instagram at @nicoleeldridge_ads. I read every DM.
